35 



instances have been recorded from the southern and west-central 

 States in which pigs appear to be the source of heavy infestations of 

 the human flea. The adults feed on the pigs and breeding takes place 

 in the bedding of these animals. Fleas on cats and dogs can be killed 

 by washing the animals in a saponified coal-tar creosote preparation. 

 In the case of cats, the solution should be washed out of the fur with 

 soap and warm water. Fleas on pigs may be destroyed by dipping 

 the animals in a creosote dip, or by sprinkling them with crude 

 petroleum while they are feeding. To avoid infestation of houses, 

 it is important to keep all animals from beneath dwellings. It is also 

 desirable to keep separated the different kinds of animals which are 

 subject to attack. Among the methods for destroying fleas in houses, 

 scattering flake naphthaline over the floor of a closed room and allowing 

 it to remain for 24 hours, or fumigation with hydrocyanic acid gas or 

 sulphur are recommended. When infestations are derived from fleas 

 which breed beneath or around houses, all loose material in which 

 breeding may take place should be removed, and crude petroleum, 

 followed by common salt and water, used freely. The application 

 of lime to cleaned areas apparently destroys immature fleas. In 

 exceptional cases lawns may become infested and fleas breed among 

 the roots of the grass. It is impracticable to apply chemicals in such 

 situations, but breeding can be checked by cutting the grass short 

 and so exposing the young fleas to the sun. In certain districts it 

 has been found possible to destroy fleas in barns and pig-styes by 

 flooding the infested areas. Breeding in poultry houses may be 

 prevented by scattering salt on the ground two or three times a week 

 and then watering thoroughly. The control of Echidnophaga gallinacea 

 on fowls may be accomplished by applying carbolated vaseline or a 

 mixture of kerosene and lard to the affected parts. 



Hase (A.). Weitere Beobachtungen iiber die Lauseplage. [Further 

 observations on the plague of lice.] — Centralbl. Bakt., Parasit. u. 

 Infektionskrankh., P<^ Abt. Originale, Jena, Ixxvii, no. 2, 29th 

 November 1915, pp. 153-163. 



The author was sent by the Ministry of War at Berlin to investigate 

 the question of lice on the eastern front. Some individuals are never 

 infested with lice, while others develop an insensibility to bites. This 

 latter fact explains the indifference with which the civil population 

 of Russian Poland view the presence of these parasites. An examina- 

 tion of 181 of the various prophylactics advertised showed that most 

 of them were completely useless. It may safely be said that, up to 

 the present, no really lasting preparation has been found ; the very 

 best are only effective for a couple of days. Even better class soldiers 

 stated that dirty, greasy underclothing conferred a certain protection 

 against infestation and it was found that the defective ventilation — • 

 due to the clogging by grease and dirt— caused a high temperature of 

 about 86° Fahr., and that this is a deterrent to lice. Some of the men 

 freed their shirts by laying them on ant-hills ; this method was 

 mentioned by Gaulke in 1863. The troops were all anxious to be 

 freed from the pests with the exception of an East Prussian, who 

 said that the little creatures reminded him of home. 



(C244) a2 



