Proceedings of Seventh Annual Meeting i i 



So the most important part of the control work remaining to be 

 done, from the point of view of a state-wide organization such as 

 this association, is the completion of the salt-marsh mosquito drain- 

 age. 



In table i I have given some estimate of the degree of com- 

 pletion of salt-marsh drainage in each county. It would appear 

 from the figures in this table that there are still in need of drainage 

 some 4119 acres in Hudson County, 2,514 acres in Bergen, 309 in 

 Union, 3,608 in Middlesex, 102 in Monmouth, 11,716 in Ocean, 

 10,000 in Burlington, 18,764 in Atlantic, 32,720 in Cape May, 52,661 

 in Cumberland and 31,780 in Salem, making a total of 168,293 acres. 

 A certain per cent of this will not need to be drained. Hence there 

 are probably at the present time, somewhat less than 150,000 acres 

 still in need of ditching. Let us assume that the remaining acreage 

 of unditched marsh is approximately 145,000. 



V. necessity for a larger measure of state aid 



During the fiscal year ending October 31, 1919, probably between 

 4,000 and 6,000 acres of salt marsh were drained by means of ditch- 

 ing or dikes and tide-gates. Heretofore an average of 9,000 or 

 10,000 acres per year has been maintained. The falling off this 

 year is due partly to the increased cost of labor, tools and materials, 

 partly to industrial developments on the meadows and partly to 

 unusual weather conditions last summer. 



Industrial developments on meadows in the northern part of the 

 state have blocked old drainage channels and made necessary the 

 cutting of many feet of ditches in territory previously drained. The 

 unusually heavy rainfalls, followed by high temperature, which oc- 

 curred last summer, made necessary a large amount of emergency 

 v^ork of a temporary character. Thus some commissions were not 

 able to cut as many feet of ditches in previously undrained meadows 

 as in other years. 



It is hoped that more drained acreage can be reported as the 

 result of next year's work. But even if it is possible to maintain an 

 average of 9,000 acres of marsh drained each year, fifteen or six- 

 teen years must elapse before the remaining 145,000 acres are 

 ditched. 



Hence the need for more generous state aid is obvious. And the 

 efforts of this association should be directed toward securing an 



