New-York tribune. [volume], August 22, 1897, Page 14, Image 36

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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MOSQUITOES AND MALARIA.
ABE THE FORMER THE CHIEF VEHICLES
? ?K THE LATTIMI'.'
\ \?:?: TRAITS OF A NEWLY DISCOVERED
PARASITE ? STARTMNQ T11EORT
Th? extraordinary prevalence and pernicious
:: tlvlty of tn.? mosquito In this ? art of the
country during the last few weeks calls atten?
tion ? ' a theory which has been wldel) discussed
I .. m? di? al . \?. rts ibroad for more than a year.
l; may be said, certainly with a show of truth?
fulness, that thla destroyer of human bapptni
has enough sins to answer for already without
the addition of any further counts t?> the indict?
ment, especially if these bitter cannot be fully
established. That, however, is a question of
ethics which need not lie dlacusaed in this con
nectlon. The mosquito will be given a chance
t.? stai?? ii. r side of th.? case before judgment is
rend red. it is "her" side, because the natural
? di lai?? that only femai,? mosquitoes do the
bi ng How tii?? male mosquito geta Ins living
? .? are n"t told.
Not long after Lavorati discovered (?is be did
a*, .ut Bevente? n y? ars ago) that there is a para
s.t? p. ullar to malarial diseases, lu? found that
this microscopic creature ex! ted not only in the
blood . f fever and ami?? pati? nts but also in the
stomachs of mosquitoes. Up to date ibis par
tlcular form <?f lif?? has not been found in any
other animal or inse?-t. Laveran was thus led
t ? impeci that th? mosquito was an agent in the
<;.-: n.lnatlon ?f malaria! poison. For more
t.i..?: a decade, however, th?? medical profession
?..... disinclined t?. accept the parasitic theory of
?. laria. In the mean timi?, naturally, the m? ??
?; ? was Ignored. Hut within the last two
v?,.: such convincing evidence lia.?? been pre?
sented by Independent Investigators that th??
tirsi part of Lav? ran's announcement is ????
crall) ? ?nsidered altoKether correct, it is now
l: ? ? l ?. ther? fore, t" consider the other part of
ii Low fat. if at all, is th? mosqult ? responsi
?? i??! ih?? distribution of malarial parasites
a:o? ng human ubji ? is?
If the question wen pul it: th? opposite fash
Ion It might i"? answered easily Th?? mosquito
tir?. ? hei Li l ? 'W a far enough Into a man's
hand to suck blood She drinks hei till, if she
'. not nterruptcd. Of whatever microbes, para
sltei ? Inanimate poison that fluid contains, she
i sure to take a sample, If she gets mor.? than
: :,? likes, "f if she has an attack "f chills and
fever a week or two later in consequence, <>f
? ? irsi . that is her own lookout. Sim does not
paj for what she takes, and cannot justly blame
her vieti,;. Th?? mosquito la credited with let
tini sevcrelj alone people who indulge freely in
alcoholic beverages la the int. risi of public
morality, perhaps that fact oughl to be con?
cealed Nevertheless, ii reveals th.? possession
?>f certain powers ??;' discernment. Ani if a
mosquito knows enough not to touch an "old
: iak." it is ? fair presumption that she has in
telllg nee en lugh to abstain from bloi d Imbued
with inalai ?a! poison if it disagrees with her
live
But thai is no) ih>? point Th?? real problem
is. bow do th? parasites get back again into
human l?l.!? This matter was discussed at
consldi rabie I? ngth In an address given last
year by Dr. Patrick Manson, physician to the
Seamii s Hospital in London and lecturer in
two other hospitals in that city. Dr. Manson
says that a few ?lays after gorging herself with
blood the mosquito lays lor eggs in the water
and tli. i: dies. The parasites that ar?? left in her
body ? ventually become free, and then may b??
drunk with tie? water, if the pond where? th?!
