408 MOSQUITOES OF NORTH AMERICA 
Lutz and W. W. Chambers, of their observations made in the interests of the 
North Shore Improvement Association of Long Island, in 1902, published in 
November, 1902, by the Association : 
“The value of fish in this work cannot be overestimated, although too much 
dependence is often put upon them. The fact that a pond is stocked is not 
conclusive evidence that it is free from larve. Often the owner points with 
pride to his fine large fish, when really they are so large as to be useless. Large 
fish remain in the deep water, rarely coming ‘in shore’ where the larve stay. 
Then, too, large fish are apt to go after larger morsels than mosquito larve. This 
was shown, for example, in one of our tests made at Cold Spring. We put three 
each of goldfish, silverfish, sunfish, and mud minnows in one of the fish hatchery 
tanks. 
“Two days later one of the mudminnows had died and another disappeared. 
We then put a large number of larve into the tank, and after the lapse of an 
hour took out the fish, killed them, and examined the contents of their stomachs. 
The missing mudminnow was found in a large sunfish (44 inches), but no larve 
were with it. 
“Concerning the best kind of fish for our purpose we should recommend 
silverfish. Sticklebacks proved quite unsatisfactory for us. The ordinary 
‘mummie’ or top minnow (Fundulus) of this vicinity will live in fresh water, 
but is the least valuable of the promising candidates. 
“Tn a series of tests, under all sorts of conditions, if we give top minnows-a 
value of one (1.0), the mudminnows (umbride) rank about 1.3, sunfish (24 to 
4 inches long) 1.4; while goldfish and silverfish (2 to 3 inches long) are tie at 
1.5. This last is to be expected, as the goldfish are simply a highly-colored 
silverfish. However, silverfish have two advantages over goldfish. First, they 
only cost about one-fourth as much (a cent and a half apiece), and secondly, 
just as a cur is hardier than a high-bred dog, so silverfish are hardier than 
goldfish.” 
It should further be here stated that Britton has experimented with a young 
pike (Lucius americanus) less than an inch in length and has found it to eat 
Anopheles larve with avidity. (Rept. Conn. Exp. Sta., 1904, p. 308.) 
For a discussion on the transfer of several species of mosquito-eating fish from 
salt water into fresh water see a note by Eugene Smith entitled “ Fundulus and 
fresh water,” Science, n. s., vol. 35, no. 891, Jan. 26, 1912, pp. 144-145. Pre 
vious discussion of water changes as affecting Fundulus by F. B. Sumner 
occurs in Science, vol. 34, no. 887, pp. 928-931. 
FISH INTRODUCED INTO HAWAIL. 
In the early part of 1903, Mr. D. L. Van Dine, Entomologist of the Hawaii 
Agricultural Experiment Station of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 
brought up the question of introducing top minnows into Hawaii, since his in- 
vestigations of the mosquito problem in the Islands indicated that no effective 
natural enemies existed there. Dr. David Starr Jordan, to whom the problem 
was referred, informed Mr. Van Dine that while these fish had never been trans- 
ported for such a great distance, they were extremely hardy, and that the experi- 
ment would be well worth while. The cost of the experiment, however, was 
prohibitive at the time, and it was not until 1904, when a Citizens’ Mosquito 
Campaign Committee was organized in Honolulu, that the requisite funds were 
