155 



cultural Experiment Station, in a recent number of "Science," 

 he calls attention to the fact that fleas have been and still art* 

 suspected of transmitting plague and leprosy. In the case 

 of malaria and yelloAV fever the medical authorities could make 

 no satisfactory progress in their study of the relation between 

 insect and disease before the insects were properly classified 

 by an entomologist. This is also true of fleas ; nothing short 

 of a thorough and extensive collection and careful and sys- 

 tematic study of this group of insects will help to advance our 

 knowledge of its relation to the diseases mentioned. Con- 

 sidering that fleas are blood sucking animals, and that they 

 move about so dexterously and can cover a considerable 

 distance at one leap, it Avill not be at all surprising if they 

 are found to be the distributing agents of some of our most 

 dreaded diseases. Mr. Baker has long been interested in a 

 systematic study of this group of insects, and in the article re- 

 ferred to makes a call for an extensive collection of fleas. The 

 writer will be glad to receive specimens of this insect from 

 correspondents in the Territory and forward them to the 

 proper authorities for study. Since leprosy is found upon 

 these Islands, a collection of fleas from here would probably 

 yield much valuable data on the subject. As it is not yet 

 definitely known whether the fleas affecting man are the same 

 species as those aft'ecting the animals in his environment, it is 

 w^ell to keep separate those coming from different animals. It 

 is advisable to secure as many specimens as possible, place 

 them in about 507^ alcohol, and label, giving host, locality, 

 elevation, collector and date. To those who are interested in 

 the subject it is advisable to be supplied with a pair of tweez- 

 ers, some small homeopathic vials of alcohol and several rat 

 traps, as it is especially desirable to determine the relation of 

 the fleas affecting rats and man. As parasites usually desert 

 their host immediately after the death of the latter, and as 

 fleas particularly move rapidly, it is advisable to place a white 

 cloth or sheet of paper beneath the animal and sprinkle freely 

 with buhach. This will stupify the insects and as they drop 

 oft' on the white background, they can easily be seen and 

 picked up. The authorities promise to return reports of all 

 specimens sent and to give credit to collectors. 



