CO129-403 - Governor Sir May Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1913 [8-10] — Page 322

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The percentage of houses in which larvae were

found to the number of houses visited varied markedly with

the season of the year and the positive results obtained

by Inspector Watson are much higher than those recorded by

the Sanitary Staff.

Table I records the monthly number of visits and

the number in which larvae were found; this is also shown

graphically in Table from these tables, it will be seen

that Inspector Watson found larvae in from 80% of the houses

visited downwards to almost nil in the cold weather in

February.

On the other hand, the highest percentage of larvae

found to visits paid by the Sanitary Staff was 10%. Judging

from the visits which I have myself paid I do not think that

Inspector Tatson's figures overestimate the prevalence of

mosquito larvae in houses in the City of Victoria; his results

would in fact have been considerably higher but for the fact

that he became so well known to the Chinese that his appearance

in a street was signal for a general emptying of pots,water

barrels etc. with the result that after the first few houses

had been done only empty dishes were found.

It is probably true that in the Summer almost every

chinese house has mosquito larvae somewhere, either in the

kitchen, backyard, flower pots etc.; there is a marked season-

able variation, very few larvae being obtained in January

and February.

The number of samples of larvae sent in for

examination was 1238. This number would have been very much

larger but for the fact that it was not possible to carry

separate