P. H. Bahr 
143 
This he attributes to the amount of uncleared jungle in the vicinity, 
into which the anophelines retire during the daytime. I failed to find 
any anophelines in the houses of Habage village (Appendix II a) during 
an extensive search in the daytime. 
The areas in which these anophelines breed. 
For this purpose we have to consider the main sheets of water found 
in Kurunegala town. I propose to say a few words about each area 
in turn. 
(1) Paddy Fields; within the town limits these extend over an area 
of about 300 acres. The majority of these fields act as breeding grounds 
of mosquitoes only at certain seasons of the year when they are flooded, 
and more especially, according to Gunasekara’s observations, when the 
water is subsiding and leaving small isolated pools behind. Certain 
fields supplied by the town wells and by the irrigation channel from 
Wenaruwewa tank (vide PI. X, fig. 5) are, however, nearly always more or 
less under water. By reference to the map it will be seen that the paddy 
fields in the town are supplied with water from two main sources. The 
block on the Negombo road is supplied from the Kurunegala tank by an 
irrigation channel eventually joining the Boo Ela ; the other two blocks, 
one on the Colombo road, the other near the railway station, are supplied 
by an irrigation channel from the Wenaruwewa tank, situated one mile 
without the town limits. Water is supplied from this tank twice weekly, 
or whenever possible, mainly for filling the locomotive sump at the 
railway station, with which it is connected. 
According to Gunasekara’s observations these permanently flooded 
fields act as a constant breeding ground of anophelines all the year 
round. 
(2) Tanks. There are two tanks to be considered, the main tank 
and a bathing tank (vide PI. X, fig. 4), on the Puttalam road ; both 
are stocked with fish. No larvae have ever been found in either, so 
they may be dismissed as factors in the situation. 
(3) Irrigation Channels. When properly graded and when the water 
is flowing fast, little danger is to be expected from this source. The 
natives, however, are in the habit of partially damming up these 
channels in order to catch fish, thus creating stagnant pools, in which 
anophelines breed. This practice should be forbidden. The side channels 
leading off from the main channels are also a source of danger. These 
are so graded that the water has gradually to well up from below in 
