50 THE ESTIMATE OF THE COST 



irrigated land, many parks and public gardens, 

 birkets or large ponds. On the other hand, it may be 

 decreased, as stated before, by a well-arranged drain- 

 age system, provided that the flush is ample and 

 constant. Shortly, if there is much water that re- 

 mains stagnant for more than a week at a time, the 

 cost of the domestic mosquito campaign will be 

 proportionately greater. 



The estimate given above does not include major 

 sanitary works, such as the filling in of marshes, pools, 

 borrow-pits, birkets, and such-like collections of water 

 suitable for mosquito breeding-places the cost of 

 such measures must vary considerably in different 

 countries ; but the$e are ordinary sanitary measures 

 and should not be placed to the account of the mos- 

 quito work alone, as has so often been done. It is a 

 mistake to include such municipal expedients in the 

 budget for the mosquito campaign, for then com- 

 mittees are liable to dismiss the whole project on 

 account of its great initial cost, forgetting that it is 

 the duty of the State to undertake permanent reforms 

 that lead to health. The estimate given above is for 

 the upkeep only of a regular anti-mosquito campaign, 

 and large town-planning schemes must not be in- 

 cluded. 



Such an estimate is, at best, a rough one. It is 

 better to make a careful house-to-house examination 

 of the town, noting exactly where the mosquitos are 

 breeding, and estimating directly the cost of dealing 

 with them. It is not a very great undertaking, and 

 will well repay the energy expended. Take a survey 



