192 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



against the infection of Asia and the East Indies, and (2) that, on 

 the usual route to Hong Kong, ships after leaving Honolulu 

 pass northwards into latitudes not as a rule favourable to the 

 life of the mosquito, so that there is little likelihood at present of 

 the introduction of infected mosquitos into our ports. This, 

 however, does not justify the conclusion that no action is neces- 

 sary at this stage. Major James has made many important 

 recommendations which are now under consideration. Mean- 

 while, an active " Stegomyia" survey has been made of our chief 

 Indian ports by specially selected officers who had undergone a 

 preliminary training by Mr. Howlett at Pusa, the object of the 

 survey being to prove whether or no the extermination of this 

 mosquito or its reduction to non-dangerous numbers in our sea- 

 ports is really practicable. So far the preliminary reports are 

 very encouraging. They show that Stegomyia fasciata is 

 essentially a domestic mosquito, breeding in small collections of 

 stagnant water within house limits, so that its extermination is 

 largely a question of home sanitation, and not one involving 

 extensive drainage operations. But from the observations made 

 it is clear that the problem is not quite so simple as it appears. 

 We can easily deal with discarded tins, bottles, etc., but if we are 

 to attain success, it is necessary that arrangements should be 

 made for a continuous water supply to the houses in the poorest 

 localities, thus obviating the necessity for water-storage in 

 houses, for it is the receptacles for such storage which con- 

 stitute the most important breeding grounds of this mosquito. 

 This point is now under consideration. I may also mention 

 that, at the suggestion of the Government of India, the Govern- 

 ment of Ceylon has arranged to conduct a similar survey of the 

 principal ports in the island, and that for this purpose the 

 services of Major S. P. James, on his return from Panama, have 

 been lent temporarily to the Colonial Government. 



Plague. — Space will not permit of a discussion of the many 

 problems associated with this disease. There is, however, one 

 point on which I wish to lay stress, and that is the large part 

 played in the spread of plague by grain stores and grain 

 markets. Captain White, I. M.S., in a paper read before the last 

 All-India Sanitary Conference, showed clearly that there is a 

 close correlation between the import of grain into each trade 

 block and the amount of plague from which such areas have 

 suffered in the past. Experiments have therefore been made at 



