664 



Reading-Course for Farmers' Wives. 



There is now a world-wide crusade against mosquitoes, extending 

 from the wilds of Africa through the malarial districts of Italy to America. 

 This extensive crusade is due to the practical demonstration that some 

 kinds of mosquitoes may transmit malaria, yellow fever and probably 

 other diseases of human beings. The warfare against mosquitoes con- 

 sists largely in destroying their watery breeding grounds. This can be 

 done on a large scale either by draining or by filling in marshes, pools 

 and similar places which often swarm with the "wigglers." Large 

 areas of such mosquito-breeding waste lands in New Jersey and on Long 



jN^ Island are thus being reclaimed, 

 and the mosquito nuisance largely 

 abated. 



Aquaria, rain-barrels, tanks, 

 small ponds and similar places can 

 be kept free from the " wigglers " 

 by introducing small fish, as gold- 

 fish or silverfish, sunfish, "killies," 

 roaches or minnows. An interest- 

 ing and instructive object lesson 

 could be given by putting a few 

 minnows from a near-by brook 

 into the school aquarium or into a specially prepared glass dish well 

 stocked with the " wigglers." 



One can easily prevent mosquitoes from breeding in rain-barrels or 

 tanks by covering them with mosquito neetting. 



Another practicable and successful method is to pour or sprinkle 

 kerosene oil every two or three weeks in a thin film over the surface 

 of cesspools or rain-barrels, tanks, ponds or any other body of slug- 

 gish water where the " wigglers " are found. This oil-film kills the 

 " wigglers " (both larvae and pupae), by preventing them from getting 

 to the surface to breathe (Fig. 26, g), and it also prevents the mother 

 mosquito from laying her eggs on the water. There are patent 

 preparations or oils which penetrate all through the water, killing the 

 " wigglers " but spoiling the water for general use, so that such oils 

 are usually applied only to infested cesspools, sewer basins or man- 

 ure pits. 



By a little concerted effort of local authorities, or by the school chil- 

 dren in applying whichever of the above methods is most practicable, 

 much interesting and valuable work could be accomplished and the 

 pestiferous mosquito largely eliminated in many localities. 



Fig. 28. Resting positions of Culex — 

 (C) and Anopheles (A) mosquitoes ; en- 

 larged. — {Reduced from. Howard). 



