REPORT ON MOSQUITOES. 439 



charge of his duties, and became quite proficient in finding and destroying 

 the mosquito \arvx. At this time the committee were badly handicapped. 

 With only one man and a small quantity of oil. owing to the scarcity of 

 funds, it was hardly to be expected that any great relief should be felt at 

 Monmouth Beach. It was simply impossible under tl>e above conditions to 

 cover the territory that contained the breeding places. But the oil did its 

 work and the larvae were destroyed in the pools, whether fresh or brackish, 

 in which it was placed. The committee were not discouraged and determined 

 to continue the crusade the following year, commencing the work a little 

 earlier if possible. .They were also determined to obtain a larger sum of 

 money. 



In 1901 the same plan was adopted, circulars were mailed, and the re- 

 sponses in the shape of checks were more generous than the preceding year, 

 showing very plainly that a few had given the matter serious attention. 

 Their education had begun, and to-day many of our residents are enthusiasts 

 in the cause, giving generously of their time and substance. Three hundred 

 and ninety dollars ($,S9o) was the amount subscribed to propagate the 

 work in the year 1901 : a sum totally inadequate to obtain the desired 

 results under the natural conditions of affairs. Mr. Jerolaman, a boat builder 

 at Galilee, was persuaded to supervise the w'ork and his nephew was engaged 

 to spread the oil. The results were not as successful as they should have 

 been, owing to the incompetency of the men employed. However, Mr. 

 Jerolaman in his report states that there is no doubt that millions of larvae 

 were destroyed, but owing to the number of places that were not treated 

 the results were not satisfactory. In this campaign $343.54 were expended 

 for service and oil, leaving a balance of $46.46 in the treasury. 



The writer of this history became interested in this work from its com- 

 mencement ; experimented with the oil that was being used until he became 

 perfectly satisfied that the desired results could be obtained, providing funds 

 were contributed to purchase the oil and maintain men enough in the field 

 to make the work effective ; yet it was very evident that the work would be 

 only temporary, requiring the same expenditure year after year. Permanent 

 results were desired: but how to obtain the same? The writer filially de- 

 cided to get rid of the breeding places wherever possible by adopting Prof. 

 John B. Smith's plan. Ditching, draining and filling in was the "Open 

 Sesame" for a mosquito community. 



It was early summer in the year of 1902, and the campaign had not as 

 yet been opened. The committee who had been directing the work were 

 becoming anxious, and at last decided to enlist the servics of the writer and 

 to commence a crusade against the mosquito pests that would be remem- 

 bered for many a day. 



In order to make these few remarks as intelligible as possible it would be 

 well to understand that w^est of Monmouth Beach and extending from North 

 Long Branch to Low Moor the salt meadows predominate. It can be read- 

 il}' imderstood that the meadows were the breeding places of the vast num- 

 bers of mosquitoes that infested Monmouth Beach and vicinity, making life 

 unbearable for the residents and causing a notable decrease of cottage 

 rental. There is no doubt that property depreciates in value in mosquito 

 breeding localities. From a financial standpoint, money invested for mos-- 

 quito extermination pays largely, as it tends to increase the value of real 

 estate 100 per cent. A hard headed business man can readily understand 

 an argument of this kind. 



After a conference with the committee, the writer agreed to undertake 

 the management of the work. The committee at once issued a bulletin 

 to that effect and asking for a liberal subscription to continue the work. 

 Under the new management the work was rushed and an attempt was made 

 to systematize the same. The localities to be treated were divided into dis- 

 tricts, and each district placed in charge of a competent man ; there were five 

 districts, consequently five men were engaged to do the work. A fo-eman 

 was also employed to supervise the whole. There now sprang into exisi.nce 

 the first association of its kind on the coast. The members were II. D. 



