LOUSE. 
453 
might produce a younger brood of five thousand 
so that in eight weeks a Louse might see five^ 
thousand of its own descendants! 
Tlie Louse^, in all ages enumerated among the 
pests of mankind, has been sometimes represented 
as the mere punishment of personal negligence, 
and sometimes commemorated as one of the 
most humiliating concomitants of degraded pride; 
since, exclusive of the memorable and impressive 
descriptions on this subject in the sacred writings, 
we meet with various examples of characters of 
no small degree of eminence who have suffered 
from the attacks of this odious insect. The dis- 
order, however, commonly termed phthiriasis, is 
probably more owing to want of attention during 
the first stages of its appearance, than to any real 
constitutional cause in the patient; it being entirely 
contrary to the nature of this insect to get under 
the cuticle, as commonly supposed; and utterly 
inconceivable that a complaint merely external 
should be able to resist mercurial or other pre- 
parations outwardly used ; and there can be little 
doubt but that such cases, whenever they occur, 
would be effectually removed by a proper appli- 
cation of a dilute solution of mercury sublimate. 
I must even venture to express my doubts whether 
a real and genuine phthmasis, considered as a 
2)rimary disease, has ever appeared. Notwith- 
standing this, we are told by Pliny that Pherecydes 
* I here repeat what I have formerlj said on this subject la 
the Naturalist’s Miscellany. 
