PREVENTIVE MEASURES 
225 
considering this delay, it is a delight to see the com¬ 
parative rapidity with which the anti-house-fly idea is 
spreading. Possibly had this latter crusade been be¬ 
gun first it would not have moved so rapidly; possibly 
the education which people have had in regard to mos¬ 
quitoes makes them more ready to accept the ideas that 
are being put forward by the anti-fly movers. 
But in the case of mosquitoes, in more than one com¬ 
munity it was found absolutely impossible to do any¬ 
thing with the adults, and education was begun with 
the children in the schools. Probably the first of this 
work was carried on by Prof. C. F. Hodge in Worces¬ 
ter, Mass., in 1901 or 1902, and he was very successful 
in interesting the school children in the search for mos¬ 
quito breeding places. 
The most serious and productive effort, however, was 
made at San Antonio, Texas, a year or two later, at 
the initiative of Dr. J. S. Lankford. The school board 
approved the idea of endeavoring to educate all of the 
school children of the city in prophylaxis, and to make 
sanitarians out of all of them. The best medical lit¬ 
erature on the subject was procured and furnished to 
the teachers. A circular letter was sent to them out¬ 
lining the proposed course, and offering a cash prize 
for the best model lesson on the subject. Teachers 
became greatly interested; a crude aquarium with 
eggs and wrigglers was kept in every schoolroom where 
the pupils could watch them develop, and large mag¬ 
nifying glasses were furnished in order that they might 
study to better advantage. The children were en- 
