for it is a migratory insect and sometimes flies long distances. Mosquitoes 

 dislike sunlight and prefer darkness; they are fond of entering houses, 

 and of hiding in dark rooms, or in dark and damp corners. They some- 

 times come in swarms and largely so at night time, when they are attracted 

 indoors by the burning lights. They bite chiefly at night, though some 

 species bite also in day time. Mosquitoes often hibernate in the cellars of 

 houses, whence they emerge in the spring to lay their eggs. 



The question may occur to some readers, why the farmer should be 

 concerned in the movement for getting rid of mosquitoes. The answer is 

 not far to seek. Mosquitoes are not merely a constant menace to our 

 comfort, but some species may prove a serious dangef to our health; they 

 certainly interfere greatly with the comfort of all people living in rural 

 districts, and what is perhaps of more importance, they may affect their 

 business interests. Dr. L. O. Howard of the United States Bureau of 

 Entomology in Washington, asserts that there are instances on record 

 where the attacks of herds of cattle by swarms of mosquitoes reduced the 

 yield of milk to such an extent as to render the keeping of these animals 

 for dairy purposes unprofitable. Horses likewise are injured by the 

 attacks of mosquitoes. But, more than this, there are vast tracts of land 

 in different sections of this country which are rendered practically unin- 

 habitable and impossible of development owing to the presence of mos- 

 quitoes in large numbers. It is a matter of record that many places badly 

 infested with them have shown a considerable depreciation in their 

 property value. 



Numerous species of mosquitoes are merely, so far as is now known, 

 a source of annoyance by their bite, but do not transmit disease. It is 

 obvious, however, that for practical purposes it is neither necessary nor 

 feasible to distinguish between the different kinds of mosquitoes, and it 

 would also be useless to wage the war of extermination on only one or 

 two kinds. Let us accordingly adopt the much more common sense view 

 that all mosquitoes are harmful in one way or another, and let us see 

 what practical measures can be adopted to reduce the nuisance. That it 

 is perfectly feasible to do this has been practically demonstrated in several 

 places, as for instance on Staten Island, N. Y., and on the north shore and 

 in some places on the southern or ocean side of Long Island. In other 

 countries, too, some regions formerly almost uninhabitable on account of 

 mosquitoes have been made salubrious and attractive. By proper measures 

 systematically carried out in the Island of Cuba since 1901, yellow fever and 

 mosquitoes have both been practically wiped out, and similar good work 

 has been accomplished more recently in the Panama Canal zone by 

 "mosquito brigades," organized under the direction of Colonel Gorgas. 

 On the Isthmus yellow fever has been eliminated to a large extent, and 

 malarial fever greatly reduced, and thus this once notoriously unhealthful 

 region has been changed to one fit to live in. 



It has already been pointed out that malaria, like typhoid fever, is 

 chiefly a disease of the country, and this is readily explained by the fact 



9 



