The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-12-15
LARVAE FAIL IN
FOURTEEN TREES.
EnlomOlculsl FuIlaway Says We
Could Not Find Any IN
Banana Plants.

(From Thursdayb Advertiaor.l
with David T. Fuilaway, ohtomoI.
osist % tho United States Agricultural
Experiment Station, on the witness
stand, tho friends Of the much dis
eussod banana plant had their innings
yesterday afternoon In Judge Cooper's
court. Tho case on trial was that of
the Territory against George Lucas,
charged with maintaining banana
plants near his homo in violation Of
tho recent regulation adopted by the
board of health. Fnilaway, nrst, last
and all the time, was Of the opinion
that banana trees didn c furnish breed
ing places for mosquitoes, and was
very ready to mako points against the
opinions OF Doctors Blue, Cnrrio, Nc
Coy and Marshall.
The entomologist was examined by
Attorney +. q. Peters, who appears as
counsel for Lucas. Peters first estab-
lished the qualifications Of the witness
and then examined him at great length
about the life'history and habits Of
various species of mosquitoes, and
about the results of his examinations Of
banana trees in and about Honolulu.
swezey Method Improved on
fBullaway testified that he ahad ex-
amiped a hundred banana trees. and
hadn't found any mosquitoes in any
of them. II appeared that ais to some
OF them he had f6lIowed aNdiferent
method from that which Entomoloeist
Swezey testified was his. Hwesey adj
mitted on cross-examination that he
had not preserved any of the water in
banana plants, but had looked in the
fseups1 and stripped the leaves Oh,
allowing the water to rum away.
Fullaway said that he had examined
fourteen banana plants in different
way. He had cut of the tops of the
trees, below the feups" and preserved
the whole business, water and all, plac-
ing the contents in jars. t'I found no
mosquito larvae IN any Of them, - no
said, "and then gave It. up"
In the room beneath where he was
testifying are rows Of jars containing
larvae which witnesses will swear were
taken from banana plants, hence the
case seems likely to present a eonsid-
cradle conflict Of testimony. .
Stegomyia Very Hardy.
Fillaway showed himself a confident
witness, and appeared to have any
amount of technical knowledge ut his
tongues end. He gave figures as to
the time required for the development
Of the adult mosquito as follows: Culex,
egg stage one day, larvae stage fifteen
days, pupa stage two days; Steg6myia,
egg stage five to six days, larvae stage
n n, days, pupa. stage three days.
The ryitnaup L..
fne Cuiex. He said that dry eggs had
been shipped to England and had
Matched out, on being put in water,
after two months. saN
In reply to a question from Judge
Cooper, he said that once the process
Of incubation started, continuous Inn
meTsion in water was necessary to pre-
serve the life of the insect, except in
the case of the Stegomyia, and even
with that insect dryness after the wrig-
gler stage was reached would be fatal.
The witness expressed the opinion
that the $50 feet regulation was value
less. He thought the mosquitoes would
fly further than $50 feet. The way to
get rid of the mosquitoes was to de-
stroy the breeding places, he said.
Plenty Of Water There.
In nearly all the banana plants he
examined, Mr.. Fullaway found water,
though rarely more than would fill an
inkstand. He did not say how long it
would stay, but thought that the eyap-
Grafton was fast.
Asked why he thought that mosuui-
toes did not breed in the water in tho
"cups" in banana plants, the witness
said that one reason was that there
were hundred better places for them
to breed in Other reasons were that
he didn't think tho water lasted long
enough, that the plants were moved by
the wind and that the quantity OK
water was very small. Among the hum
dred other breeding places, he mention.
ed tronghS tin cans, cutters, cesspools,
storm sewers, mud puddles, puddles be-
low leaking faucets, wells ponds, duck
ponds.
In reply to a question by Peters, the
witness said he thought that spray
could be used effectively to prevent
mosquitoes breeding in banana plants.
Peters had not closed his examine
ton when court adjourned for the day.