137 



urban residential sections where breeding is seldom found, yard 

 inspections need not be made as frequently as I have suggested, 

 but for village and open country I cannot urge too strongly the 

 need of repeated and systematic inspections. 



Assign adjoining sections to your inspectors each day and 

 have them sweep through the territory in a group. This has 

 two distinct advantages; it simplifies the handling of the men 

 and makes it possible to concentrate the following day's oiling 

 in one locality. 



It is absoltuely essential that the men acting as inspectors 

 realize the importance of covering every foot of the territory 

 ini their sections. ''Never take anything for granted," is one 

 rule in this work that cannot be broken without disastrous 

 results. Just because a cistern has a stone cover is no guarantee 

 that mosquitoes are not coming and going at will through the 

 coping. Just because a pond is full of fish is no sign that it is 

 not still more full of Anopheles wrigglers. I have seen the 

 Millstone River go ten feet out of its banks, and when the flood 

 subsided I have found the swamp holes along the banks black 

 with larvae and pupae. Mosquitoes will breed in horse troughs 

 in constant use; in the barrels truck farmers use for washing 

 vegetables; in hoof prints in pasture lots; in flush tanks of 

 vacant dwellings; in ponds with a heavy coating. of duck weed; 

 in clear cold springs and in running streams. I have even found 

 them in a tub of peas put out to soak behind a Chinese restaurant. 

 Nor is it always an easy matter to find the larvae after the water 

 is located. It is not advisable to depend entirely upon, sight, 

 even in comparatively clear water. Repeated dipping is the 

 safest procedure. Nets are often used for this purpose, but 

 becomie fouled too quickly. Ai lonig-handled, white enameled 

 dipper gives the most satisfaction. On the other hand, while 

 dropping a bucket into a well or cistern may give negative 

 results, the use of a pocket mirror to reflect a little sunlight to 

 the bottom will often disclose breeding. 



Inspectors are not infallible, neither are they all honest. Some 

 check on their work is necessary. The method that produces the 

 best results with the least annoyance to ithe m,en, is tO' have a 



