212 GNATS OR MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER VIII 



to coincide with that of the greatest prevalence of Anophe- 

 letes. 



As a striking example of this I may instance that 

 writing to one of my numerous correspondents, Lieut. 

 Glen Liston, I. M.S., who is quartered at Ellichpur in the 

 Berars, to ask him if there was any reason to helieve that 

 one of the methods of securing permanence of the species 

 might be the survival of retarded larva', he replied that 

 there, Anopheles was breeding already at the date of writing 

 (January), and sent me numbers of specimens including 

 some in tubes, one of which actually reached me alive. 

 Now it is a curious fact that in the above-quoted table, 

 Ellichpur is one of the few stations in which the largest 

 number of malarial admissions takes place in January, the 

 monthly admissions being 31, 12, 10, 3, 7, 2, 8, 14, 9, 29, 21, 

 15; total 1131. 



In Indian jails the figures are closely similar. Out of an 

 average strength of 110,016, there were 37,776 admissions 

 for intermittent and 734 for remittent fever, the largest 

 number of admissions being in the months of July, August, 

 September and October. The proportion of admissions to 

 strength, about one-third, is somewhat higher than among 

 the troops, but this is only to be expected when the inferior 

 physical condition of the class of inmate is remembered. 

 The interiors of most Indian jails are models of cleanliness 

 and good sanitation ; but the boundaries of the hygienic 

 oasis are abruptly limited by the jail walls, and immediately 

 outside, the excavations that have yielded the material for 

 their construction, brick pits, and ill-contrived drains, too 

 often furnish breeding places in abundance for the malaria- 

 carrying Mosquito. 



Moreover, the strict prohibition against the extra-mural 

 employment of convict labour greatly ties the hands of the 

 Superintendent in his efforts to improve the sanitary con- 

 ditions of any spot beyond the four walls. 



Having now considered, as far as space will allow, the 

 conditions that influence the prevalence ,or otherwise of 

 Mosquitoes, it remains to be considered what can be done 

 to diminish the pest. The malarial parasite has, it must be 



