138 THE MAIN CURRENTS OF ZOOLOGY 



the mosquito Stegomyia. John Moran of the 

 United States army submitted to the bite of an in- 

 fected mosquito as a result he was stricken with the 

 disease but recovered. Dr. Lazear, one of Reed's 

 assistants, was accidentally bitten by a mosquito and 

 died of yellow fever. The circumstances attending 

 both these cases were such that no doubt existed as 

 to the direct connection between the bite of the 

 infected mosquitoes and the disease. 



Reed appreciated the significance of his discovery, 

 and in the first enthusiasm of the demonstration he 

 wrote this intimate estimate to his wife: "Rejoice 

 with me, sweetheart, as aside from the antitoxin of 

 diphtheria and Koch's discovery of the tubercule 

 bacillus, it will be regarded as the most important 

 piece of work, scientifically, during the nineteenth 

 century." 



The results of the demonstration were immediate 

 and far reaching. Havana and Gulf ports were 

 practically freed from the disease. Indeed, since 

 1901, Havana, formerly the favorite home of this 

 deadly disease, has been exempt from its ravages. 



Sleeping Sickness. The third of these biological 

 studies of insects and transmission of diseases in- 

 volves the sleeping sickness. The sleeping sickness 



