AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.

Gisborne Times, 3 April 1907, Page 4

AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT.

,FISII AS NATURAL lON KM I .ICS OF MOSQUITOS.

Tho. niosquiUK* - ; nvo «>m> of Uw pluguos of .lift’. '! lio.v till, It it ill:) 11 blood "'ibl) 11 10 goinis ol malaria (says I-bo Sydney, Herald) in the same manuor tliat.T to lloa convoys the plague gornis. I lie mosquitoes form tlimr boats of eggs, and-moor thorn to a weed -or other floating object. The larvae mosquitoes have no choice in respect to the quantitv of water necessary for them to brood from. A. bucketful left standing for a day or so will bo sure to att.net them. A 'IOO-gallon tank literally swarms with them, and so determined are they to reach the water for breeding purposes that thov are often times driven to gain admission to the tank' hv means of the downpipe leading from the roofs. All open wnterhole is a perfect paradise lor them. They aro the source of all trouble- in low-lying or marshy countries. • . To get rid of the mosquito is to a very largo extent _ tii rid certain countries of malaria. The remedy has been discovered in fresh water fish, which delight to make a meal oil mosquito larvae.- few, fish of any fresh water variety put into places where the mosquitoes breed ivili soon devour the larvae, and in this way purify the water by preventing the decomposition of the.chrysalis case ol tlie various insects passing through one stage of their metamorphosis in water, tiut in hrond 'areas of marsh.v country where there is but a small depth of water the difficulty has been to obtain a fish which can exist in such places. An experiment, however, is a omit to lie made with a view ol solving the difficulty. Mr. Gale, of Stanmore, who has made fresh water fish a study for many years, and who has a very fine collection ill tho aquarium at his residence, has been visited by tho Italian. Consul, who recently returned from a visit to Italy, andwho is anxious to secure fish to clear the larvae mosquito from the swamps. The Consul was much pleased when informed that in Now South "Wales there were fish that would go into shallow .waters for feeding purposes, and Mr Snlo demonstrated to his i isitor the power of !h? fisli to-de-stroy the larvae by gathering a quantity' from his mosquito-breeding grounds in the. garden and placing it in the fish tanks. " The Consul commissioned- Mr. Chile to obtain <>oo of this particular class of fish and puck them for Italy. They can lie carried alive in properly filled airtight casks containing certain proportions of water. Should the venture .prove a success it is the intention of the authorities lo introduce large quantities of the fish into the swampy lands of Italy and other parts of the world.