V 



Conditions before Sanitation 263 



Back yards were littered with refuse of all sorts, 

 as were vacant lots, alleys, and even the streets. 

 This rubbish included many articles capable of 

 holding water, and serving as breeding-places 

 for mosquitoes. 



The difficulty of obtaining an ample and cheap 

 supply of water resulted in extreme economy of 

 water consumption by the people of Panama, 

 especially among the poor. This economy found 

 expression in the widespread custom of leaving 

 dregs in the water vessels, and refilling them when 

 the water ran low. To appreciate the full signi- 

 ficance of this custom, it must be recalled that 

 larvae of Aedes calopus remain for the greater 

 portion of the time near the bottom of a vessel; 

 they descend, also, with great rapidity, when 

 in any way disturbed. A five-gallon bucket 

 may be nearly emptied by tipping, and if 

 the water is not poured out very rapidly, most 

 of the Aedes calopus larvae will remain in the 

 few teaspoonfuls of water left in the bottom of 

 the bucket. 



Ten years ago decorative shrubs in the grounds 

 of Ancon Hospital, and in private grounds in Pan- 

 ama were protected from the ravages of the leaf- 

 cutting ants, by surrounding each shrub with 

 shallow ring-shaped dishes filled with water. 