mosquito ?li. a should dry up. and the parasites
are 'left m the sediment, they may be blown
about with Ihe ?lust, and thus be breathed ?nto
th human system In corroboratlon of one
part ??: this theory Dr. Donald Loss, of India,
groui l op some "malarlalised mosquitoes" in
water ga> ? small quantity "f th?? latter to a
healthy native, who. eleven days later, ?1. v? loped
? ?'.?. r and agu? ,
G. might 1.bjecti I that, while tins is a natu?
ral and possible way of communicating disease
tu a huiean subject, it Is not the only one, and,
in fact, it might seem to be the least probable
of a number of ways. Dr. Manson, in antici?
p?t:??!, "f that argument, goes int.? th?? life his
t >r> an ? nature of the parasite very fully. p0r
different malarial diseases there ar?? different
species ?>f th?? parasite. Some an more readily
detected than others, ?m they all behave in
about the same manner. If. at the very begin?
ning of a malarial attack, especially during a
?hill, th?? blood ??? examined, it will be found
that ih?!?" ar?? minute clumps "f cells, like a
? roscoplc mulberry or hunch of grapes, each
? 1th a .lark ?pot in it. They ar?? Inclosed in a
thin shell "f haemoglobin. Later In the course
of th?? disease some of these escape fen: the
shell, and are floating around sepi rately. Each
r olojl". though, is a distended red corpuscle
!: which there are on.? or more parasites Th??
latter undergo Borne change ot form, bui rarelj
?? :ap? m m the confines "f th.? corpuscle If
?.?..? does, a burly, ravenous phagocyte poun< s
ori it and .h ws it up. l'ha:? ..vi?- by the way,
.?.' certain ? "Ils in lh? blood w hii h ar?? en dited
? :'. .at ng miir lies and other pernicious
things, and thus performing a wonderfully
beneficent function. unless a little blood be
taken rialti ..ut of th.? verna, therefore, iti som,.
?. waj as ih- mosquito takes it. l?r Man-.?
thinks thai tii.? parasites would never hav.? a
chance t.. reach other human subje? is t?. y
do not im imi th.? excretions nor int?, ih.? m
tesiinal canal. They do nul travel the roUK a
by which most microbes pass from ?.ne pet ?n
t? another. Bo long as thcj hav.? a human
domicile, their only hope "f safety is in lying
low and staying Insule of s corpuscle, in fact,
belonging as ihey do to the "passiv. " class of
parasites, they ?.? not (according t.? Dr. M in?
s. .m exert themselves especially while they are
in th?? human body.
After they "..?! into a m equit?, on tl.ther
hand, this Investigator believes lhal they be
have very differently. To i.?? sin?-?, he has not
carried his researches far enough to prove ihe
? ilnt He hi ? ? s to do s ? ? ventually. Al pres?
ent he reas ins fr ?m analogy. Thi re Is an ?thei
para: it,?, called th? filarla sometimes found in
human blood. It is supposi d to be lb? cans ? "f
the disease known sa elephantiasis Dr. Man
Wah T.'-N'ish Is under na form "f restraint,
excepting ili?? traditional honor, an?! it will be ab
, ..bit? ly ..? his own motion that he will go from
, Kansas city to his death next Saturday nii;ht.
? Murderers condemned under Indian laws In the
, Territory are never imprisoned, but ar?? trusted
j t?. he or. hand ?>n '??? date of the execution, and
? it is raid that but ? ne man has. ver failed to keep
! his appointment.
PETROLEl M
?
FOR
UOSQl I TO ES.
Mil?: CRUDE OIL BREMA TO BR EFFICACIOUS
FOR DRIVING AWAY T*ME PESTS
Untesi nppearanrea ar- de?reptlve ami no faith
?an be put In successful trial experimenta, a
way has !.? discovered t?i eut short the itins
qulto's career. Just what is to be don?? with this
THE LAKE 1??????('??.\?: (?.?'G..
son says that this creature has be? p tak? p from
a person by a mosquito, in tbe regular course
>?f business, snd, wh ? thus transplanted, haa
developed powers of Inning and locomotl m
whi? h enabled it to work Its way from ti??? mos?
quito's stomach to some other part nf Its body
more favorable t. repose and multiplication
Dr. Manson bellev??* that the malaria parasite
d?.. .-? the san:?? thing.
