*9 
Usually these houses have improperly screened or unscreened cisterns, 
and the cellars and back yards are often littered with a collection of 
rubbish which favours mosquito propagation. 
In workshops the water-trough of the grindstone, the tub by the 
forge, and, in offices, even the water receptacle used for wetting the 
brush for the copying book have been found to harbour eggs or 
larvae. 
Builders also too frequently neglect to screen the barrels used for 
storing water for mortar making, etc. In the digging of foundations 
for buildings the soil is heaped up and puddles formed. On the iron 
girders which are left lying about for a long time, rain-water can 
collect in the depressions. 
In some of the street gully-pipes, at the man-holes leading to the 
sewers, the mouth of the upright pipe is fully 3'5 cm. or more above 
the surface of the cement. Here month after month quantities of 
Stegomyia larvae are found breeding. 
The municipality is responsible for the existence of many fountains 
in the city which again are simply breeding places for mosquitos. 
Swamps and 1 gar apes. 
Numerous swamps* and igarapes are to be found in the city proper, 
and the inhabitants in these localities suffer from the effects of 
malaria. 
The very extensive swamp in the valley at the back of Ruas 
Cearense, Ferreira Penna and Commendador Clementino (Plan 5), is 
responsible for the presence of much malaria and anaemia among the 
residents on both sides of the valley. In 1908 a partial filling was 
attempted, but up to my departure, in January, 1909, no improvement 
was observable. The sides of the valley are much contaminated with 
refuse. Many women use the place for washing clothes. 
The igarape crossing Rua Occidental behind Rua Monsenhor 
Coutinho (Plan 4) is also a prolific breeding ground. 
The igarape at the back of Rua Luiz Antony and extending up 
to Rua 10 de Julho (Plan 2) is a source of much disease. Much 
washing of clothes is done here, and the breeding of mosquitos is 
further helped by the barrels sunk by the washerwomen in the soil 
* Newstead, R., and Thomas, H. W.; The mosquitos of the Amazon Region. 
Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Vol. IV, No. 1, p. 141-142, 1910. 
