92 ^ Proceedings of Nioth Annuai, Meeting 



did not receive one complaint from the habitues of said places or 

 from the residents residing' in the immediate vicinity thereof dur- 

 ing- the past year. With the aid of the constituted authorities we 

 were able to obtain immunity from the mosquito in the public 

 places. Without their aid this would have been impossible with 

 the small force at our command. 



Two matters which necessitated prompt action were called to 

 my attention, namely, breeding of mosquitoes in the street man- 

 holes controlled by the electric light and telephone companies, 

 and pipe and culverts insufficiently graded to prevent mosquito 

 breeding except under storm conditions. We have referred these 

 matters to the party or parties responsible, and such steps as we 

 deem necessary have been taken to prevent any further trouble 

 from this source. 



Since this paper was prepared we have received the assurance 

 of the superintendents representing- the companies just mentioned 

 that no further mosquito breeding- will occur in the manholes 

 under their supervision, as arrangements have been made to dis- 

 tribute oil at stated intervals pending- other methods to control 

 the insect. 



It might be apropos at this point to state the Mosquito Divi- 

 sion of New York City corr^rises a force of approximately thirty- 

 five persons, and their activities embrace the entire greater city. 



During the past year complaints from citizens relating to local 

 breeding were very few. We attribute this to the fact that the 

 efforts of the department of health in this direction were so ably 

 seconded by the inhabitants of our city, keeping their premises 

 immune, and in many instances instructing their neighbors as to 

 the methods necessary to obtain immunity from the insect. 



We have found a marked decrease in abandoned excavations, 

 due to increased activity in building operations and an appreciable 

 increase in the number of fills on inland and salt marsh areas 

 which greatly reduce the territory requiring our attention. 



The methods of filling vary from the pump fill on the salt 

 marshes to the ash or dirt fills inland. 



Anticipating physical changes have been of great assistance to 

 us in our work. We find an annual survey of the salt marshes 

 necessary to determine how the tides have affected our drainage 

 ditches. Our efforts in this direction have resulted in locating 

 places where breeding is apt to occur because of obstructed drains 

 caused by the elements or human agency. By this means we are 

 able to disregard large areas requiring no immediate attention 

 and devote our efforts exclusively to places where mosquitoes will 

 no doubt breed. 



