Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-10-02
QUANTICO MOSQUITOES
ROUTED BY AIRPLANE
Malaria Controlled by Busting Swamps
With Paris Creen-Experiment
Awakens Wide Interest.

made by DR.. w. V. King and G.. II.
Bradley Of the Department OF Agri.
culture, and in connection with this
the use of airplanes In attacks on the
boil weevil in the South were remem-
bered. With this basis backed ea-
Enthusiastically by the commander OF
the Quantico flying field. the new
method of attack was decided upon.
Lieut.. +. G. Cowie. u. S. NJ. c.,
engineer officer OF the flying field, was
detailed to plan and equip a plane for
the work. 1t was also decided to use
a mixture of powdered soapstone with
the paris green to make the distribu-
ton of the poison dust more effective.
A complete campaign was mapped
out, including drainage within the
camp. oiling for the local pest control
and busting from the air in the bays
Of Quantico and Chopawamsic creeks.
Experiments Are Conducted.
The plane selected for the work was
Of the TW-3 type, having a low land
ing speed and easily Unanswered. be-
ing considered the safest for use in
flying low over the marshes and
swamps. 1t was equipped with n
hopper that contained some 200
pounds of poison dust, so devised that
the flow could be regulated from the
cockpit, clouds OF tho mixture being
blown out at the will of the operator
The first flights were experimental
and conducted over the Chopawamsic
Swamp, which is almost impenetrable
by land. Portions of this area are
heavily wooded. with tangled under
brush and briars, interspersed with
dense thickets. 1t required two hours
to walk single mile through this
growth. Paths were cut half a mile
apart, alongside which Fans were set,
located i'll each type of vegetation, by
which the mortality OF the larvae
could be tested after each busting.
Success was certain alter the first
flight, but the experiments were con-
tinued to find the best conditions I'M
der which the work could be done, the
manner in which the arsenic and
soapstone should be mixed to obtain
the best results, and for other appar-
ent reasons. 1t was found that q
half-and-half mixture was most eff
cient, and that an altitude Of from 25
to 100 feet gave the best results, this
depending upon the wind velocity.
Actual Vcrk Starts.
Then actual control work started
Eight hundred acres of swamp and
marsh were covered, q path CT ap-
each trip of the plane, at speed of
about 50 miles an hour. 1t was found
that the pilot was able to see where
his dust sifted and take this into ac-
count on subsequent trips.
1t was found that five dustings
were needed to practically extermi.
nate the malaria pest, these being
made in all sorts OF weather condi-
tons, and that the work could be done
best when the wind was not more
than five miles per hour, a mixture
of from % to so per cent paris green
being used. This meant that a single
pound OF paris green was sufficient
to dust an acre of swamp. The flights
also proved that not only was the
method effective in the case OF
marshes but also in wooded swamps,
where the dust sifted through the foil
age to such an extent that it de-
stroyed the adult mosquitoes and their
larvae efficiently.
The cost proved surprisingly low
as regards the material needed for the
work. For the entire season $500
pounds of paris green and 400
pounds of powdered soapstone were
used. the combined expense being
$579.55. Eight hundred acres were
busted 81 times each. making the
cost of material per acre for the en-
tire season but .724 of a cent.
That this method of mosquito con-
troll will be used to large extent in
malaria-infested areas which are near
large swamps and marshes and have
been difficult to handle in the past, is
the view taken by the Medical Divi-'
sion of the Navy Department. Al
ready the Quantico work has brought
requests for informa ton frCm many
parts of the country. and one State
has asked the Navy for the loan of a
plane to take up the work. 1t In
hoped that with the renewed busting
at Quantico this season cases CT ma
laria in the Marine Barracks and the
contiguous territory will be as infre-
uuent as those of yellow fever where
the stegomia, the mosquito which
spreads that disease. has been eradi-
Gated.