The Caucasian

WIPING OUT A PEST

FAMOUS JERSEY 'SKEETER' MAY BE DOOMED TO EXTINCTION.

Citizens of the State Begin War With the Oil Can on the Venomous Insect, and Satisfactory Results Have Already Been Obtained.

[Special Correspondence.]

TRENTON, N. J., July 29.-With the announcement that the mosquito is responsible for many of the ills that beset mankind, notably malaria, it is pleasing to learn that at many points in this state an effort is being made to get rid of a pest that has long, and often unjustly, made New Jersey a by-word among other states of the Union.

It is contended by some that the evil can never be totally eradicated, but there is no doubt that a widespread attempt to wipe it out will be followed by marked and most satisfactory results.

Besides Trenton, where the state authorities are now making some very interesting experiments, other New Jersey towns, notably South Orange, are trying the use of crude petroleum oil as an offensive weapon against the mosquito. The municipal authorities of these different towns are greatly encouraged in their work by a most gratifying report from Hartford, Conn. There, under the supervision of the board of health, the low, marshy areas which border on the Connecticut river on the east side of the city have been liberally sprinkled with oil, the result being that the city has had comparative freedom from mosquitoes this summer.

In fact, in almost every case where petroleum has been employed an immediate scarcity of mosquitoes has followed. The method most generally followed with success is an extremely simple one. It consists in throwing large quantities of crude petroleum on the surface of stagnant pools and other sheets of water where the insects breed. An oily film forms on the surface, destroying all mosquito larvae in process of development. As a rule these pools of water are some little distance from habitations, so the danger of annoyance from the oil is generally at a minimum.

The old method of fighting the mosquito in New Jersey and one which has already proved successful has the objection of requiring a heavy expenditure. There are two things to be done under this plan. One is to fill in or drain every nearby swamp or pond and to reduce the whole place to a hard and smooth surface, absolutely bare of all vegetable growth that would give the mosquitoes a house of refuge.

That the mosquito is not a traveler has been proved by the experience of numerous places along the coast, such as Atlantic City, Ocean City, Spring Lake, Asbury Park, Elberon, Long Branch, Ocean Grove, Seabright and Monmouth Beach. These are all within a short distance of places where the insects breed by the million, but are free from the pest. Under the belief that if the same conditions should be established on the coast anywhere below Bay Head similar results would follow thousands of dollars have been spent at Bay Head, Mantoloking and Seaside Park in filling in and leveling those resorts, and the results have been most gratifying.

On the Jersey meadows drainage would have to be coupled with the petroleum method, and the area to be covered is so large that state aid would have to be invoked. Indeed, there is serious talk of beginning a movement in the legislature next winter looking to a war of extermination against the venomous mosquito. The implements of warfare would be the ditching spade, the grading scoop and the oil can and the chief item of ammunition the deadly petroleum.

The case of South Orange may be aptly cited as illustrating the efficiency of the oil can as used in this state. At South Orange the Village Improvement society has officially declared war on the pest. A fund has been raised, and all the stagnant pools around the village have been sprayed with kerosene at intervals of three weeks. The quantity of oil required was surprisingly small. In addition to this a number of low and marshy places have been drained. Hearty co-operation was secured on all sides, and as a consequence, while the pest has not been entirely destroyed, it has been wonderfully abated even during the wet season.

What South Orange is doing other towns are beginning to do, and a general movement is pretty sure to not only rid New Jersey of a baneful pest, but of an ill name among its neighbors.

The breeding place of the mosquito is the thing to get at, and, the home of the insect once destroyed, good results must follow in due time.

H. A. BRUCH.