268 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVI. 



more probable on the occurrence of a large number of deaths, they had 

 migrated. In consequence the fleas which they left behind them in 

 their nests and haunts had to seek food somewhere else, and under these 

 circumstances had attacked the guinea-pigs and men. Herein I think 

 we have the explanation of the common phenomenon (1) plague 

 amoug rats with many deaths, (2) a lull, (3) then plague among men. 

 Since these cases occurred I have been on the look out for fresh 

 opportunities, but you will readily understand that information of this 

 s^rt is difficult to be obtained by one individual. Will you help me to 

 examine such cases ? When you hear of any unusual number of deaths 

 among rats from plague, please let me know at once ; and if we are 

 unable to persuade the people to catch the fleas on their persons, I 

 propose to use guinea-pigs to trap the fleas by placing these animals in 

 the probably infected rooms and then we shall be able to see whether 

 rat fleas are straying about, for they will take to the guinea-pigs and 

 can easily be captured on these animals. 



If rats can communicate the disease to man it is equally certain that 

 man can carry the disease to rats. I have already explained how the 

 disease can be communicated to distant towns and villages from in- 

 fected rats in one place, to those in the other place by human agency. 

 But there are other well-recognised cases where infection has been 

 carried from one village to a neighbouring village by man, where the 

 possibility of the direct transference of infected rats from the one place 

 to the other is absolutely excluded. The record of such cases is almost 

 legion. I take 2 cases of 12 recorded in the excellent report on Plague 

 and Inoculation Operations in the Amritsar District in 1903 by Captain 

 S. Browning Smith, I. M.S. 



Kadgil (the name of the village). tl Here the disease Was brought 

 from Tharu, by Buta, a weaver, in November 1902. He died after 

 three days' illness, and three other deaths occurred in this house within 

 five days ; rats died in this house, and were allowed to remain, and the 

 house was locked up ; plague did not spread at the time, and no other 

 case occurred for two months, when dead rats were noticed in some 

 sweepers' houses that adjoined Buta's house ; seven days after dead 

 rats were seen, the disease appeared among the sweepers." 



" Phailloke. The disease was brought from Chala, Lahore District, 

 hj Chet Singh, who returned to Phailloke on the 25th March 1903. 

 •Rats began to die on the 29th March 1903. Chet Singh fell ill on 