Interesting as are these conjectures, the) of
fer little or no splsnation of the painful md
alarming eft* "'?? v. hi? h have attended mosquito
bites In this country within the last few weeks,
The swelling produced In many of these cases
suggests the possibility that the mosquito has
bodily conveyed a small amount of distinctly
poisonous matt? r un its proboscii from a person,
animal or putrid matter on which it may have
been f.lim: previously. Indeed, this s"?-ms t?i
be the most plausible theory that one can bit
upon Th?? mosquito Itself, if free from outside
contamination, would be incapable of doing so
much harm, especially to healthy ?.pie. The
subject needs, and deserves, a laborious Investi?
gation by American physicians. Whatever be
th?? real cans? of the effects in question, and
however defective Dr. Manson's theory regard?
ing the relations of the mosquito to malaria
may prove, the abolition ??f the breeding-places
of that Insect, by the drainage ?>f th?? Jersey
marshes, would meet with universal approval
REPRIEVED TO PLAY BASEBALL.
| Kansas ?'by correspondence ?if Th.? Cincinnati
Enquirer
Next Saturila) afternoon two teams of full
blooded Choctaw Indians from th?? ?reservation
| In Indian Territory will play a Kam?? of regula
? tion Indian ball, which is a cross betwei ? tennis
pest in c? rtain suburbs of New-York in ai? ?
coveting a pretty wide tract of country bus
long t.? actively debated, for an Intelligent
band of New-Jersey, Btaten Inland or I.ong isl?
and mosquitoes <.??? do more to hold down real
? tal values in a locality than any other known
force it has been proposed down -it Trenton, In
fact, to fill in the Newark and Jersey City
mradowa al great expense, firstly, t.. make
new lands for manufacturing sites, of course
but quite as much to kill ofl and ? ?xti rmlnate
ib.s plagues. All such projects, however, have
been m? r?? talk as yet. It has remained for a
Siai.il Islander t<> make the first practical I I
toward mosquito extermination, and his tests
hav?? met considerabl? succ
Tbe nun is Captain vV. B. Rockwi 1. of Mil
land Beach, and iiis method ia unique, it con?
sists of scattering crude petroleum over the
marshes directly back of the strip of sand that
forms this resort, by spraying and throwing th?
liquid from dippers The -il. he found, would
spread Itself over th- waters of tb- marshes for
a great distance, ami comparatively nub? ?ni
would suffire. Not only this, bul it would con?
tinue to float on the water for som.? time, kep
ing ?m throwing ?>?T the fume : that are de idly to
mosquito !?f'?.
it is in meadows near tin? sea, of course, that
mosquiteraraortswarn and in??-?), and this sug
gested to rapiniti Rockwell th?? project of cov?
ering, a? It were, the marshes with oil Th.
id? a ??f killing mosquitoes with petndeum is n?it
absolutely new. Th?? Government scientists at
Washington have known about it for som.? time,
and several successful eX| ? I nn. ntS are OB
record. But until Captain Rockwell tried it down
at Midland Reach thla had never been tried
upon a large seal?, ami when th- authorities
Til!?: D! IDUS DUN Al THE BOATHOU8H ?K III!; LAKH llnl'.Vl'i'ilNii CLUB.
ami football, at l'ait m.oint i'ark. In this city.
A.s soon as u,.? game is over ????? of the player?,
Wah-Te-Nieh, will hasten to Tuskabomma, Ind.
T., where he ? under si nteno t.? be sh??t for
murder. Tlie faci that one of Ihe players was
under sentence of death would probably not
have 1.p known had It not been that the Ind?
ians bad been engaged to play Inn? un August I,
ami that it was found necessary to postpone th??
