CHAPTER X 



REPORTING PROGRESS 



WHILE mosquito reduction is in progress it is inter- 

 esting to watch the fever reduction. Unfortunately, 

 there is no exact method known by which the number 

 of mosquitos in a locality can be counted. Many 

 attempts have been made to estimate the numbers 

 of mosquitos in a town ; all are unsatisfactory. The 

 total nurrrber of stagnant w r ater collections and the 

 percentage of those infected with mosquito larvae 

 estimated before and after the mosquito campaign is 

 started has often been employed as a method of 

 reporting the results of a campaign ; but the method 

 is not exact. For example, when the first estimate 

 is made, a house may be declared to contain no 

 suitable water collections and to be free from mos- 

 quito larvae. Then while the work is in progress a 

 native servant may leave a bucket of dirty water 

 hidden in a corner of the kitchen, and the house will 

 become full of mosquitos (thousands of mosquitos 

 may be produced from a single saucer of water in 

 three weeks). This will vitiate the results at once. 

 There is no accurate means of counting the num- 

 ber of mosquitos in a house, or even in a room. 



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