4 6 



through here Ventnor, Margate and Longport, a stretch of about 

 ten miles. Since Atlantic City has been built up and improved, 

 mosquitoes, as well as sanitary matters, of course, have been 

 better, but not so with the lower part of the island, the chief resi- 

 dent portion of Atlantic City. Now, we started our work right 

 back of Atlantic City. We thought that if we cleaned up all 

 this area back of Atlantic City first we would do the greatest 

 good to the greatest number, and the very black markings show 

 where the work has been done. The islands did not need drain- 

 age for they are covered by the tide at frequent intervals. 



Along Great Bay and the Mullica River in Atlantic, Ocean 

 and Burlington Counties lie about 50,000 acres of undrained salt 

 marsh. With some minor exceptions we have drained all the 

 territory from Leeds Point to Somers Point, and for a consid- 

 erable distance up the northeastern bank of the Great Egg Har- 

 bor River. The most relief on the Shore Road, as we call it, 

 outside of Atlantic City, has been found at Pleasantville. Now 

 as you walk north or south, or ride, every mile you go you are 

 troubled just that much more with mosquitoes. 



I want to say one or two words about the meteorology of 

 Atlantic City, which has a good deal to do with mosquito trouble. 

 We are fortunate enough to have a beach that lies almost facing 

 south. A study of the Weather Bureau Reports at Washington 

 some ten or fifteen years back show that in summer time the 

 winds rarely blow from the north. If they did the mosquitoes 

 would in past years have greatly retarded, if not have prevented, 

 the building of Atlantic City. Since the drainage work has 

 reached large proportions winds from the south no longer relieve 

 merely Atlantic City, but also free Pleasantville and the villages 

 up and down the Shore Road, from Absecon to Somers Point. 

 When, however, the wind comes from the southwest, the situa- 

 tion is changed, and the mosquitoes bred along the Tuckahoe 

 River and south of the Egg Harbor River are blown 15 to 20 

 miles into the lower part of the island at Longport and Margate, 

 whence they work up into the city. 



Now the point I want to 1 make is that the results of our work 

 are being minimized by conditions in Cape May County. Sup- 



