201 
Characters of the Chigoe or Jigger. 
in her stomach, until it has reached maturity ; when a perfect in- 
sect it may bite its way through, so that these insects may be 
classed amongst the viviparous. 
It was with the view, therefore, of examining the correctness of 
these opinions, as well as investigating the grounds for the pro- 
priety of separating the jigger generically from the common flea, 
that I undertook the examination of Mr. Sells's specimens. 
These individuals presented the ordinary swollen appearance 
described by most authors, but I was most surprised at the com- 
paratively minute size of the exposed parts of the front of the 
body and limbs ; these were placed in the centre of a membranous 
space somewhat like a reversed trilobed leaf, and within the thin 
skin of the abdomen at the broadest part of the circumference 
might plainly be perceived many oval bodies, which, on breaking 
the skin, proved to be ova inclosed in a membranous egg-duct, 
and placed end to end, the eggs at the other extremity of the egg- 
tubes being very minute and globular ; the size of the oval eggs 
seemed very considerable compared with that of the insect itself. 
On opening one of these eggs, in order to ascertain whether the 
larva might not be enclosed therein, as would be the case were 
Dr. Rodschied’s opinions correct, I found nothing but an immense 
number of exceedingly minute globular masses of different sizes, 
as represented in my figure. Now as these jiggers had in all pro- 
bability been extracted at the time considered most fit to prevent 
the extension of the injury to the patient’s foot by the deposition 
of the eggs within the wound, it seems to me evident that these 
large sized eggs were in a fit state for deposition, and that conse- 
quently the larvae are not developed in the abdomen of the fe- 
male like those of the Hippoboscidce, but within the wound ; the 
immense quantity of the eggs also is in opposition to such an opi- 
nion. If this be the case, the larvae would continue to feed within 
the flesh, and they might either burrow out when full grown, or 
might undergo their transformations in the foot, escaping only 
when arrived at the perfect state. The circumstances connected 
with the wounds produced by the insect when left untouched have 
not been related ; they would, of course, supply a solution to some 
of the questions respecting which we are still in doubt. But it 
must be evident that the ordinary habit of the jigger cannot, from 
its great numbers, be that of burrowing into the human foot. 
On each side of the head is a black and circular space, evi- 
dently an eye, but appearing to be of a simple construction like 
an ocellus, and behind this is a space or impression, within which 
the antenna was evidently placed, but of which I was unable to 
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