lOI 



So in all you will agree with me, I hope, that we have in this 

 small State of ours a very interesting problem, and in this not 

 only interesting in itself, but economically important in so far 

 as the populations of our large communities are concerned. 

 Within the next ten or twenty years there is certain to be notable 

 development in the direction of land reclamation in New Jersey. 



President DarnaIvI. — Before we adjourn, gentlemen, I wish 

 to make an announcement. In order to get our program through 

 to-morrow it will be necessary for us to convene at 8:30. 



Now, we have still a few minutes left, and I want to intro- 

 duce to you ladies and gentlemen a man who will have some- 

 thing very interesting to say, and I think it would pay you a 

 few minutes longer to hear him on it, because he has a message 

 from his heart. I want to introduce to you for a very short talk 

 Mr. Gaskill, who is the Director of the Department of Conserva- 

 tion and Development of New Jersey. 



Mr. Alfred Gaskili. — Dr. Darnall is entirely right when he 

 says that I have something tO' say by way of a message to this 

 gathering. It cannot be, unfortunately, any statement of accom- 

 plishment such as you have heard from those connected with the 

 active mosquito work in the various counties ; it cannot be a pro- 

 gram for the development of agricultural lands ; because, ad- 

 mirable and important as all that is, in my view it lies still in 

 the future. This Convention at least is concerned with an im- 

 mediate problem, one which is pressing hard on the whole people. 

 And it is a marvel in the sense that there has been so much ac- 

 complishment along very practical lines. 



Now, what I want to say is this : When the Department of 

 Conservation and Development was created a year and a half 

 ago the board, after looking about over the work that it was 

 expected to undertake, found very quickly that one of the big 

 problems of development in this State was ridding our territory 

 of the reproach of the mosquito. For, go where you will, Jersey 

 is famous for mosquitoes if for nothing else. It is perfectly 

 clear from what has been said here that the elimination or con- 

 trol, if you will, of this pest is an absolute condition precedent 

 to the development and extension of all sorts of interests in this 



