MOSQUITOS. 357 



Meanwhile I will mention, pro bono publico, a 

 method of prevention which, as the proverb says, is 

 better than any cure. This method was imparted to 

 me by Sir Thomas Hanbury, the esteemed owner of 

 the famous gardens at La Mortola, near Mentone. 

 It is thus : you procure a small fish, the greediest, 

 most gluttonous and guzzling that may be had, and 

 you put him in the tank, pond, or reservoir in your 

 garden. That is all ; the rest you leave to the 

 working of natural laws. Now the enemy, the 

 Mosquito that is, has his weak moments like the rest 

 of us. He passes one stage of his existence in the 

 water ; here he is condemned to float head downwards, 

 and to breathe through the tip of his tail. In this 

 predicament he can neither buzz nor bite ; on the 

 contrary, he is perfectly helpless, and the carp that 

 you have put into the tank, pond, or reservoir, gives 

 him no quarter. In fact, the Mosquitos get fewer and 

 fewer as the carp becomes fatter and fatter. 



It is obvious that if there were a carp in every 

 tank, pond, or reservoir, there would be no Mosquitos. 

 The only difficulty is that your neighbour may have a 

 pond devoid of fish ; and the Mosquitos which ought 

 to bite him may find their way in at your bed-room 

 window, for the insect is no respecter of persons.* 



* Sir Thomas explains that a single fish is not sufficient to keep 

 down the Mosquitos. " I put three to six," he says, " or in a very big 

 tank, a dozen." The following information on this burning question 

 contains his ipsissima verba : " The cesspools of hotels and villas are the 

 worst haunts of the Mosquitos : there the larvee exist and thrive, no 

 matter how foul the water is. Remedy : Metal gauze over the ventilating 

 aperture to prevent the insect passing. General remedy : Insist that the 

 landlord provides a proper net, not an ornamental curtain to your bed, 

 and take care to tuck it in thoroughly before retiring to rest." 



