MOSQUITOES AND YELLOW FEVER 139 



Hon. John E. Procter, in a paper entitled " Notes on 

 the Yellow-fever Outbreak at Hickman, Ky., 1878," pub- 

 lished in bulletin of the Kentucky Geological Survey, No. 

 1, 1879 (?), pp. 63-99, two maps, gave a most careful history 

 of all of the cases of yellow fever which occurred at Hick- 

 man in the summer of 1878, from which it appears that 

 the causation of many of the cases which remained ob- 

 scure is readily explainable on the theory of the transfer 

 of the disease by mosquitoes. Mr. Procter (now Presi- 

 dent of the United States Civil Service Commission) 

 on learning of the tliesis supported by the Army Yellow- 

 fever Commission, was struck by the fact that the mos- 

 quito theory explained away these doubtful cases, and 

 called the writer's attention to his publication. This is 

 the only yellow-fever report which the writer has exam- 

 ined carefully, but very likely many others have been 

 published which should be critically examined from this 

 point of view. Surely the detailed accounts of the older 

 epidemics in this country, so carefully described in La 

 Roche's admirable monograph on yellow fever, do not, on 

 cursory examination, offer any facts inconsistent with the 

 adoption of the mosquito explanation of the spread of the 

 dread disease. 



The importance of this discovery to Cuba and other 

 tropical regions cannot be minimized. Word came to us, 

 April 1st, from Havana, that for the first time in the history 

 of that city the month of April began, in 1901, without a 

 single case of yellow fever within the city limits. Much of 

 this result is attributed to the admirable methods of san- 

 itation introduced by our army soon after the occupation 



