58 ' NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 
by removing everything in which the insects may be living. The 
door of the vault should be tight enough so that there would be 
no danger of subsequent entrance, and great care should be exer- 
cised to prevent reintroduction of the pest with material for storage. 
Fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas would be of but limited 
value, since the fumes would hardly destroy all the insects in their 
galleries. The infested backing of electrotype blocks should be 
burned, while the insects in bulky papers or other material could be 
destroyed either by spreading the papers out loosely and drying 
thoroughly, or in some instances by subjecting to a gentle heat fora 
considerable period, since white ants succumb readily to both heat 
and excessive dryness. Storage boxes for valuable papers should 
be of metal or at least lined with tin and special care exercised to 
avoid any crevice which would allow the insects to enter. 

Fic. 20 Termes flavipes: a, dorsal view of head of winged female; 6, ventral 
aspect of same, with mouth parts open, greatly enlarged. (After Marlatt, U.S. Dep’t Agric. 
Div.. Ent. Bul 4. n.s. 1896) 
- 
Mosquito notes. The season of 1908 was particularly interest- 
ing because a considerable proportion of New York city was in- 
vaded by large swarms of the salt marsh mosquito, Culex sol- 
licitans Walk. Undoubtedly the insects came from adjacent 
marshes, possibly those of New Jersey and very likely some at least, 
from undrained areas on Long Island. The pests were so numer- 
ous in the city as to be a pronounced scourge for a few days, and 
did much to arouse popular interest in the problem of mosquito 
control. 
The draining operations on Staten Island have been completed 
and the resultant change for the better has been most marked. 
Many places which were previously almost uninhabitable because of 
the swarms of mosquitos are now comparatively free. The work of 
draining marshes in other portions of Greater New York has been 
