48fb 'Natural Histor^^mjU'^fgn Countries : — 



was it swollen. '^^ "^^ ^^ iiviamfil sfij ni dd ^ifm sldBiBd lavs 

 . 'The sand fly T^S^^a^ft^ei^ %SMV^ ai{}t#6?il'^Ate^,^'H?m^ 

 'abounds in the lowland districts of Jamaica. Like the mosquito, 

 5t is formidable by its numbers: it particularly attacks/ tlie 

 ankles and legs, seldom the face or hands. >)«oi 



'' llie bottler, as it is commonly called, is also a dipterous 

 irisect. It appears very small when it settles on the skin, biU 

 Its very dilatable abdomen receives a goodly quantity of the 

 purple stream. It causes none of that intolerable itdiitig 

 ^-v^v^hich follows the punctures of the mosquito and saria ^P^^ 

 i" Thechigo, I apprehend, is a species of ^4'carus. Tne'p¥re'ht 

 insect penetrates the skin of the toes and feet, and deposits its 

 eggs there: after a while they hatch and grow, when' they 

 ^Cause at first what is considered by some a very delightful 

 ^Mi^i'dh, resembling titillation ; however, in time, swelling, 

 inflammation, and violent itching follow, when it is usqalto 

 ^tall one of the female servants to pull the chigo, as the 'ope):- 

 ^tion of extraction is called. The instrument employed is a fihfe 

 "heedle, with which the skin is opened and dissected carefully 

 off* and around a membranous bag, which contains the nest 

 of young chigoes ; and, at length, this is dexterously effected, 

 and the bag, in size of a small pea, is removed. The hollow h 

 'filled with tobacco ashes, or a drop or two of laudanum, and 

 lall is soon quite w^ell. 



-' The above sources of annoyance are, in truth, after all, but 



^fninor evils, and have been much exaggerated by many who have 



^escribed them. I lived among them above twenty years, and 



^ifexperienced very little inconvenience. It is true that I indulged 



'hiyself, by wearing mosquito boots, made of brown holland, 



when I visited the lowland districts, where mosquitoes and 



sand flies are more numerous, and find ready entrance for 



Hheir proboscis through a silk or a fine cotton stocking. At 



hight, a good mosquito net, which has been well tucked in 



early in the afternoon, effectually excludes them. 



•' The insects which are hurtful in the house are the ant, and 



^especially the cockroach. 



T The ant is of several species. A small kind, called the 



^^ugar ant, so named on account of its fondness for sugar and 



^^ny fluid that may contain a portion of that substance^ is vastly 



numerous. In a few minutes after spilling on the table a little 



^lemonade, sweet wine, or tea, these little creatures are seen in 



great numbers coming along the floor, ascending the legs of 



the table, and crowding round the little pool of liquid as 



closely as they can stow themselves, sipping their fill, to be 



followed by others, until the whole is removed. - 



