ORDER VII. TWO-VVINGED INSECTS, OR FLIES. 313 



loosen such a bag from the flesh without tearing it; for, 

 should it be torn, the young ones will imperceptibly dis- 

 perse all over the foot or hand of the patient wherever they 

 may have located, and every one of them will establish a 

 new dwelling for itself. 



As the negroes of that country all go barefooted, they 

 suffer immensely from this plague, and are obliged to ex- 

 amine their feet and hands every day in order to extract 

 this insect, if one has entered them ; and, notwithstanding 

 all this precaution, many of them become lame, and even 

 lose their limbs by amputation. This was the case with a 

 fool-hardy Capuchin monk, who, when he left San Do- 

 mingo, took with him a live colony of these insects, which 

 he allowed to dwell in his foot, in order to bring them in 

 good condition to Paris, and present them for examination 

 to the naturalists of the Academy of Sciences. The ex- 

 periment proved unfortunate, both for him and for science ; 

 for his foot, covered with ulcers, and loaded with these in- 

 sects, had to be amputated to save his life during the voy- 

 age, and was given up to the waves of the ocean. 



This insect is also found in Brazil, where it is called 

 Tunga; also Bicho. The inhabitants of the Antilles, to 

 prevent its entering their flesh, use the caustic oil of the 

 Cachew-nut {Anacardium occideniale) ; they also use tar to 

 besmear the feet with ; but there is no remedy, after the 

 sand-flea has entered the flesh, but to extract it without 

 rupturing its bag, or abdomen. 



The Mosquito (Culex). 



This insect, called by the French Maringouin, or Cousin^ 

 and by the Germans StecJischnacke, or Golsc, is a genus of 

 the order Diptera, so numerous that its species cover the 

 globe from one pole to the other, and from east to west 

 through both hemispheres; and as most of them exhibit 

 the same mischievous propensities and general characteris- 



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