8 



vaseline, guaicol, anise preparations, iodoform, lysol, cyllin and 

 similar preparations, carbolic acid solution, napthalinc and camphor. 

 Pyrethnmi has a very feeble action on lice, while boric acid, corrosive 

 sublimate and zinc sulphate, when used in powder form, have 

 apparently no action whatever. This was also the case with pre- 

 cipitated sulphur in powder form, even when mixed with sebaceous 

 human secretion. Kerosene oil was the best for bed-bugs and guaicol 

 comes next. Substances which have a powerful action on lice, may 

 have little or no action upon bed-bt gs and rice versa. Iodoform kills 

 lice \\'ithin 10-15 minutes, but bed-bugs may live for more than 24 

 hours when exposed to it ; it has also very little effect on fleas. 

 P}Tethrum, on the other hand, has a much more powerful action on 

 bed-bugs than on lice. For use against lice on a large scale, such as 

 among troops and prisoners, naphthaline is perhaps the best insecticide. 

 For the better class of patients, menthol powder is to be preferred to 

 naphthaline in most cases, as its odour is not displeasing, while it is 

 repellent to mosquitos, in addition to lice and fleas ; it is especially 

 useful in summer and in hot countries, as it has a cooling effect on the 

 skin and often prevents prickly heat. 



McEachran (J. F.) &HiLL (G. F.). Investigations into the Cause of 

 Worm Nodules (Onchocerca gibsoni) in Cattle, at Darwin, Northern 

 Territory, Australia. — Melbourne, [1915], 8 pp. [Received 3rd 

 November 1915]. 



Investigation of cattle at Darwin showed that almost every individual 

 was infected with worm nodules, the buffalos alone appearing to be 

 exempt. 



The following blood-sucking insects have been recorded in the 

 vicinity of Darwin :• — Tabanidae : Tabanus gtegarius, Erich., 

 T. nigrifarsis, Taylor, T. linealns, Taylor, T. cinerescens, Macleay, 

 T. brevivitta, Walk., Silvius sordidus, Taylor ; ]\Iuscidae : Stomoxys 

 c^lciirans, L., Lyperosia exigita, de Meijere ; Chironomidae : 

 Culicoides subnitidvs, Skuse ; Culicidae : Ochlerotatns {Culicelsa) 

 vigilax, Skuse, 0. annuUrostris, Skuse, Anopheles {Myzorhynchus) 

 bancrofti, Giles, Taeniorhynchiis {Chrysoconops) acer, Walker; 

 Anoplura : Haemuiopinus tuberculatus Burm. ; Ixodidae : 

 Margarojms [Boophilus) aitstralis, Fuller. Experiments were performed 

 to test whether imported cattle free from 0. gibsoni could become 

 infected by grazing with infected cattle and to ascertain the role played 

 by insects in carrying 0. gibsoni. The following conclusions were 

 reached :■ — (1) Local cattle may become infected with worm nodules 

 a few months after birth. Cattle from Victoria, where nodules are 

 very rarely present, may, by grazing with infected cattle, become 

 infected within six months. No evidence ca]i be adduced regarding 

 the mode of infection. (2) The housing arrangements of calves were 

 such that biting and flying insects had ready access to the 

 animals. The fact that they were not aft'ected during the seven or 

 eight months period of exposure indicates that the intermediate 

 host is not a biting or flying insect, and even an ordinary skin 

 parasite, such as Haematopinus tuberculatus, which travels a short 

 distance, may be eliminated. (3) The negative results obtained point 



