220 MOSQUITOES 



larvjc or pupa> whole on slides. One of those preserved 

 specimens can be put in a cell with alcohol or glycerine 

 and studied under a low power with perfect ease, and the 

 examination of minute details of its anatomy, external 

 and internal, may readily be accomplished by dissection, 

 and the parts dissected out mounted permanently^ on 

 slides in any of the ordinary media. 



In rearing dilierent species of mosquitoes I have had 

 perfect success in the use of large, cylindrical glass jars 

 known as battery jars. They can be bought in almost 

 any city and of various sizes. The size which I tind most 

 convenient will hold about a gallon of water. A layer 

 of sand an inch or two deep is placed in the bottom 

 of the jar and a quart or more of water poured over it. 

 After the sand has settled and the water has cleared, a bit 

 of almost any small water-plant may be inserted to ad- 

 vantage, provided moscpiitoi's of the genus Culex are be- 

 ing reared. If the experiment is with Anopheles, how- 

 ever, some fresh-water alga is introduced, such as 

 Sjiirogyra, Mougeotia, (Edogonium, Cladophora, or ()s- 

 cillaria — almost any green scum from stagnant water, in 

 fact. Over the top of the jar is placed a piece of swiss, 

 or other fine, translucent cloth, held down l)y a large rub- 

 ber band. 



The eggs of Culex may be had with ease by exposing 

 a bucket of water out of doors in a mosquito locality on 

 almost any summer night. If the eg^ masses be trans- 

 ferred from the luicket to the prepared breeding-jar the 

 growth of the larva' can be watched and their transfor- 

 mations can be observed with perfect ease. Occasional 