??in.?? until next Saturday. Then it developed
? hai ..?..? .?? tb,? principal playera bad .another en?
gagement ? ?r tha' 'lay; that <?n Saturday he was
t.? ?.? shot ? ? murder. Application waa mad?? to
tin? choctaw Governor f??r a postponement <>f
th.? .??? utiin m order that Wah-Te-Nlsh mii?ht
take part in the bail game here, and the request
v.u.. ? ? ant. J. j
heard it waa to be attempted they were ex
??eedinnly ?loubtful of Its sue? ess.
A strip of marshland, three hundred by fifteen
hundred feet In extent. Immediately adjoining
the beach, was selected ior the experiment.
Four barrels of crmle petr ?hum were brought
over, u little over three being actually u?.?L
The time of the test was a little over a fort?
night ago. when the mosquitoes wore particu?
larly virulent and plentiful around New-York,
and th?? east ehore of Stolen Islam! was getting
mor?? than its fair share. The petroleum waa
scatti-i ed, as lias been said, by sprays ami dip
pei?, nnd it ?rept of Itself ab ng the water <>f
th?? entire marsh.
Until Just now it has 1?><?? a little to?, ?arly
to decide as t?. th?? practical efficacy of the
method, but tb?? fact that ni mosquiCora hav?
1.? at the beach since th?? p? tr. b-urn was ap
plled is good proof that then Is something in
tb- theory and that i? can be worked on a iarg~
seal??. Within an hour or so after it was put
,,n th" marshlan?! the plague was appreciably
abated, and within a short time all mosqultOOS
had vanished
Th?? experiment has attracted considerable at
tention, ami it is likely ?hit petroleum will be
tried at several places In N? vv-J.-i-s.-y ami ?.n
.Stab ? Island. i?f cours??, th?? oil will hav- to be
sprayed over the territory every few w?-?-ks, but
? t often enough, it is probable, to make its use
a costly method. Crmle petroleum only nota
something lik- il a barrel. There is a pungent
Odor from the marsh Just after it is put OB, but
not enough to be annoying.
?-?
TUB PRICRLY Moss OF \LASRA.
IT is WOIl! ;: THAN CHfOOKItg, BATS Mit. JUNKAlf.
Prom The Kansas City Journal.
Nothing ever happens anywhere In this old
world of "Uts unless a Kansas man is mixed up
in it in Borne important way. Just now the
papers are till, ?i with a<rcounta of Junesu, the
metropolla of Alaska, and this Is a town that
was founded by and named after ? man who is
now a resident "f Dod?xe City, Kan. Mr. II
Juneau Is the man. and for many years he has
been a resident of the Sunflower Stat . ai one
time being ngaged In th lumber business at
Wellington md later removing to l>? ?l?,'? City,
which has since beer hia residence, with th?? ?x
c? ptlon of '.h?- lime pa.;:?, d :n Alaska. The ?old
discoveries in th?? neighborhood of Juneau were
made by George Juneau, a cousin of the Kansas
man. in company with a man by the nani?? of
llanis. Th.? lini- settlement that was then
started w.u: called Harrisburg, but later- th??
mit:? rs changed its nani.? to Juneau, in honor of
ih- Kansas man, who had ?on.? I her?? on the in?
vitation of his cousin and establish? ?1 ? trading
ie o This was in 1881,and the Kansas Juneau
? p nnd in Alaska until 188ft, when he re?
lu: n-?l ... Sun :! ?v. .id-m.
? ? ? h- course of an interview with "The Dodge
?'ii? Republican" Mr. Juneau -ays:
? cannot s ??? the rea.-,? for advising travel
Yukon River route, a distane? of 2..????
nil or rrr??. from .Inn??.hi ? ? the Klondike ??old
fields, v. hen there is a shorter route, perhaps
mor?? difficult, but practical, which is over the
Chilki ' pasa a distance of four hundred miles
from tl?.?? town ? f Juneau. TI??? passai,'?? over the
Chilkool pass is novel, but has been performed
many years. This pass is about a hundred
nn.? ? rom Juneau. Indians, both men ami
? n. ar?? employed in making th?? ascent of
the pass They carry roods on their backs from
th- head of Linn Channel to th?? nearest point
wh re you srrik?? th?? Yukon River, a distance of
abo a seventy-five miles, ami charge $15 to $'in
per hundred pounds Two weeks is required to
make th- trip An Indian will carry a hundred
pounds besidea bis own clothing ami provisions,
weighing thirty pounds more. About two hun
dr. d Indiana were at one time employed in
carrying Roods over the ?.as.-, bm th- number
engaged in th- traffic mual be greater now.
