4 THE MOSQUITOES OF NEW JERSEY 



This mosquito situation was well appreciated in early times. Dr. 

 Ralph Hunt (15) quotes a considerable number of records which serve 

 to give some idea of the abundance of the mosquito pest, principally in 

 the northeastern part of New Jersey but also to some extent elsewhere. 



Max Schalish, speaking of New Sweden near the mouth of the Dela- 

 ware River, in 1627, said: "Swedes built a fort called Mockeborg, be- 

 cause of the numberless mosquitoes infesting the region." 



In 1748 Peter Kalm wrote: "The gnats, which are very troublesome 

 at night here, are called mosquitoes. They are exactly like the gnats in 

 Sweden, only somewhat smaller. In the daytime or at night they come 

 into the houses and when the people have gone to bed they begin their 

 disagreeable humming, approach nearer to the bed, and at last suck up 

 so much blood that they can hardly fly away. Their bite causes blisters 

 on people with delicate skins. 



"When the weather has been cool for some days, the mosquitoes dis- 

 appear. But when it changes again, and especially after a rain, they 

 gather frequently in such quantities about the houses that their num- 

 bers are astonishing. The chimneys which have no valves for shutting 

 them out afford the gnats a free entrance into the house of the English. 

 On sultry evenings the mosquitoes accompany the cattle in great swarms 

 from the woods to the houses, or to town, and when the cattle are driven 

 past the houses the gnats fly in wherever they can. 



"In the greatest heat of the summer they are so numerous in some 

 places that the air seems to be quite full of them, especially near swamps 

 and stagnant water, such as the river Morris in New Jersey. The inhab- 

 itants therefore make a big fire before the houses to expel these dis- 

 agreeable guests by the smoke." 



Regarding Elizabethtown Point Peter Kalm said again in 1748: 

 "The country was low on both sides of the river, and consisted of mead- 

 ows. But there was no other hay to be got, than such as commonly grows 

 in swampy grounds ; for as the tide comes up in this river, these low 

 plains were sometimes overflowed when the water was high. 



"The people hereabouts are said to be troubled in summer with im- 

 mense swarms of gnats or musquetoes which sting them and their cattle. 

 This was ascribed to the low swamp meadows, on which these insects de- 

 posit their eggs, which are afterwards hatched by the heat." 



Again concerning Elizabethtown Point in New Jersey in 1783-1784 

 Dr. John David Schoepf said: "Surrounded of millions of musquetoes 

 we were obliged to spend the time until daybrake on the deck of the little 

 vessel. These marshy coasts are the favorite sojourning places of mus- 

 quetoes, more than usually numerous this year as a result of moist and 



