Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/70

MOSQUITO. 56 MOSS. house-to-liouse work against the breeding places of tstegomyia, this work being carried on first by the medical officers of the United States Army, and later by the health authorities of the Cuban tiovernnient. Jlosquitues, as a rule, may be stupefied by burning pyrethruni powder (Per- sian insect powder). Thej" may also be deterred from biting by anointing the skin with oil of eitronella. Consult: Howard, ilosquitoes (New York, 1901) ; Ross, Mosquito Briyadvs (London, l'J02) ; Theobald, A Monograph of the CulicickE of the llorW (ib., 1901); Celli, Miliaria (ib.. 1900); Giles, (jiiats or Mosquitoes (2d ed., ib.. 1902) ; North Shore Improvement Association, Report on Mosquitoes (New York, 1902) ; Berkeley, Labo- ratory Work icith Mosquitoes (ib., 1902). MOSQUITO, mu.s-ke't6 (corruption of the native naini' Misslcito). A considerable people apparently made up of several tribes, which occupies that portion of the eastern coast of Nicaragua known from them as ilosquitia or the Mosquito Coast (q.v.). They are an intelligent people, short in stature, and usually very dark in color. This latter trait is said to be due in jiart to admixture with negro blood from slavers wrecked upon their coast. They number about GOOO souls. Consult Squier, The Stales of Central America (2d ed., New Y"ork, 1858) ; and (aiioiiymous) Waikna. MOSQUITO BEE. Any one of several of the very small, stingless trojjical honey-bees of the genus Melipona, which form communities, con- sisting at times of countless numbers. They are among the smallest of the bees, and although they do not sting, all the essential elements of the sting are present, the |)ointed or penetrating part of the apparatus being stunted. One species (Trigifua or Melipona mosqtiito) sends off swarms after the manner of the common hive bee. The nests abound in honey, and have many enemies, since the bees cainiot defend themselves by stinging. The nests, however, are rich in de- vices for protection and for the exclusion of intruders. Some species of them buiiil their nests in completely with clay. See Bee. MOSQUITO BLIGHT. A disease of the tea plant in India and Ceylon, caused by the punc- tures of several of the species of the genus Helopeltis of the plant-bug family Capsidip. The young bugs as well as the adults feed upon the leaves and young twigs of the plant, causing them tci wilt. MOSQUITO COAST, or MosQirri.v. The strip of territory inhabited by the Mosquito In- dians on the eastern coast of Central America, stretching along the Caril)bean Sea from about latitude 10° 30' N. to latitude 13' and extending about 40 miles inland (.Map: Central .merica, F 4). It is notable diielly for the fact that it was for a time the subject of di|)Ioniatic contro- versy between the United States and Great Britain. From about 1005 to 1850 it constituted a protectorate under the nominal control of Great Britain, during which time various attempts were made to plant colonies (here, but only with partial success. Buth the Central .merican re- publics and the I'nited States ilenied the claim of Great Britain to a protectorate over the Mos- quito Coast, the latter particularly on account of the contiguity of the territory to the proposed in- ter-oceanic canal which the United States wished to construct or cause to be constructed. The seizure in 1848 of Greytown (San .Juan del Norte), au important commercial port at the mouth of the San .Juan Kiver, in Nicaragua, by the Jlosquito Indians with the aid of England, cau.sed great excitement in the United States, and for a time war seemed possible. To avert this danger, however, and to obtain a basis for a uniform jjolicy of abstention frum interfer- ence in the region by both England and the United States with a view to securing the neu- trality of the i)roposed canal, the Clayton-lhilwer Treaty of 1850 was concluded between the two countries, by which it was agreeil that neither party would occupy, fortify, colonize, or exercise dominion over the Mosquito Coast, or any part of Central America. By a treaty of November 28, 1859. with Honduras, tireat Britain ceded to tluit repul>lie its claim to the protectorate hither- to exercised over the Jlosquito Indians and agreed to recognize as belonging to and under the sovereignly of Honduras all territory occupied by the .said Indians. This arrangement was very unsatisfactory to the Indians and led to a revolt among them. The difficulty was finally adjusted by the Treaty of JIanagua between Great Britain and Nicaragua of .lanuary 28, ISIjO, by which it was .stipulated tluit Great Britain would recog- nize the sovereignty of Niearagiui over the Mos- quito territory lying within its bounds; that a certain district should be assigned to the In- dians; and that the British protectorate should cease within three months after the exchange of ratification. A dispute having arisen between Nicaragua and the Mosquito nation in regard to the interpretation of the treaty, the Emperor of .us(ria was re<|uested to decide upon the true meaning of the clauses in dispute, which he did in 1880. holding that the sovereignty of Nica- ragua over the Indians was limited liv the right of self-government conceded to them by the treaty. From that time onward the natives en- joyed almost complete self-government. By an agreement entered into between Nicaragua and the Mosquito Indians in 1804 they were formally and volimtarily incorporated into the Republic of Nicaragua, their country becoming the Depart- ment of Velaya. The ))o])iilation of the territory in that year was about 15.000. Consult Travis, CUniton'-Huhrrr Trralij (Ann Arlior, 1893). MOSQUITO-HAWK. The name of several animals which dart about after small flying in- sects, as (1) a nightjar or 'nighthawk'; (2) a dragon-fly (q.v.). MOSQUITO LAGOON. A salt water lagoon on the eastern coa.st of Florida, United States (Map: Florida, H 3). It is a continuation of Halifax Kiver. and extends .30 miles south of Mosquito Inlet to Haulover Canal, which con- nects it with Indian River. It has an average width of one mile; it is shallow, and navigation even by small boats is impeded by coral beds, sandbanks, and mangrove swamps. Ov-^fers and fish abound in its waters. strip of land from a half mile to five miles wide separates the lagoon from the ocean. MOSS. mos. . town of Southeastern Norway, situated on the east shore of the Christiania Fjord. 33 miles south of Christiania. on the rail- road between the capital and Frederikstad. It