86 THE MOSQUITOES OF NEW JERSEY 



free water, absolutely no traces of any could be seen. In all fifty-seven 

 egg boats, complete or fragmentary, were taken on the Trenton swamp 

 area. On August 8, a larva in the second stage of development was 

 fished up with the bottom material, but continued searching in the same 

 place failed to turn up additional specimens. 



All the egg boats collected at Trenton were given up to experi- 

 mental purposes in an endeavor to bring the resulting young larvae to 

 maturity ; but while all were failures it may not be uninteresting to note 

 the various conditions to which they were subjected. First, it was found 

 utterly impossible to carry the egg boats for even a short distance, be- 

 cause unlike those of pipiens they sink readily and apparently do not 

 hatch when thus submerged. For this reason the experiments were car- 

 ried on in a protected place near the swamp itself. A series of five two- 

 quart jars three-fourths filled with water served as breeding places, and 

 on August 8 fifteen boats were equally divided between them. Number 

 one contained only water taken from the swamp; in number two was 

 placed two layers of turf; a third contained one layer of turf and a 

 three-inch layer of vegetable mould from the swamp ; in number four 

 was a number of lily stems and in number five an entire plant of arrow- 

 leaf. On August 12, the following was noted: number one, eggs not yet 

 hatched; number two, larvae hatched out and all dead; number three, 

 one boat unhatched, others hatched and all larvae dead ; number four, 

 no eggs hatched ; number five, larvae hatched and dead. Additional egg 

 boats were placed in each, and another jar, number six, was added, 

 which contained grass with all the roots, while in number one was put a 

 seven-inch layer of silt. August 16, the following conditions were noted: 

 number one, an active brood of young larvae, burrowing some three- 

 fourths inch down into the silt where they could be seen in small crevices 

 wriggling vigorously ; number two, a lot of young larvae swimming 

 about in the free water — none entering the turf ; number three, a large 

 brood of larvae, all dead or nearly so ; number four, larvae hatched out 

 and all alive ; none attached to lily stems ; number five, larvae out and 

 all dead; number six, larvae out and all dead. On August 26, after a 

 period of ten days, I examined all the jars and found everything dead. 



After this, experiments were abandoned and it was decided to wait 

 until late fall, to give the larvae a chance to develop, and then to fish 

 the small pond at Lahaway. Meanwhile Mr. Brakeley had been giving 

 the subject some attention, and on September 21, after fishing the pond 

 in vain with his graduate, he pulled up a plant of tear-thumb grass, and 

 from the roots washed out a larva in probably the third stage of devel- 

 opment. Two other smaller larvae were secured in the same way, and all 



