80 PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL WORK AGAINST MOSQUITOES. 



wick fits it loosely when saturated with the grade of fuel oil we use. This metal wick 

 chamber is fitted to the oil container about 3 inches from its base. The space below 

 the wick chamber is filled with a solution of caustic soda or of larvicide. As the oil 

 is attracted along the wick by capillary attraction, it comes into contact with the 

 larvicide or caustic soda and is '* cut " — rendered thinner. This method of procedure 

 prevents the wick from being clogged by the thick fuel oil and enables the wick to 

 drip the oil desired. 



In the September, 1909, report it is stated that the new larvicide 

 was giving very satisfactory results and would undoubtedly reduce 

 the cost of antimalarial work, besides being more effective than crude 

 oil in many places. It seems to have some value as a destroyer of 

 vegetation. In the October report satisfaction with its use is again 

 expressed, and it is stated that the fact that it kills the grass at the 

 edges of the ditches will be of importance in reducing the cost of 

 antimalarial work. 



ORGANIZATION FOR COMMUNITY WORK. 



While in a large measure it is true that every individual house- 

 holder practically rears upon his own premises the majority of the 

 mosquitoes that bother him, still in a closely built city those reared 

 by one's neighbors must be taken into consideration. In isolated 

 country houses the character of the adjacent region must be con- 

 sidered by the individual who concerns himself with this work, but 

 even here some sort of an organization is desirable, and even fre- 

 quently necessary, as in cases where swamp lands are to be drained 

 or where occasional invasions of such a migratory species as Aedes 

 sollicitans are to be feared. The control of all sources of mosquito 

 supply in case of fresh water or brackish swamp land is usually too 

 great a task for the individual, although on the large estates of great 

 proprietors such work has been done at individual expense. In any 

 sort of community, however, organization is necessary, not only to 

 carry out the actual work, but to produce and to emphasize a uni- 

 versal sentiment in favor of the mosquito crusade — a sentiment so 

 strong and so general that every individual will cheerfully take part 

 in the work. The pioneers in this country who, in 1901 and 1902, 

 attempted to arouse such a public sentiment had much difficulty in 

 educating the people and in securing funds, but lately it has been an 

 easier matter. Many communities, large and small, have taken up 

 antimosquito measures, and such large cities as New York, Balti- 

 more, New Orleans, and Nashville have given the question serious 

 consideration in their city councils and in their boards of health, and 

 have entered upon measures of greater or less efficacy. Many smaller 

 towns have begun the crusade also, and those which have been espe- 

 cially active have been communities of summer resort. One of the 

 early attempts was the formation of the North Shore Improvement 

 Association of Long Island, which undertook a mosquito campaign 



