stagnant water; by isolating the sick and protecting them from the bites 

 and by the administration of quinine. With tlie breeding places reduced 

 and the sick isolated there will be a constautlj' diminishing number of 

 malarial fever cases. 



A number of experiments have already been made along these lines. 

 Former Efforts, as those of the Italian government in planting Eucalyptus 

 trees, have been futile because founded on imperfect data. Of the 

 Eucalyptus it should, however, be said that it does have a slight influence, 

 the leaves containing a volatile oil offensive to the mosquito, and on 

 this account they do play a slight part in lessening the ravages of the 

 disease among those living in a grove of the trees.* 



Quite different are the results of experiments made this year. From 

 the Eucalytus theory of a generation ago to the mosquito theory of to-day 

 is a step far in advance, and results based thereon are equally significant. 



The Italian railw^ays — with tlieir lonely stations in the plains and 

 valleys — were the llrst to take advantage of the new theorj" in adopting 

 prophylactic measures against mosquito infection of malai'ia by protecting 

 their buildings and those occupied by their workmen by mosquito netting. 

 The tests have been regarded as conclusive. Of 104 railway employes 

 protected from mosquito infection not one contracted the disease. On 

 the other hand, out of 359 persons not thus protected but otherwise 

 living under similar conditions, only seven or eight escaped the fever. 



A more elaborate test was made at Paestum, in a fearfully infected 

 region to the southeast of Naples. The houses had wire screens over 

 every opening— doors, windows, chimneys, etc., and persons going in and 

 out after dusk were obliged to wear veils and closely woven, thick gloves. 

 One hundred three persons were thus protected and of this number only 

 three showed symptoms of malarial infection. The difficulty of inducing 

 ignorant persons to fully comply with directions for protecting themselves 

 accounts for the exceptions. No quinine was used by the party. Out 

 of the population of 307 souls living in that region and not protected, all 

 but five contracted malaria — these five being sons of the soil who seem 

 to have been immune to a considerable extent. Where the protected party 

 took no quinine, the exposed persons, on the other hand, during the same 

 period, took six pounds. 



'■'The specimenB of Eucalyptus here shown are, one from Battipaglia, north of Paestum, 

 in a terribly devastated region of Italy ; the other from the Eoman Campagna above the 

 Calliatus catacombs. 



