MALARIA EXPEDITION TO THE GAMBIA 
39 
and such will require special attention. The public should be encouraged to report 
to the inspector when the mosquitoes are troublesome in order to help on the work. 
The town drains will require special attention at the beginning, and more so 
at the end of the wet season (October and November), and it will be probably 
necessary to increase the staff of workmen at these times to keep them tree trom 
larvae, especially the" grass-clogged drains. In the dry season (tor seven months) 
they need scarcely any attention, with one most important exception, viz., the main 
drains to the sluice gates ; in these it has been shown that sea water collects at this 
time of the year, and in it many mosquito larvae are found ; regular application of 
kerosine oil to these drains, I believe, would be the most feasible method of treatment. 
In the dry season, also, no special inspection of the swamps is necessary, as 
they are dried up at this time, but holes and depressions which have been found to 
act as breeding-places in the wet season can now be filled in with sand, etc., by the 
workmen. The swamps will require attention like the drains, more especially at the 
beginning and end of the wet season, when pools are shut off from the main mass of 
water ; 1 believe it will be found that in the height of the wet season few mosquitoes 
breed in these swamps. At this time the swamp is practically an open sheet of water 
exposed to winds, and is well-stocked with fish ; it will thus probably be more 
necessary to pay attention to the hollows in the streets and compounds bordering 
these swamps. 
It cannot be expected that Bathurst will be appreciably treed from mosquitoes 
at once, solely by the energies of the mosquito brigade, because, it must be remem- 
bered, breeding-places occur which require more special attention than others ; tor 
example, it will probably be necessary to deal with the small private wells and boats 
on the foreshore by legislation : also engineering work, such as levelling streets, making 
proper street drains, and filling in the swamps will necessarily take some time. 
Still, Bathurst, by means of the special anti-mosquito staff, can 
certainly be made as free from mosquitoes all the year round as it is 
in the height of the dry season ; and, further, there is every reason to 
believe that mosquitoes can be diminished in numbers to a great 
extent, more especially by means of the house-to-house inspection. 
