94 N. J. Mosquito Extermination Association 



maintenance work, as they could be used on other town work during 

 the remainder of the year. In one town, this arrangement has been 

 entirely satisfactory. The first selectman, a marsh owner himself, 

 has taken an interest in the work and has cooperated in furnishing 

 the labor. In the second town the tendency has been to furnish as 

 little labor as possible, while in the third town the work was turned 

 over to a local contractor, who was advised to deal directly with the 

 state authorities. 



In three of the other towns, the men responsible for the work 

 were employed by the local civic associations before the work was 

 taken over by the state. 



The ditches in these towns have all been gone over in the spring 

 and blockage removed and the ditches deepened where necessary 

 to insure good circulation. Additional attention is given the ditches 

 as needed throughout the season. 



In 1 91 8 a new tide-gate was built on the creek that drains the 

 Great Harbor Marsh in Guilford. The structure was built of 10 by 

 12-inch timbers with two gates each 4 feet square. Two gates were 

 built the same year in Branford on the Branford River. These gates 

 were hung on two bridges that cross the river, one opening being 28 

 feet wide and the other 18 feet. 



In the town of Fairfield, where the marshes were ditched in 191 2 

 and the work was well organized when it was taken over by the 

 state, a large amount of fresh-water mosquito work is being done — 

 in fact, the cost exceeds that of the maintenance of the 1,250 acres 

 of salt marsh in the town. Each year a certain amount of local aid 

 has been given this work. For example, in 191 7 $600 was raised to 

 clean and deepen the outlet to the Great Swamp in the village of 

 Southport. The town has put in a number of tile culverts across 

 roads to provide better outlets for the mosquito ditches. In connec- 

 tion with the state work during the past season, about 200 feet of 

 12 and 18-inch tile were purchased for culverts across private roads. 



The results of the mosquito maintenance work has been as satis- 

 factory as could be expected, especially when work is not continuous 

 along the coast. The longest ditched area is only about 15 miles 

 in length, so there is a possibility of the salt-marsh mosquitoes from 

 undrained areas crossing the ditched areas from both directions. 



During the latter part of last summer there was general breeding 

 on some of the areas which were flooded by frequent rains and high 

 tides, followed by east winds. In fact, we had breeding on one area 



