Gunnison news-champion., 1919-05-30
GET RID OF
MOSQUITO PEST
W Rev. J. 8. Ferris)

N Rev. J. & Fes1is)
ne thir,sst-skianed i.dividuel
amoag - win hardly deny that Ia
anppy tndueDee - eur climate 4 Co.
ssdsrahly sPotled by ths tofmsnti1e
mosquito. In two or three weeks tie
town VIII - everTun with these In
pooent maranden unless the assault
= checked. (sThe female Of the
sgeciec y more deadly than the male"J
Sne wlii essaii us ct every open win
prod " on every street, "a. II there
10 any chance, rush with her keen d.c.t
ger into school and theatre ana churcb
She will drive us from the cool ~ o,,r
pleasant lawns; from the restfuI IN
fiuence Of grass and trees. She is
the unrelenting foe of all who love
the summer night; the vicious disturb
er Of moonlight strolls and goodte;-
lowship in the open air. Delightful
days and balmy, fragrant nights, ali
lose their charm with this fierce blood
sucking hend besetting us round. Il
ID this singing demon, and not q snake
as Of old, which works woe in our fir
Garden Of Eden.
Only the extreme desirability Of
ridding ourselves Of this unnitigatad
nuisance should induce me to reopen
a subject, which after plausibls dis
cussion by Professor Goldsmith some
two years ago, failed to challenge ac-
tion. DR. Goldsmith, whose special
training qualities him to advise. sug-
gested three methods Of dealing With
the mosquito pest. First, the aboIi-
ton Of all standing water, either in
overflow pools on the street, in ponds.
or In barrels, cans, etc. Second. the
proper care Of ditches. This ipcM,Ied
the shaving Of ditch banks for the
few weeks Of the breeding season. 70
that the water may be kept moving.
And, third, the use Of kerosene. This
wagto be applied to the main ditches
BY means Of filter, and to oil stand
ing pools which could not be drained
To the hrst two of these recOsnmen-
dations there would seem to ne no
valid objection. But the use of oil On
the running water deserves some csu-
ton. An injudicious use Of kerosene
might spoil garden stuff, or even the
grass on lawns, indeed, the whole
question Of oiling should be carcfi,IIv
investigated before . filter is put into
operation.
II these three methods were faith
fully employed, It 10 believed that
practically no mosquitoes could hatch
In the town. But at this point
fundamental objection is brought
against the whole program. II IS
this: II the mosquito larvea and pupae
were destroyed throughout the town.
the pest would not be appreciably
lessened, for the breeding places on
the surrounding ranches would be snf-
ficient to furnish us with an undimin-
ished supply. Fortunately, this OBJ
lection 10 not conclusive. Undoubted-
ly mosquitoes have been found sever
al miles from water. But that any.
species, except that bred in salt
marshes flies Tar seems to be denied
generally by the authorities. Of
course. the wind may bear them along
Only . trial would demonstrate how
the wind would keep us
supplied from out-of-town sources.
However, my concern now is not
with specific methods Of fighting this
nuisance. The single point Of this
article is: let rs seriously deal with
this problem. We get nowhere by
stopping with objections. Why not
have = committee Of capable citizens
appointed by the mayor or the town
council, to gather and present infor-
nation? There are several localities
from which the mosquito has been
driven out. There Is considerable
literature on the subject, for instance.
Professor Deane, In Ills book, on sIn-
sects and Disease" lists about twenty
books or pamphlets dealing With
The destruction Of the mosuuito. Let
- exhaust Al accessible resources be-
fore We acquiesce in the hopeless be-
lief that there il no method applicable
10 our district.
Meanwhile, and promptly, why not
carefully investigate the possibilities
VI Prof Goldsmith's recommenda-
lions? To wait more than two weeks
will be fatal 20 far as concerns this
summer. The crop is already sweep
ing in thru the bitches. TIE yeno-
nous brood will soon be preyine on
~. There is no public service Of
community scope more urgent than
this. Why should not our entire citi.
Eenship Be eager to cooperate in tkf4
Let us have . progress
adopted and then 60 forward viRor-
pusly and In ~ spirit Of helpful CO.
operation. Let us swat this little
1y,-mcs-quito q the Spaniards call
ID It; not waiting, however, until Il Is
n the buxxing sort, but
Think him ~ Z serpent's e4r,
which Matched would, as his kind,
grow mischievo1s, and kflf him
in TIE Shel1*
. Mueh interest = bsiss taksa i ths