Voi.. LXVII. No. 3055. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST 15, 1908. 
WEEKLY, $1.00 PER YEAR. 
A STATE FIGHTS THE MOSQUITO. 
“New Jersey is famous all the zvorld over for two 
things—its good roads and its bad mosquitoes!” 
The above is taken from the report of a commit¬ 
tee of the New Jersey Legislature, which urged the 
passage of laws and appropriation of money enough 
to put the mosquitoes on a par with the Jersey roads. 
I hey knew well that the only good mosquito is a 
dead one. In this same report the committee stated 
the following business proposition: 
New Jersey contains 7,514 square miles 
(land surface), or 4,800,2.18 acres. On the 
assumption that the salt marsh mosquito 
may become a pest 20 miles Inland, we 
find (see map) that more than one-third of 
the State, or 2,000,000 acres, is affected by 
the salt marsh mosquito nuisance. It is 
worthy of note that: these 2,000,000 acres 
are Inhabited by more than 80 per cent 
of tlie entire population of the State. With 
tlie salt marsh mosquito nuisance eliminated 
the value of these 2,000,000 acres would 
surely Increase to the amount of $5 per acre, 
average. Thus, there would he an addition 
to the value of lands In the State of $10,- 
000,000. With a tax rate of one per cent 
this would add to tlie taxes payable within 
the State $100,000 every year thereafter. 
I he Legislature finally appropriated 
$550,000 to he used in destroying the 
salt marsh mosquitoes if such a thing 
were possible. The experiment station 
is responsible and the work is in charge 
of Prof. John B. Smith, probably the 
best equipped man for the work in this 
country, if not in the world. My pur¬ 
pose is to tell our readers just what 
New Jersey is trying to do, for I am 
satisfied that within a few years the 
results will be so apparent that some¬ 
what similar work will be taken up all 
over the country. 
1 here can be no doubt regarding the 
evil reputation which mosquitoes have 
pinned upon New Jersey. They are ap¬ 
propriately called “Jersey birds” and 
many people actually believe that the 
varieties found in New Jersey are 
larger and more bloodthirsty than others. 
The reason for this is that thousands 
have been bitterly disappointed by these 
Jersey birds.” From Sandy Hook to 
Cape May there are 128 miles of ocean 
front admirably adapted for Summer 
resorts. As will be seen from the map, 
this coast is bordered by a salt marsh, 
from which millions of mosquitoes arise 
to make life more than a burden for 
visitors at hotels and cottages. Many 
of these people have been frightened 
at the swarms of bloodsuckers which 
attack them, and they have hastened 
away, cursing New Jersey and all the 
State contains. These “Jersey birds” 
swarm in all directions—along the 
fringe of beach and back into the State 
to the west. If, by draining the marshes 
this plague can be abated, this legislative 
without discomfort. All of a sudden the air seems 
full of them. A swarm has blown in from the 
marshes so that no matter how careful people may 
be to destroy the local mosquitoes they cannot he 
entirely free, so long as there are breeding places on 
the marsh. Thus Prof. Smith's plan was to spend 
the State’s money in draining the marshes, leaving 
the problem of killing local mosquitoes to individuals 
and towns. On June 15 I went to the Chcesequakes 
meadows, below South Amboy, with Prof. Smith to 
committee is quite within reason in its figures. Let 
us realize first just what the problem in New Jersey 
is. Away from marshes there are no more local mos¬ 
quitoes than in any other State, and they can he con¬ 
trolled locally. The millions that are bred on 
salt marsh are at times blown inland lo miles 
more, suddenly appearing and as suddenly enc 
their visit. There are many towns six miles or more 
from the marsh where for days or weeks there will 
hardly be a mosquito, and people will sit outdoors 
A HOMEMADE ENGINE AND PLOW. Fig. 286 . 
see how it was done. The plan is so simple that it 
is no wonder people who have expected some elab¬ 
orate operations have been led to think no progress 
is being made. Prof. Smith’s plan simply is to take 
the stagnant water from the marsh, so that no stand¬ 
ing pools or wet places will be left. To accomplish 
this a network of ditches about 30 inches deep and 
10 inches wide are cut in the marsh some 150 feet 
apart, and draining into an outlet creek or river 
through which the tide flows. This ditching is 
usually enough to drain the marsh, though some¬ 
times the deeper places must be filled. This work 
is done by machines which I will attempt to describe 
next week, but first let us understand why this 
drainage promises to be all that is necessary. 
1 he theory of mosquito fighting is based upon a 
study of the insect’s life history. A good farmer 
aims to kill the weeds while they are very small, or 
even before they sprout. Knowing when and how 
they will spring up, he can plan accordingly. In the 
same way New Jersey, the giant mos¬ 
quito fighter, cannot wait until her 
“birds” have grown large enough to 
bite and then slap them one by one. 
They must be killed not one at a time, 
but by the million, before they hatch or 
even before the eggs are laid. First, 
therefore, it was necessary to work out 
the life habits and know just how to 
attack them. 
It is absolutely impossible for any 
kind of mosquitoes to develop except 
in water. After the eggs hatch the 
“wigglers” or young larva; can only live 
in water, and they will die unless kept 
in it for a week or 10 days. To most 
of us a mosquito is a mosquito, but 
the entomologist knows that there arc 
more distinct varieties than there are 
‘breeds of cattle, each with its peculiar 
habits. Prof. Smith says there are 33 
species in New Jersey, only three of 
them being unable to bite. Four of 
them breed on the salt marshes, two 
being first-class pests. The worst one 
in the State is known as Culex sollici- 
tans—a picture of it, greatly enlarged, 
being shown at Fig. 287. This “Jersey 
bird” has held down the value of prop¬ 
erty all along the Jersey coast, and a 
brief sketch of the life history will 
show the object of the drainage work. 
Sometimes, back from the marshes, the 
traveler will start up a swarm of these 
pests and conclude that they breed and 
develop on the grass and weeds. That 
is a mistake. This variety breeds only 
on the salt marsh and is carried inland 
by the wind. This insect winters in the 
egg stage. These eggs are laid in the 
marsh mud—not in the water or on 
grass and weeds, but In low places, 
which may be filled later by rain or by 
a high tide. Instinct apparently teaches 
the female mosquito to put her eggs in 
such location. She lays on the average 
about 200 eggs, and they rest in the 
mud until the warm weather heats the 
soil and water sufficiently, when they 
hatch or produce the little “wigglers” 
which most country people have seen 
in stagnant pools. These wigglers mufct 
live in water for seven to 10 days be¬ 
fore they change into mosquitoes. 
Should the water in the puddle or pool 
where they are started dry out before 
a week they will die as surely as fish would under 
similar conditions. I brought back a bottle of water 
containing these wigglers from the marsh, and have 
been watching them develop. They breathe through 
the tail, and every few minutes they rise to the sur¬ 
face, stick their tails out of the water and take air. 
Shake up the water and they will drown, being 
unable to get air unless the surface is smooth. That 
is apparently why mosquitoes do not breed success¬ 
fully in running water or in large ponds where the 
