133 



the clotliing of louse-infested persons might be sterilised with steam, 

 and their bodies bathed with soap and water before they were allowed 

 to enter the States. A description of the plant at El Paso, Texas, is 

 given. 



If lice are present, the hair of men or boys is clipped and burnt. 

 Women have a mixture of equal parts of kerosene and vinegar applied 

 to the hair for half an hour with a towel covering the head. The dilute 

 acetic acid loosens the eggs from the hair and the kerosene kills or 

 stupefies the adult lice, which are removed by washing with warm 

 water and soap. After being passed by the attendant, liquid soap is 

 sprayed upon the body from an elevated reservoir and the person then 

 proceeds to the baths. The soap is made by boiling one part of soap 

 chips in four parts of water and then adding two parts of kerosene oil. 

 This jellies when cold, and one part of this soap- jelly is added to four 

 parts of warm water, making a good liquid soap at very small cost. 



Clothing is disinfected by being placed in bundles in the steam 

 chamber in which a vacuum of 10 to 15 inches is created and live 

 steam is then introduced until the gauge shows 20 pounds, which gives 

 a temperature of 259° F. This is maintained for 10 minutes to insure 

 penetration. The creation of a second vacuum of 10 inches and holding 

 it for 10 minutes will dry the clothes completely, though at El Paso 

 this is unnecessary. 



MiTZMAiN (M. B.). Anopheline Mosquitoes. Their Distribution and 

 Infection under Field Conditions.— C7. S. Public Health Repts., 

 Washington, D.C., xxxii, no. 15, 13th April 1917, pp. 536-510. 



Under experimental conditions Anopheles punctipennis may serve 

 as a vector of malaria. In order to determine whether conditions 

 exist in nature in the presence of which this insect may be of epidemio- 

 logical significance, a total of 1,377 specimens of Anopheles quadri- 

 maculatus and A. punctipennis were collected from 18th September to 

 15th November 1916, at Talladega Springs, Alabama, a region of which 

 the maximum parasite index had previously been ascertained to be 

 18 '6 per cent, among 200 persons. At least 85 per cent, of the speci- 

 mens reached the laboratory at New Orleans in an uninjured condition 

 suitable for dissection. This collection showed that in the three 

 sources of direct human influence, namely, inside dwellings, under 

 dwellings, and in privies, the last produced the greatest numbers of 

 A. punctipennis. This species comprised 30 per cent, of the catch in 

 houses, and 62 per cent, under dwellings. The majority of individuals 

 of A. punctipennis infesting houses are usually found in an engorged 

 state resting under the flooring of dwellings. Officers conducting 

 malarial surveys have noticed that although A. punctipennis rarely 

 bites while inside a building, it is found to attack persons seated on the 

 porch or gallery of the house, after which it seeks rest, presumably 

 under the house in preference to the interior. This is not an unusual 

 habit of an Anopheline mosquito and has been recorded by Ross in the 

 case of Anopheles {Pyretophonis) costalis. The presence of blood- 

 engorged specimens of A. punctipennis in houses and privies justifies 

 the assumption that the source of the blood was probably human, and 

 suggests an active agency in malaria dissemination. 



