2 8 Annals Entomological Society of America [Vol. Ill, 



IXFLUENCES COXTROLLIXG THE EXCESSIVE AbUXDAXCE 



OF Pediculoides. 



It will be noticed that Drs. Goldberger and Schamberg made no 

 attempt to discover the underlying causes for the enormous num- 

 bers of these mites inhabiting the mattresses involved in their 

 investigations, that jjroblcm belonging more properly within the 

 realm of the entomologist. On my taking up this subject of the 

 excessive abundance of the mites, Drs. Goldberger and Scham- 

 berg veiy kindly placed at my disposal everything in their pos- 

 session relating to this epidemic, including the mattress which Dr. 

 Goldberger had himself used in experiments carried out by him 

 at the hygienic laboratory in Washington with this mite. Dr. 

 Schamberg was equally kind in placing all of the material, notes 

 and photographs in his possession, a't my service. 



Almost at the commcrcement of the investigation, Dr. Wm. 

 Royal Stokes of the Maryland State Board of Health informed 

 me that a similar but less extensive epidemic had shortly before 

 been noted in Baltimore, This he kindly described as follows: 



"The matter was brought to my attention by several persons 

 who came to the Head of the Department and complained of the 

 skin eruption described. They stated that a number of people in 

 a suburban hotel were similarly affected, but I do not remember 

 the number at this late date. These persons volunteered the 

 information that they had all been sleeping on some new straw- 

 mattresses, and that all of the persons similarly affected had used 

 these mattresses. 



"I saw Dr. Gilchrist, the Clinical Professor of Dermatology 

 at Johns Hopkins University, yesterday, and he gave me the fol- 

 lowing description of the one case which he saw at the Health 

 Department. I saw two other cases which corresponded with 

 these in a general way. 



" 'The eruption consisted of about looo wheals, or erythe- 

 mato-withicarial spots, or pau])l()-\vithicarial lesions. As in the 

 description in the reprint of Drs. Goldberger and Schamberg of 

 the United States Public Health and Marine Hospital Service, 

 they varied in size from a lentil seed to a finger nail, and are 

 round, oval, or irregular in shape. No vesicles or pustules were 

 seen. The eruption was on the neck, chest, abdomen, and back, 

 and also on arms and legs. Itching was present, and all lesions 

 showed evidences of scratching.' " 



