112 PROCliEDINGS OF NiOTH AnNUAL MkE^ING 



prepared to meet many of the difficulties which led to delays in 

 1921. 



That the machine will to the work for which it was designed 

 and do it well has been clearly demonstrated. What remains 

 to be done is to speed up the work to reduce its cost. 



PrESide;,nt MeyeRvS — Hudson County is represented by Mr. 

 Lewis E. Jackson, the executive secretary. 



Mr. Lewis E. Jackson — Outstanding- in the category of ''New 

 and Unusual Features in Mosquito Control" is the draining of 

 cedar stump salt marsh by a system of ditches with an average 

 interval of 1,000 feet. 



The permanent drainage of a section of the Frank Creek ter- 

 ritory was completed in 1921 by the Hudson County Commis- 

 sion by the installation of such a system, comprising 15,882 

 lineal feet of ditches thirty inches in width and of the present 

 standard depth of thirty inches, serving an area of 357 acres of 

 low-lying marsh. The area forms a part of a tract of 1,100 

 acres entirely enclosed, the surface of which is an average of 

 one foot below mean low tide, and from which the water is 

 lifted by the means of two electrically driven centrifugal pumps, 

 having a maximum capacity of 4,000 gallons per minute. The 

 number of feet of thirty-inch ditches per acre in this new system 

 is forty-four . or one hundred thirty-two- feet per acre on the 

 basis of the standard ten-inch ditch, which is remarkably low 

 for any marsh. 



In employing ditches thirty inches in width, the commission 

 is following its general policy, established two years ago, of 

 using ditches of increased capacity to provide for quicker take- 

 off, especially advantageous in removing the winter accumula- 

 tion of water, and for adequate storage. Such ditches also have 

 the additional advantages of less friction and lower cost of 

 up-keep. 



This experiment of draining sections of marsh 1,000 feet in 

 width by one ditch to each section proved successful in every 

 way. The entire area was 100 per cent, drained, using the term 

 "drained" with due regard for its meaning, resulting in absolute 

 control throughout the season. Although the summer was a 

 particularly dry one we are confident, from our observations of 

 the effectiveness of these ditches, that they provide the desired 

 element of safety under any condition likely to develop. 



Although breeding on the salt marsh commenced at the early 

 date of March 17th and continued heavy throughout the Aedes 

 cantator breeding period, it is notable that the emergence of 



