366 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STAllON. 



them evinced a real desire to do something. Second, Mosquitoes 

 were about as abundant and troublesome as anywhere in the State 

 and successful work there would convince a large number of per- 

 sons of the practicability of mosquito control over large areas. 

 Third, Mr. Brehme lives in Newark, is well acquainted with the 

 city and was able to put in all the odds and ends of time when 

 not engaged in other specific investigations in hunting out or 

 watching local breeding areas. Fourth, Newark is a modern, 

 growling city, where interferences with natural drainage are con- 

 stant, and where also improvements were tending to remove un- 

 sanitary conditions that favored mosquito breeding. 



The conditions at Newark are duplicated elsewhere and form 

 an object lesson both as to how mosquito breeding places may be 

 created by the march of progress and how subsequently they are 

 again abolished by further work. 



In the City. 



Branch Brook Park, in the northern part of the city is not only 

 the finest park in Newark, but one of the best planned of its kind 

 in the United States. Evening concerts are given there during 

 the summer, but enjoyment of the music is sadly marred by the 

 swarms of mosquitoes that are nearly always present. The Park 

 lake gets the credit for breeding these pests, but not one of the 

 several examinations made developed a sufficient number of larvae 

 to account for the adults. From captures made it appeared that 

 a considerable percentage of the insects were from the salt marsh ; 

 but there was also a very large percentage of pipiens, which must 

 have a local origin. 



At my suggestion Mr. Brehme examined the catch basins of the 

 drainage system and then the mystery was explained. The Park 

 has about one hundred of these overflow basins, which take the 

 surface water coming down the slopes. All of these basins are 

 in bad condition and in many of them the pipes are so badly 

 choked that it is almost or quite impossible for the water to run 

 off. There is some water in all the basins at all time, and so they 

 form most excellent breeding places throughout the summer. 

 One brood was checked by pouring a little oil into each basin ; but 

 later broods were allowed to develop. On one occasion, after a 

 very heavy downpour, some of the basins refused to act alto- 

 gether and considerable pools were formed over them. The 

 obvious remedy, of course, is first to clean out the pipes and basins 

 and then at intervals of about ten days during the summer to pour 

 into each basin about two or three ounces of kerosene or fuel oil. 



