Flyless Mountain

Many scientists, especially those who study living wild creatures, are leary of DDT. It does too good a job, upsets the balance of nature. By killing innocuous insects, it starves insectivorous birds. By killing bees and other pollinators, it keeps plants from producing seeds. If it gets into water, it may kill fish.

Last year, a group of nature-loving scientists at New York's American Museum of Natural History decided to find out how DDT could be used against harmful insects without hurting innocent wildlife. As a test area they chose five square miles of Bear Mountain Park, a popular resort infested with pestiferous, germ-spreading flies.

They did not drench the entire five square miles with DDT. Instead, fly expert Dr. C. H. Curran began to prowl the park, mapping it from a fly's point of view. From intimate knowledge of fly psychology, he knew what places they would consider beauty spots, where they would go for refreshment, amusement and procreation.

All those favorite resorts, but no others, he ordered sprayed with long-lasting DDT dissolved in kerosene with other killer chemicals. Last week he proudly announced the result: after two seasons, extermination. Employes at the park inn and camps never saw a fly all summer, though dining rooms went unscreened, food unguarded. The park's wildlife population was practically unaffected. Total cost for this year: $700, or 1-c- per guest per week.

Mosquitoes, too, were getting their comeuppance:

P: Last week, Drs. W. T. Sumerford and Eugene P. Odum of the University of Georgia reported on DPE, a DDT relative with fewer chlorine atoms in its molecule. Sprayed on water, it kills the unwanted mosquito larvae without killing fish.

P: The Naval Medical Research Institute made its war-developed insect repellent #448 available to the public. Sprayed, it kills the insects it hits, and chases off newcomers. Rubbed on the skin, it keeps crawlers and biters away for at least eight hours.

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