474 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



"At present probably the greatest source of mosquitoes in this town is 

 the empty tin cans, bottles, etc., which are allowed to accumulate in vacant 

 lots and back yards, or are stored in barrels out of doors. . In these vessels 

 a little water collects and then myriads of mosquitoes are bred in them. 



" Owners of private places who wish to maintain ponds should stock them 

 with goldfish, or sunfish, and should keep the edges of the banks carefully 

 trimmed. Particular attention should be paid to this last precaution in the 

 case of sluggish brooks and ditches. 



" It is useless to attempt to mention all the places where mosquitoes may 

 propagate. The point for the householder to remember is that the insects 

 may utilize any quiet water, and so he should be alert to remove it. 



" The Board wishes to call the attention to those caring for persons sick 

 with malaria to the fact that the spread of the disease may be largely pre- 

 vented by keeping the patient in a screened room. 



" Finally, the Health Inspector will confer with any one wishing advice in 

 treating property to free it from mosquitoes. 



" The Board of Heai,th of the Town of Montclair." 



July 8th, 1902. 



For some months the anti-mosquito campaign was very successful, but in 

 June, and particularly in July, 1903, there occurred an invasion of mos- 

 quitoes that was totally unparalleled in vigor, which was attributable to 

 three distinct causes : 



First — Many householders had neglected to carry out the suggestions in the 

 above-mentioned circular. 



Second — Very heavy rains in June filled every hole in the ground with little 

 pools and supplied water to the outhouses as well, and the multitude of 

 breeding places was thus increased, and there developed a host of mosquitoes, 

 which, for a few days, made life unbearable. 



Third — Prof. Smith stated that many mosquitoes of the variety Culex 

 cantator were bred in the Newark marshes and migrated inland, causing 

 great discomfort not only to Montclair but to many other communities. 



The intolerable conditions of this year resulted in the formation of a Con- 

 ference Committee in Newark and an attempt to interest other communi- 

 ties in the work of suppressing the mosquito pest. 



In the Ninth Annual Report of the Montclair Board of Health it is 

 stated : "that the work of mosquito extermination will be pushed with vigor, 

 but that it must be remembered that the result desired cannot be reached 

 at once. As more people became interested in the movement new breeding 

 places would be reported to the Board, and undoubtedly it will be some time 

 before every breeding place has been located and drained. That it will 

 ultimately be done I have no doubt, but I cannot predict the time when it 

 will be accomplished, for that depends entirely upon the amount of interest 

 evinced by the citizens. 



"I wish to thank those people who have reported stagnant water and other 

 breeding places, and to urge all to report this species of nuisance to the 

 Board as promptly as they would a garbage or a plumbing nuisance. It is 

 just as important, for at any time these pools and ditches may develop the 

 malarial mosquito, which, if infected with the disease, wnW probably carry 

 malaria into the nearest home." 



During this year oiling was continued as before, and some few places 

 filled in and drained. The net result of the work to this time was that we 

 had become convinced that it would be very easy to do away with local 

 breeding places in Montclair by a little drainage, and that the oiling, while 

 effective in places where there are no bushes and long grass, is expensive, 

 because it has to be done over and over throughout the season, while drain- 

 age once and forever does away with the breeding places, and so with the 

 mosquito nuisance. 



Moreover, we were convinced that the bulk of the local breeding is done 

 in cesspools and privy vaults, and a determined effort was made on the part 

 of the Board to abolish these nuisances, because they breed the common 



