Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-10
HOW TO FREE LAND
OF MOSQUITO PEST
DR.. Nelson Ou Val BreCht Out
lines Methods for
The Star.
CAMPAIGN CAN RECLAIM
THOUSANDS OF ACRES
In Fourth Paper of Series Expert
Describes Breeding Places and
Prevention.

Great headway in the war against
mosquitoes can be made. and thousands
Of acres Of valuable land can be re-
claimed at the same time. by systematic
drainage of sWamps and low-lying soggy
lands, declares DR.. Nelson Du Val Brecht.
late assistant surgeon in the United
States public health service, in the fourth
paper of the series he has prepared for
The Star. Swamps are natural breeding
places for mosquitoes declares DR.. Du
Val Brecht. Drain and reclaim the
swamps. he SAYS. and the breeding
places will be destroyed while at the
same time the land thus reclaimed will
become available for agricultural or 9TH
er purposes.
In his paper entitled THE Prevention
and Control Of Mosquitoes. DR.. Du Val
brecht says:
For the determination of mosquitoes
or Snats, the following measures are
indicated: First. adjustment of the
breeding places; second. screening: third,
fumigation. fourth, use of oil and other
larvalcides and insecticides: fifth. nat
ural tbiologicaD enemies. both plant and
animal. sixth. legislation. and seventh,
education of the public.
Breeding Places.
For convenience, breeding places may
be divided into natural and artificial.
All swamps, marshes. depressions in the
ground, wet meadows and low lands
should be drained. diked or filled. By the
employment of these means alone thou
sands of acres of valuable land can be
reclaimed. rendered habitable for man
and domestic animals and utilized for
building and agricultural purposes. In
addition surrounding communities can
be freed from malaria. yellow fever and
other mosquito-borne diseases, and the
inhabitants could enjoy comfort during
the warm months.
1T is only necessary to cite Holland
as an example of what drainage and
diking can accomplish to enhance the
wealth of nation. This is the highest
form of conservation of natural re-
sources. as the public health is conserved
as the waste land is reclaimed Small
breeding grounds can be ditched by hand
labor, while, for extensive areas, morse
power and steampower ditchinS ina
chimes are available.
Abolishing Breeding Places.
by the introduction of sanitary
plumbing and sewerage and closed
water supply the chief artificial breed
ing places can be largely abolished. In
certain southern cities and towns as
new oTlcdHS anu III Iui O.
in which domestic storage cisterns,
wells and rain-wate barrels are still
in vogue mosquitoes should be pre-
vented from gaining access TO the
water by means of securely hitting
covers. The lids may be made OF wood,
galvanized iron or fine-meshed wire
netting. Useful temporary covers are
made by fastening sheeting. burlap
canvas several layers of gauze,
cheesecloth or mosquito netting to
I'M har re1
All hollows in trees should be plug
ged with cement. which possesses the
additional advantage Of preserving and
strengthening the trees. All artificial
collections of water. as in discarded
tins, buckets, jars, tomato cans. bot
ties. watermelon, cocoanut and canta-
loupe husks or rinds. should be abolish
ed. This sort of rubbish is always
found in greatest abundance on
dumps and in back alleys.
Unusual Breeding Places.
Mosquitoes breed in many unusual
and out-of- the-way places. as sewers.
water tanks in greenhouses. pot holes
| in powders. flower vases on tables in
\ houses when the contained water is
not changed daily, holes made in re-
| moving tree stumps. Irregularities in
| the rocky beds of streams, pitchers OF
| pitcher plants. old disused wells and
| any possible spot where rain water can
! collect and stagnate In the report of
| the Liverpool School of Tropical Medi-
cine's malarial expedition to Sierra
Leone, 1t is reported that gnats were
| found breeding in the broken bottles
placed upon the top OF a stone wall as
| a cheval de frse
Il have seen mosquito larvae breed
! ing in the fire buckets distributed
around the buildings of a federal quar-
antine station on the Pacific coast. The
buckets were filled with sea water to
prevent the breeding Of mosquitoes.
but the wrigglers may have been of
the species that breeds in salt water
or the original sea water may have
lost its chlorides through repeated
overlooking and dilution with rain
water.
Importance of Search.
ITO emphasize the Importance of
searching for queer breeding places of
mosquitoes. I quote the following from
the volume Mosquitoes" by DIR. L. o.
Howard, resident OF this city, who has
made more careful study Of these in
sects than any one else in this country:
Another instance of the necessity for
searching out-of-the-way places for mos
auitoes and larvae has recently been told
, me by Maj. James Carroll. United States
Army Medical Corps. member Of the
United States yellow fever commission
and professor of bacteriology and path
ology I'm the medical department of
George Washington University. Visiting
az army officer In charge of a post in
Cuba, he found the yellow fever mos
quito in numbers in the quarters. The
officer in charge could not imagine where
they came from, as, under orders. he
c:terminated. either by surface drainage
or by petroliZing DIR. Carroll noticed