ug! 
a needle moistened in glycerine and transferred to a glass slide. 
Search with the microscope disclosed the presence of a mite of very 
minute dimensions. The mite was identified for them by Mr. Nathan 
Banks, expert in Acarina of the Bureau of Entomology, United States 
Department of Agriculture, as very close to, if not identical with, 
the Pediculoides ventricosus. 
In order to demonstrate experimentally the etiological relation- 
ship of the suspected straw mattresses, Doctor Goldberger exposed 
his bared left arm and shoulder for one hour between two mattresses. 
At the end of about 
sixteen hours, anum- 
ber of characteristic 
lesions appeared upon 
the arm,shoulder,and 
chest. Later, three 
volunteers slept upon 
the mattresses and 
each one developed 
the eruption at the 
end of about the same 
period. 
Doctor Goldberger 
later took some of the 
sifted straw, divided 
it into two portions, 
and placed it in two 
clean Petri glass 
dishes. One of these 
was applied for one 
hour to the left axilla 
Boonie atthe Be) ee ee eee 
end of from sixteen to the other figures, the lesions not only covering the body, including 
Pye gage fhe Benne i cence meee le 
characteristic erup- patches. This figure illustrates the liability of this dermatitis being 
tion was present in Soha eared dangerous, contagious diseases, like smallpox and 
the area of the left “ 
axilla to which the Petri dish of straw siftings had been applied. 
The second portion of the straw siftings in a Petri dish was exposed 
to the vapor of chloroform under a bell jar with a view to killing any 
insect or acarine that might be present. These siftings were then 
applied to the right axilla of the same volunteer to whose left axilla 
the untreated siftings had been applied. The chloroform evidently 
destroyed in the siftings the agent that was producing the eruption, 
for no lesions appeared after the application of the chloroformized 
siftings. 
[Cir. 118] 
