An Examination of the Efficacy of Arsenical Solutions in the Reclamation of Tsetse Areas

Abstract

In October of last year the Acting Game Warden of Uganda, Mr. G. Maitland Warne, forwarded to one of us some newspaper cuttings that he had received from Dr. E. Warren, Director of the Natal Museum. These cuttings, from the Natal Mercury of 1st, 25th and 30th August, set forth an interesting correspondence about the tsetse-fly problem in Zululand, and embodied practical suggestions for control of the fly on a large scale. Some time before, Mr. Cooper, of Cooper's Dip fame, had visited us at Entebbe and discussed the possibility of carrying out experiments on the effect of feeding tsetse on animals regularly dipped in arsenical solutions, the question having been raised in South Africa whether dipping might not prove to be a practical means of controlling fly. At the time of Mr. Cooper's visit it was not possible to undertake the investigations desired, but the arrival of Mr. Warren's communication found us in a better position.