Persons who live in malaria counties say that only a small pro- 

 portion of those suffering with malaria ever visit a physician, 

 so the figures probably fall far short of the actual number of 

 cases. They serve, nevertheless, to indicate the localities that 

 are heavily infested with Anopheles. 



There are several things about the distribution of malaria 

 which deserve mention. The entire western portion of the State 

 is practically free of malaria, as indicated by the small size of 

 the dots. This region is composed of mountains and mountain 

 valleys, the elevation is high, the climate is cool, and the country 

 generally well drained, so that the conditions are not very favor- 

 able for the breeding of mosquitoes. Also, the mountain streams 

 in this region contain running water throughout the year and 

 are usually well stocked with fish. There were seven counties 

 in this region that reported no cases of malaria, and at most 

 there were only a few. There were only 208 cases of malaria 

 reported from the entire 31 counties, or not more than occurred 

 in some of the villages in Eastern Virginia. Since these 31 

 counties contain 13,735 square miles, or an area nearly twice 

 that of the State of New Jersey, you know at once there is but 

 little opportunity for mosquito eradication work in this whole 

 region. 



The Piedmont, or eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 

 is, also', generally free from malaria. One sees by refere'"5ce tO' 

 the map that this' section is the long belt of country stretching 

 for 244 miles from the Maryland line and the banks of the Poto- 

 mac to the North Carolina line. It average about twenty-five 

 miles in width and embraces an area of more than 6,000 square 

 miles. The eastern edge of this area is from three hundred to 

 five hundred feet above the sea, while the western portion attains 

 an elevation of six tO' twelve hundred feet. Some of the land 

 is covered with timber and large areas are devoted to cattle 

 raising. The high altitude probably accounts for the small 

 number of cases O'f malaria reported fromi the counties in this 

 area. 



The great central portion of the State is usually referred to 

 as Middle Virginia. It is well supplied with streams, and a 



