114 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXIII. No. 577. 



spent in the Oranges would be obviously 

 wasted. 



As applied to the usual inland species the 

 argument made is fully borne out by my field 

 experience. As to the salt marsh breeders it 

 is utterly inapplicable — witness the fact that 

 the work done on the Newark meadows re- 

 sulted in a marked decrease in the mosquito 

 troubles at Paterson many miles to the north. 

 John B. Smith. 



New Brunswick, N. J., 

 December 15, 1905. 



YELLOW FEVER AND THE PANAMA CANAL. 



To THE Editor op Science: The continuous 

 discussion of Panama Canal affairs suggests 

 to me to call attention to the possibility that 

 the cutting of the canal may lead to trouble 

 from yellow fever in two of our Pacific island 

 colonies. In the summer of 1902, spent in 

 the Hawaiian and Samoan islands as agent 

 of the U. S. Bureau of Pisheries, my atten- 

 tion was forcibly called to the unusual pro- 

 portions of the mosquito plague in both these 

 island groups. If it were not for the dragon- 

 flies which wage effective war against the 

 ' day mosquitoes,' and for the bed canopies of 

 netting which protect the sleeper from ' night 

 mosquitoes,' life would hardly be tolerable in 

 Honolulu. In Tutuila (our principal Samoan 

 island) mosquitoes are the most obvious fea- 

 tures of the above-water fauna aside from 

 the brown natives themselves. Now both in 

 Hawaii and Samoa one of the most abundant 

 of the infesting mosquito species is Stego- 

 myia fasciata, which is none other than the 

 yellow-fever mosquito, that is, the particular 

 mosquito species which harbors and dissem- 

 inates, in yellow fever regions, the Plasmodium 

 or bacterium which is the immediate cause of 

 the disease. 



So far no cases of yellow fever have oc- 

 curred in Hawaii or Samoa, but this is ob- 

 viously not because of the absence of the 

 yellow fever host, but, presumably, of the 

 yellow fever specific causal agent, the patho- 

 genic ' germ.' It is to be presumed that ships 

 have not yet carried yellow-fever-germ-infested 

 specimens of Stegomyia from the West Indies 

 to Hawaii or Samba. Going round the Horn 



is probably an effective check to the spread of 

 yellow fever from the West Indies to our 

 Pacific Islands by reason both of the time 

 required and the low temperatures met. Be- 

 sides there is little traffic now between the 

 two regions. But with the cutting of the 

 canal, making possible a direct short-time 

 passage of ships from the Gulf of Mexico to 

 Hawaii, or to Samoa, all of the voyage being 

 within tropical or subtropical latitudes — the 

 Hawaiian islands are in 20° north latitude, 

 the Samoan islands in 14° south latitude — 

 will there not be a real danger of planting 

 the dread agent of yellow fever in our Pacific 

 colonies in which already the necessary insect 

 host exists in enormous numbers? There may 

 be obvious reasons why this migration can not 

 take place, but they are not apparent to me 

 now. It is, at least, a contingency to be had 

 in mind by those charged with the responsi- 

 bility of public health affairs in Hawaii and 

 Samoa. Vernon L. Kellogg. 



Stanford University, Calif. 



REPORT OF THE TENT3 GEOLOGICAL EX- 

 PEDITION OF HON. CHARLES H. 

 MORRILL, SEASON OF 1905. 



The season of 1905 marked a renewal of 

 paleontological activity in the University of 

 Nebraska, since it so happened that for the 

 first time in several years funds became avail- 

 able again for the prosecution of such work. 



By virtue of the liberal support and patron- 

 age of Hon. Charles H. Morrill, of Lincoln, 

 annual geological expeditions, essentially 

 paleontological in character, had been main- 

 tained in connection with the state university 

 since 1892. In 1901, though his interest in 

 the work as well as his good will continued, 

 his patronage ceased. This was wholly due 

 to the overcrowded condition of the state 

 museum, coupled with unusual fire risks, 

 which plainly endangered public and private 

 collections. In the meantime the work of 

 making general collections has been pushed by 

 the state survey, but the special work con- 

 ducted by the annual Morrill geological ex- 

 peditions was necessarily of a desultory order, 

 the expenses being met by the sale of duplicate 

 specimens.* '^" 



