N. J. Mosquito Extermination Association hi 



Mr. Rider — You mean running foot, Doctor? 

 Secretary HeadlEE — Yes. 



Mr. Rider — W't do not necessarily go through the mud to 

 sand bottom. But we make sure there are no logs or sticks cross- 

 ing the trench dug for the core. The sand goes to the bottom 

 and forces the mud and ooze out of the way. 



If sand is available it is preferable to clay, because if dug 

 through by a rat it falls and stops the hole, while clay would stay 

 iu position and probably cause a washout. 



President Meyers — Essex County is represented by Mr. 

 Jatiies E. Brooks. 



Mr. James E. Brooks — I understand that I have five minutes 

 in which to tell of the new and unusual methods of mosquito con- 

 trol used in Essex County in the year 1921. 



I can say it in a single sentence : the unusual thing was to 

 have the ditch cleaning machine work all day without breaking 

 down. A trick mule could not have thought out more ways of 

 making trouble than this machine did. It was a well-developed 

 case of the ''Natural Perversity of Inanimate Objects," but, as 

 usual, mind prevailed over matter. Each time the machine de- 

 veloped a weakness or met with unexpected obstacles, changes 

 in design or method were adopted to meet the difficulty. 



Early in March, 192 1, the ditch cleaner was put' in operation, 

 with a temporary arrangement of an anchor and snatchblock, 

 and a Fordson tractor to haul it. It was demonstrated clearly 

 that the machine would clean ditches, and then the Essex County 

 Commission authorized the placing of a winding drum and 

 anchor on the Fordson tractor. It took some time to do this, 

 and the machine did not get into operation again until the middle 

 of August. From that time, until the latter part of November, 

 the real work of developing the machine went on, and the ex- 

 perience gained was very valuable. 



The machine did excellent work in cleaning the ditches. It 

 cleaned them far better than they had ever been cleaned by hand. 

 The machine makes the bottom of the ditch perfectly uniform, 

 and it delivers the spoil further away from the ditch than is 

 usual with hand labor. The longest run in an eight-hour day 

 was three thousand eight hundred lineal feet, and no doubt this 

 can be considerably increased during the coming season. 



Many of the improvements which appeared necessary could 

 not be made while the machine w^as on the meadows. After its 

 withdrawal for the winter, these improvements were started, 

 and when it goes back into service in April this year, it will be 



