8 
of the wire-cloth manufacturers. If the wire is in place and in good condition, it will be found 
difficult to induce the landlord to change from a 14 or 12 mesh to 16. The 12 mesh should be 
changed but the 14 can be made effective in turning mosquitoes by the application of a coat 
of paint. The paint should be thinned for this use or otherwise it will fill many of the openings 
entirely and needlessly cut down the circulation of air. The composition of the wire depends 
upon the location. In the dryer atmospheres, and especially inland locations, a good grade 
of galvanized-iron wire will last for several seasons. It usually pays to purchase one of the 
higher grade nonrusting wire cloths. 
The screen doors should open outward, should be hung with spring hinges, should be 
fitted with a spring lock, and should fit closely all around the door opening. As wide a margin 
of contact with the door casing as possible should be provided. This requires a fairly heavy, 
well-braced door frame. The window screens are most efficient when the wire cloth is placed 
on frames to cover the entire window opening and fastened snug to the window casing on the 
outside with hooks and eyes or with screws which permits their being removed for repair or for 
cleaning the windows. The windows may be raised or lowered from the inside. If the living 
quarters have a gallery or veranda, the same should be screened in, which may be accomplished 
by placing uprights between the gallery posts to suit the width of the wire cloth. This extra 
cost of screening the gallery is offset by the saving in not screening the door and window open- 
ings leading onto the veranda and by the added protection in possessing an out-of-doors room 
for use during the warm summer season. During the season when fires are not a necessity, 
the flues of the fireplaces should be screened by covering the top of the chimney with wire 
cloth, held in place by an extra course of loose bricks. This is an important point which is 
frequently overlooked. 
To prevent as far as possible mosquitoes seeking shelter around and beneath the living 
quarters or laboratory, the building should be raised well off the ground to permit free entrance 
of light and air beneath. Tall grass, weeds, and undergrowth should be kept down for a liberal 
space about the building. 
Each bed should be provided with a mosquito bar. There are several kinds of material 
on the market for use as mosquito bars, but the cheaper materials not only vary in the size of 
the mesh but pull apart in use, allowing the mosquitoes entrance to the bar. The cheaper 
materials having an irregular mesh are sold under the name of ‘‘mosquito bar.” That sold 
under the trade name of ‘‘bobinet”’ has a regular mesh and is the most durable and the most 
efficient. While the first cost is greater, considering its longer wear and the protection it 
affords, the bobinet is the more economical. Bobinet is manufactured in widths from 72 
inches to 90 inches and above and in three size meshes—fine, medium, and large. The fine- 
mesh bobinet excludes the greater amount of air and the large mesh allows entrance to a cer- 
tain proportion of the unfed mosquitoes seeking a blood meal. The medium size mesh bobinet 
is, therefore, the most desirable. An efficient bar can be constructed by gathering the bobinet 
liberally to a piece of muslin (usually sold under the trade name of ‘‘domestic”) about 3 feet 
by 5 feet in size. A wooden frame of light material may be constructed the same width and 
length as the muslin and hung lengthwise over the bed from the ceiling by means of cords. The 
bar is held to the frame by tape sewed to the margins and to the corners of the muslin. The 
bar can be constructed circular as well as rectangular and hung to a wooden or wire hoop. 
The frames on the market for supporting mosquito bars over beds are usually circular, though 
the rectangular bar is the more roomy. The length of the mosquito bar must be sufficient to 
allow for a liberal air space over the bed and for folding beneath the edges of the mattress at 
the bottom. The 90-inch bobinet provides a liberal length and 10 yards gathered to the muslin 
