REPORT ON MOSQUITOES. 475 



house fly, which unquestionably at times disseminates typhoid among the 

 populace. 



In the year i903-'04 work was continued as before, and the most important 

 work of the spring of 1904 was the collection of mosquitoes once every 

 week from all parts of town and the forwarding them to New Brunswick for 

 identification. These examinations showed that there is practically no 

 breeding in town, all of our mosquitoes coming from the communities of 

 Newark and Elizabeth. The former city has drained its marshes, so there 

 will unquestionably be fewer mosquitoes in town than heretofore if the 

 local work continues ; but Elizabeth has as yet done nothing, and until the 

 marshes in that city are drained Montclair will be supplied with marsh 

 mosquitoes from that municipality. The mosquito problem in Montclair 

 itself is a very simple one, and if surrounding municipalities would drain 

 their salt marshes, there would unquestionably be money appropriated to 

 drain the local breeding places in Montclair, which are small ponds, pools and 

 pockets of stagnant water that are cut off from the brooks in seasons of 

 drought. The work could be done at small expense, but the number of 

 mosquitoes bred in these places is so small in comparison to the myriads 

 which are blown into town from the salt marshes that it would perhaps 

 be unwise to advise the expenditure of money for local drainage until the 

 salt marsh pest is eliminated. My observations lead me to believe that the 

 salt marsh mosquitoes are carried by the winds over the first mountain, 

 where they cause loss to the dairy interests by annoying the cattle. 



So mosquitoes cause financial loss to New Jersey in several ways : First, 

 they bring sickness and continued ill health to many of our homes ; second, 

 they lessen real estate values, because it has become notorious that they 

 make the lives of our citizens burdensome, which causes many homemakers 

 and some manufacturing concerns to shun the State ; besides, they turn to 

 other and in many ways less favored States a great army of vacation seekers, 

 who would naturally build up our summer resorts by spending their time 

 and money here ; third by pestering certain domestic animals they lessen 

 their productiveness. For these reasons mosquito extermination should be 

 vigorously pushed and liberally supplied with funds. It is a rather simple 

 engineering problem which only needs intelligent direction and proper 

 financial support to be a success. 



Montclair people earnestly hope that the anti-mosquito crusade will be a 

 success and believe that it will be one; but they realize that the desired result 

 cannot be obtained at once but that it will take time, money careful and 

 patient investigation to accomplish it. When the drainage of the large 

 mosquito breeding areas has been done the work of keeping down the insects 

 will rest with local boards of health and town improvement societies. Par- 

 ticularly will local health officers have to be ever active to discover and 

 remove privy vaults, cesspools, uncovered rain barrels and manure heaps, 

 which are always prolific breeding places, and which will furnish mosquitoes 

 to the immediate neighborhood in which they exist. The privy vaults are 

 perhaps the most important, for they not only furnish mosquitoes, but are 

 frequented by the "common house fly, which undoubtedly, when the privy is 

 infected, disseminate typhoid fever in the community. In Montclair this 

 work of house to house inspection has been done by John O'Brien. Jr.. who 

 deserves much credit for his thorough-going work. 

 Yours truly, 



(Signed) HOR.VTIO N. PARKER. 



Mr. Parker's report needs little comment ; he fully appreciates 

 the conditions and finds it easy to deal with the local problem. 

 His notes however and those of Dr. Gray indicate that they rea- 

 lize the futility of local work alone to secure complete exemption, 

 and Mr. Parker's position, holding back expensive local improve- 



