197 



kind of skepticism with a conceded half belief in the movement, 

 and finally a well accepted conviction that the task can be 

 accomplished. At the present time, by reason of the results 

 already attained, there is everywhere a very general belief that 

 the work is effective. 



As a collateral or incidental benefit has been the great 

 stimulus to improvement in the sanitary condition of our com- 

 munities. Our frequent inspections of all yards and outlying 

 sections of inhabitated areas has led to the discovery of many 

 insanitary conditions and their abatement. Once the mosquito 

 has been rendered inoccuous, the sure result will be a concerted 

 attack upon the fly and other insect pests. 



From the purely economic standpoint it might be well to refer 

 to the papers read at different times before this Association by 

 Dr. Lipman, Director of the New Jersey Experiment Station. 

 There are hundreds of thousands of acres of good soil in 

 Southern New Jersey awaiting cultivation, the greatest deterrent 

 being the mosquito. It is Dr. Lipman's belief that the eradica- 

 tion of the mosquito will solve this problem. 



Thousands of splendid sites for summer colonies, the breath- 

 ing places in summer time of the busy city worker, only await 

 the word that the mosquito has been conquered to become centers 

 of health and recreation. 



In Northern New Jersey our suburban cities have been held 

 back, and often one season's prospective purchasers have taken 

 the back track and carried their values with them. Some years 

 since it was our personal observation that an individual stood 

 ready to purchase a residential property worth $20,000, but 

 after one season the pesky mosquito was the deciding factor in 

 giving up the property. 



The future holds the brightest promise for the absolute relief 

 from the mosquito. What shall we say of the vision of the 

 pioneers in their work? To look at our salt marshes inter- 

 sected with the all-protecting dike, our meadows saved from 

 the flooding tides by sturdy automatic tide-gates, our upland 

 swamps drained, our slimy pools in the midst of residential 



