THE DOG AND CAT-FLEA. 



133 



by stating that a single flea has been known to draw, with 

 ease, a silver cannon weighing 70 times its own weight. 



Good and thorough ventilation of the rooms, cleanliness, 

 and the free and repeated use of insect-powder will drive 

 fleas from houses infested by them. 



The flea infesting man differs greatly from those infest- 

 ing animals; it has no spines on the head or on the back of 

 the thorax, while the posterior margins of the segments of 

 the thorax and abdomen possess rows of stiff" hairs pointing 

 backwards. The peculiar comb-like bristles upon the head 

 and the posterior part of the thorax found uj)on the dog-flea 

 and others are absent. 



THE DOG AND CAT-FLEA. 

 {Pulex serraticeps Gerv.). 



This is the well-known flea infesting cats and dogs. 

 Wherever pets are kept that harbor the above parasites these 

 latter are certain to cause much trouble, as they seem to pre- 



Fig. 111. — Dog and cat-flea. Greatly enlarged. Original. 



fer carpets and similar places, in which they conceal them- 

 selves during the day. In this way they will reach the bodies 

 of persons walking over them, and tender-skinned children 

 and ladies are frequently poisoned by their bites. Fleas are 

 not like mosquitoes or other blood-sucking insects, w^hich 

 bite but once if not disturbed; they bite as they move about, 

 literally "bite on the run." 



