The Washington herald., 1909-05-16

little inside that makes # s,ct mi,
germ eats through the walls OF TIE NOS
I ouito's stomach ard plays Other ha5
/ tricks. Al the end OF twelve 5sys thsf
germ mas become a live wire. even though
u IS so hne that the best microscopa fails
iG reveal L. When an infected mosquito
wants another dinner Of human blood
and bites a person. II hands hail, the
germ It inadvertently took from the vel
lew fever patient IL had bitten befo-a
/ This germ does not attack the red co--
/ puscles ike the malaria germ b,,t Re
Ftls in the liquid part instead. with even
more fatal effects The Stegomvis de-
tends Itself by showing that never in the
! history of its race did it give yellow,
IeVer 70 man Until man had first Rivsn
tne disease 70 IT, And II would take a
/ judge wise enough TO tell which cana
frst' the egg OF the hen, &c decide whether
nan first gave yellow fever to the mos
quito or the mosquito 10 man.
The male mosquito is something ~ a
musician, and II you want 10 see him
sli attention make a sound OF SD vfb-s-
tions 10 the second and he will bsvi7 n
/ dance around with the grace Of a 0sa-
cock That is the tone IL which his r7a1a
calls him. a southern electrician sor7a
years ago accidentiy learned about this
trait of the mosquito, He was experi-
menting with harmonic telegraph in
strument. The moment the irstr1rns-.
reached certain pitch every male mos
quito within hearing distance came bos
foot to the scene, brt the sound had No
attraction for the females.
Il Is said that the Culex females a1v-svs
mediate awhile before biting. but thar
the Anopheies 90 right into the bloody
WoTk With the air OF q surgeon who
would have It quickly over Il Is cor
tended that the fact that the male mos
quito never bites Is not 10 De attributed
70 any particular forbearance OF goodness
OF heart. but rather 70 the fact thar his
/ head Is not properly equipped f,,- blood
sucking on a satisfactory scale. Soma
OF the recent investigators even 20 so
faf as 20 believe that IL Is an ACQUIRED
habit with the female and not a natural
one It viii be remembered that there Is +
Wild bird which learns TO kill sheep
after long association with the sheuher5'e
hocks- So il is with the female mos
QuitoS. according 70 these investigators
These insects first learn 10 sup Tio7,i5z
from the eyes OF animals. and then ac-
quire the habit OF going beneath the skin.
IN many Instances, Il is asserted. they &C
quire their taste for blood By making 2
dinner In fresh wounds They have q III
lie bulk N their proboscis Ike q foln-
tain pen filler. and draw the blood with
that
Some mosquitoes vii bite one person
and show distzste for another. Exper-
inlents have shown that the averaRe. male
mosquito is fond Of beer and wine v-hila
the females VIII have nothing 10 do vt+l
such things The male IS essentially q
vegetarian.
Unless Isaac Weld were qualifying for
membership IN the Ana1ias Club. Georrs
Washington lost his reputation fO- ve-
racity when discussing the mosquito.
Weld declares n his Travels Through
North America that George Washinetor
told him that. OF a truth. he had encoun-
tered mosquitoes which were abls to
bite through the thickest boot. As this
was IN the campaigns around New York
and in New Jersey some viii stiU BE-
lieve that the Father Of his Country was
not exaggerating even there
TIE Department of Agriculture has re-
Gently issued new bulletin on the eco
homie losses caused by insect pests. Ths
mosquito has It's character blackenea in
that report 70 such an extent as 20 con-
sttUte criminal libel Not Onlv Is 7
charged with being responsible for much
disease and suffering. with heavy eco-
non7ic losses attendant thereupon- INT the
assertion Is made that & retards the de-
velopuent OF states and nations. and has
caused the decline and decay Of other
nations. Il is charged that vast areas
around New York. which would other
wise be beehives OF industry and thrift
are held under the dominion OF the mos
quito and made as uninhabitabIe 70 h,f-
nanity as the bleakesJ peak IN the Rocky
Mountains. IN other places they have 50
annoyed the COWS that the milk supply
ran short and left the dairyrnaa q bank
rcpi At Sheepshead Bay they annoyed
the race horses so much that the track
authorities spent thousands OF dollars in
banishing them from that section. One
writer declares that New jersey taxable
values are 100000 below what they
would be if Il were not for the MOSQUITO.
another believes that the Introduction
OF malaria into Greece was largely -
sponsible TO- the progressive physical de-
generation OF one Of the strongest races
Of history. Still another asserts that
half Of Italy is rendered more OF less in
hoSpita5le 10 mankind because OF ~.
malariaI mosquito.
And so the Indictment runs. Charged
with causing the death OF more than IOa.-
" American citizens every decade. and
with bringing about 2,0o0.0o0 cases os
malaria every year. all OF Il resulting in
an economic loss large enough 10 main
tain the whole American army year IN
and year out. the Anophele family stands
good prospect Of being banished for
ever by the court Of enlightened opinion.
and the 'evil night air" will be robbed OF
its teTTors- There are fish that have Al
appetite for the larvae OF malsTiaI NOS
quitoes greater than that Of ferret for
the blood Of & rat In the island os Bar
bados these fish have effectively kept the
mslarial mosquito form multiplying.
America VIII probably import many such
fish within the next few years, and they
viii help solve the problems OF NOS
quito determination
(Cop5usht. 1903. b Frederic J. Haskin)
TO-mOrFeS = Progress in Manufac-