96 Psyche [August 



THE BREEDING OF MOSQUITOES IN ALKALINE 

 WATER. 



By H. L. Ballowe. 



Dr. C. S. Ludlow has sent the following note, quoted from a 

 letter from Dr. H. L. Ballowe, Captain in the Medical Reserve 

 Corps, U. S. Army at Fort St. Philip, Louisiana: 



"A neighbor of mine at Buras, near the post, prepared a mixture 

 of caustic soda to kill the San Jose Scale on his orange trees. After 

 using a part of the barrel of the solution, the rest was left in a semi- 

 protected location for about eight months. It was exposed to 

 the weather and to some rains. On examining this barrel one 

 day I found it teeming with larvae and pupae, both Anopheles and 

 Culex. The alkali of the solution was marked to the taste, the 

 color was a dark brown, and the solution affected litmus paper. 

 I procured several jars of this solution and allowed the pupae to 

 complete development. The adults were seemingly normal." 



