24 



Another entomological problem in Mesopotamia is the control of 

 hce and sand-flies, the former conveying recurrent fever and typhus, 

 and the latter sand-fly fever. A refined form of crude oil emulsion has 

 been adopted to control these pests. Rubbed lightly on the hands and 

 face it prevents the attacks of sand-flies or mosquitos, while for hce 

 it is rubbed on the body and on the seams of the clothing ; under- 

 clothes are washed in it and dried without rinsing so that they are 

 lightly impregnated with it. 



Symons (S. T. D.). Tick-bite in Stock and its Treatment.— ^r/ric. Gaz. 

 N.S.W., Sijdney, xxvii, no. 11, November 1916, p. 767. 



The scrub tick, Ixodes holocydus, is troublesome to young stock in 

 autumn and early spring in the coastal areas of Australia, and often 

 proves fatal to them. The effects of infestation are commonly shown 

 in a staggering gait and paralysis of the hind legs. The ticks shold 

 not be forcibly removed at once, but a small quantity of turpentine 

 or kerosene should be dropped on each, and they can be removed 

 on the following day. 



Wright (W.). The Control of Rat Plague.— JL State Medicine, Loi'don, 

 xxiv, no. 12, December 1916, pp. 380-384. 



The destruction of every rat on every vessel arriving from a plague- 

 infected port is the ideal method of insuring absolute safety against 

 ship-borne infection, but the author does not consider the immense 

 outlay entailed to be necessary. It is difhcult to beheve that every rat 

 can be killed in a fully laden vessel, even by the Clayton process, which 

 is considered the best. From the bacteriological point of view, it is also 

 necessary to destroy, not only every rat, but also every flea, as well as 

 Bacillus jiestis. An instance is given of a case of plague which occurred 

 on a vessel in Glasgow in 1911, where few rats, if any, could have been 

 on board. An explanation of this may be furnished by a suggestive 

 statement by Dr. V. T. Verjbitski of Petrograd, to the effect that m 

 the case of linen or other fabrics soiled by crushed fleas, bugs or their 

 faeces, plague microbes can, under favourable conditions, remain alive 

 and virulent during more than five months. No great fear of infection 

 need be entertained in the case of vessels arriving from ports in areas 

 where plague has been prevalent for years, as it is probable that the 

 rats in such areas have acquired a considerable degree of immunity 

 from long contact with infected animals. In conclusion, this paper 

 describes the methods usually employed at ports to prevent rats from 

 getting ashore. The fact, however, that stevedores' gangways are not 

 always withdra-WTi for the night (as required by the regulations) and 

 that, in tidal harbours, the vessel is often level with the dock, obviously 

 permits rats to reach the shore despite all precautions. 



Bacot (A.). The Improvement of Fly-spraying Fluids and the Control 

 of Experimental Trials. — British. Med. JL, London, no. 2919, 

 9th December 1916, p. 801. 



Experiments with different fly-spraying fluids have shown, in 

 accordance with general experience, that when used as directed they 



