Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-25

rate. the bars are being let down only
to pleasure automobiles.
Just as the chief health problem of
Serbia hinges at this time on the lowly
louise. the transmitter of
Spotted typhus; and as the mainte-
Fever, nance of health in malarial
regions has always had to
10 with the mosquito. SO one of the
most battling problems of the United
states just now is intimately concerned
with the millions of wood ticks of the
west, which, it has been determined,
give to humans through their bites the
dreaded Rocky mountain spotted fever
AS the fever season is drawing to a
close statistics that are reaching the
United States public health service
show that there is no abatement of the
disease On the contrary there is an
increase in the number of cases re-
ported, nut II is pointed out that tbs
may be due to a certain extent to the
DEVELOPMENT of better machinery for
gathering statistics.
So far the disease has been confined
practically to the Rocky mountain
states and has appeared chiefly in Mon
tana. Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada.
The characteristic tick by which it
Is spread to humans is widely distrib-
uted in the west. however. and it has
even been proved by experiments of
the public health service that the in
lection can be carried from sick ami
NAL to previously healthy one by
ticks frequenting the eastern United
States.
Since the first recognition of spotted
fever as a distinct disease in 1902 the
public health service has made close
study of the malady and has under
taken work toward eradication of the
ticks. Inexplicably the disease has
been found to vary greatly in viru-
some areas of infection are of little
more severity than measles and in
others result almost always fatally.
Thus in Nevada in 1914 there were nine
cases with no deaths, in Idaho there
were 1856 cases with fifteen deaths and
in Montana twelve cases with seven
deaths.
The most virulent type OF the fever
occurs in the Bitter Root valley in
Montana. and it is there that most of
has been carried on. In the course of
this work Passed Assistant Surgeon T.
B. McClintic of the service lost his life
from the fever in 1912, but not until
after he had gathered much valuable
data. Since then the work has been
continued by other surgeons. AS re-
suit of the work it practically has been
demonstrated that the disease is kept
alive by ground squirrels and other
wild mammals. and that the ticks. bit
ing the sick animals and then humans,
transmit the infection.
The ticks, though they live in their
early stages on vegetation. must attach
themselves to some animal before lay
ing eggs, and in the fight to exter-
inmate the insects war has been waged
on the ground squirrels. Also domestic
cattle and horses have been dipped fire.
quently to destroy ticks, and the under
brush has been burned in the hope Of
destroying the insects during the
period in which they live on vegeta-
ton.
One of the most unique and at the
same time one Of the most promisin Z
methods adopted has been the introduce
ton of sheep into the infected districts.
It has been discovered that the ticks be-
come entangled in the wool and die.
thousands being so destroyed in a sea-
son. It is believed by observers that
the fact that the valley east of the Bit
ter Root river is free from ticks and
the disease in it's most severe form is
due to the extensive grazing of sheep
in the eastern valley for years and the
presence only of cattle and horses
among the domestic animals in the
western valley. Now experimental
infested areas and 1t is hoped by the
medical experts that the floor of the
valley at least may be robbed of it's
dangers in this way at the same time
that remunerative industry is car
ried on.
Experiments looking to the discovery
and isolation of the germ of spotted
fever are being conducted. 1t is be-
lieved by physicians that when the or
ganism responsible for the infection is
he hob ~ Il;
ering an effective method of combating
it will be increased
How to anticipate forest fires by fore
casting the weather conditions that are
favorable to their
Forest Fires and spread so that
Weather Forecast. m,e em anu mo. eqo' po
especially prepared to fight them at a
given time is new phase of fire preven-
ton work that is being taken up CO.
operatively this season in the national
forests of Oregon and Washington. The
parties to the cooperation are the weather
bureau and the forest service.
An expert of the weather bureau has
been on the ground in the northwest for
several weeks, and nine of the regular
fire lookout stations, none of them less
than 5000 feet in elevation. are being
equipped with sets of instruments. These
will measure humidity, temperature, at
mospheric pressure. wind directions and
velocities, and will record other meteoro-
logical conditions.
The forests of the northwest Pacific
coast states contain much of the most
valuable timber in the United States. and
most of the weather stations will be placed
along the eastern border of this valuable
timber reserve to guard it from the con-
ditions unusually favorable for fires that
are brought about by the dry land winds
from the east. These have been christened
fire winds by the forest rangers, since
practically every fire of Importance that
has to be COPIED with occurs when they
west winds, laden with moisture from the
warm japanese current of the Pacific,
blow over the forest there is no danger
Heretofore fire prevention has been
chiefly a matter of guarding in general
way against human agencies of origin,
organizing fire -fighting facilities as eff
ficiently as possible and establishing a
tions that will make it possible to start
fighting the CONGREGATIONS as soon as
they are discovered With his well known
desire for efficiency, however, Uncle Sam
is determined to consider all factors of
the problem: SO he is setting his experts
nature herself-to And out beforehand
just what steps she is going to take that
will call for special efforts for defense
While the principal observations of fire
Winds are being made In the northwest,
studies of these and other forest weather
problems are being made in other of the
national timber reservations. These
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