CHAPTER IV 



THE ESTIMATE OF THE COST 



REFORMS of almost all kinds cost money, and sani- 

 tary reforms are no exception to this rule. But as 

 health is cheap at any cost, the extra expenditure is 

 well justified when a mosquito campaign is proposed. 

 Unnecessary extravagance, however, must be avoided. 

 Mosquito reduction is not an expensive measure, but 

 it cannot be done for nothing. Some money will be 

 required ; and the question is How much ? 



The cost varies in different localities and is de- 

 pendent upon several variables. Thus, the size and 

 population of the town or village, and the size and 

 congestion of the houses. Then the presence of cess- 

 pools and their individual extent, the efficiency of 

 any sewers and street drains, the means of storing 

 water in houses in water-butts or cisterns, and the 

 presence or absence of rain in the hot weather. In 

 addition to these, the important factors are the price 

 of labour and the cost of oil. 



The influence of these variables is well shown by 

 the difference in the cost of the mosquito campaigns 

 in the two neighbouring towns of Port Said and 

 Ismailia. In the former the cost is only sixpence per 



48 