Mill's and h?rnen are no rood in this mountain
climbing; ani besides no grass grows in that
country, and hay and feed shipped in th-r??
would b< ?rreal luxuries at enormous tirur-s.
Only a moss grows there. The country la t >?
rough for animal travel
"The country is covered ith moss, a vin- that
contains prickles as sharp as a porcupine, with
aawlike edges, with th- edges reversed ?a? point
Inr t?i you. They gel int.. th- flesh and Stick
deep Thes- pricks with th.? back barb break as
yon pull them out of your flesh, and a portion
remains m th- flesh. Th.? unly way to get them
out is t.? dig them out. Th.- pricks make a soi.?
Th--;. infernal prlclca are about one an?! one-half
I to two Inches long, and there is excruciating
pain when you pull these barbed pri.-ks from
your flesh. The chlgger ?s nowhere ?? compari?
son to the m?iss prick. Ex rept where the water
wears th.? eurface .<r the earth the country is
covered with mosa That Isoneof the difficulties
of travi. V\'h?r.? there Is no ice there 1?? moss
and devil's ?dub. the latter a vine that wimls
around anything it can clutch. Persons walking
I.????..me entwined in ? network of moss nnd
devil's club, and passi-,? is extremely difficult
and tortuous."
-?.??
LAKE Hot' l TCONG'8 dl \ I! Ms.
Till: ?ul INTRT CLUB'S HOME AND SOME OF
ITS LEADING MEMBKR8.
Charmingly situated on the banks ?.f Lake
Hopalrong, at an elevation thai secures for Its
members the most healthful conditions, the
Lake Hopatcong Country ciuh has come t?. be
?me ,.f the most successful un.J popular social
organisations m New-jersey.
Th- clubhouse, which was known som.? time
ago as th.- Ifot-1 Bn slin, is one of the best ap?
pointed and most luxuriously fitted in the Btate.
Th.? Aceden I fishing grounds that th?; lake af?
fords hav?? attracted to ih.? club a lar?.? number
of w.u known anglers, whose convenience in th?i
way ?>f special quarters for th.- Blacking ?.f rods
and other accessories of tin-ir pastime has ?.a
carefully studied. Til?? roads m the vicinity of
the club are excellent f..r bicycling, and at the
picturesque boat landing an electric launch is
always In readimess fir th?? .'iijoy-ment of the
members ami their families. The officers of Um
dub are: Albert Tilt, New-York, presnient; Gov?
ernor John W. ?iritis ami BL ?. C. Toung, Jer
sey i'ity. vice-presidents; (temerai William C.
Heppenhelmer, Jersey City, secretary, an?! (ten?
?ral Joseph W. Cong?l?>n, l'aterson, treasurer.
Th- Board of Covernors consists of Howard 1*.
Prothlngham, New-York; Lenite l>. Ward, New?
ark; George it. ??ray. Newark; Chartes B. Tnurs
ton, Jersey I'ity; Colonel John J. TofTey, Jersey
City; Colonel Joseph I). Bcdte, Jersey city; Roh
ert Dunlap, New-York; Charl.'s S. Reca, N'.'w
York, and Arthur Kyl?\ l\tt?Tson.
The club's membership list contains the names
of many well known men, among whom may be
mentioned Vice-President Hobart, Mayor Wurs?
ter of Brooklyn, Oeorge It. ??.-hanln, Dover;
Colonel IL A. Totter, East Orange; Colon. 1 Will