Man's Gain in Health and Food Supplies: Insects who Assist Human Efforts A large gathering of members of the Union Church Liierary) and Social Guild listened to a very interesting lecture in the Union Church Hall, on Wednesday evening, when Mr. A. de C. Sowerby, F.R.¢.5., spoke on "The Advantages of Biological Research." The subject was discussed under four headings—health, economics, philosophy and education.
In connexion with the first, Mr. Sowerby dealt at length with a topic of unfailing interest locally, particularly in the summer—the ravages of the mosquito. He showed how many scientists presented the view that the mosquito was the main cause of the spread of malaria, any doubts there may have been being finally swept away by the discoveries of Sir Ronald Ross. Scientists held the same opinion with regard to yellow fever and many brave men sacrifice ed their lives in order to prove thely contention, one of the most noteworthy being Dr. Lazear, who deliberately submitted himself to mosquito bites, from which he contracted yellow fever and died. He then described the final triumph of Colonel Gorgas, who went to the Panama Canal Zone and, by his scientific and relentless attack on the mosquito, made the district a healthy place for white men to live in and rendered it possible for the Americans to successfully carry through the great work which had beaten the French.
Mr. Sowerby referred briefly to experiments made by the Shanghai Municipal Council and quoted the conclusions of doctors that the only real way to rid the Settlement of the mosquito nuisance was to fill up all the creeks and ponds of stagnant water with which Shanghai abounds. With this opinion, he said, he fully concurred. He had heard that there was some objection to the filling up of some ponds which were under suspicion, but, apart from that, a most important work could be accomplished in doing away with all the little creeks and useless patches of water found about the roadsides in all districts of the Settlement. He mentioned other pests, such as fleas and ticks, the carriers of typhus, plague and other scourges and showed that' it was the discovery of the life histories of these Parasites which had given to scientists the means of combatting the spread of many diseases.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.