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aldermen and the board of estimate, also the plan for an educa- 

 tional campaign known as Mosquito Week was his conception, 

 and its scope was outlined by him. 



To my mind the solution of the mosquito problem is simply 

 a matter of intelligent engineering. Such a statement made 

 twenty years ago would have subjected the person making it 

 to ridicule, and grave doubts as to his mental soundness would 

 have been raised. As a matter of fact, twenty years agO' the 

 extermination of mosquitoes was not believed possible by any 

 method, and consequently no systematic campaign was inaugu- 

 rated to rid the country of them. 



As one of the pioneers in the work, with sixteen years prac- 

 tical experience behind me, I have found only three effective 

 methods of mosquito extermination. First, filling — this is an 

 absolutely permanent method, but in most cases prohibitively 

 costly. Second, drainage — this is also an absolutely effective 

 and really cheap method when properly done. When not prop- 

 erly done it is worse than useless. Third, oiling- — this method 

 is effective when done thoroughly and at sufficiently frequent 

 intervals, but it is only useful for inland work. This method is 

 expensive and at best is only a temporary make-shift, and its 

 use is not advisable when permanent methods are available. 

 In short, therefore, the drainage method, taking all other factors 

 into consideration, is unquestionably the best. It is effective, 

 it is cheap, and when properly maintained it is permanent. 



Just a word in relation to the use of oil on the salt marshes. 

 To oil so large a territory, which is constantly subjected to tidal 

 influence, with suflicient frequency to make the work effective 

 would involve a prohibitively large expenditure of money for 

 oil and labor. 



The greatest of all requirements for mosquito extermination 

 is thoroughness. The work must be done so thoroughly that 

 no breeding places are left. The area to be drained should be 

 carefully inspected foot by foot, and no doubtful places omitted, 

 for the prolificacy of the insect is so enormous that even a few 

 breeding places left in a drained area will in a measure nullify 

 the work done. 



