200 



much the longest, nearly twice the length of the body; the femora furnished with a 

 series of prominent hairs, each hooked at the tij) : tibia furnished at its basal half 

 with a denser row of shorter hairs more curved and more prominently hooked ; tarsi 

 three-jointed, the basal joint twice as long as the other two together ; the second 

 joint extremely small and with two long straight hairs at its tip; the terminal joint 

 simple and not quite one-half as long as the basal. The hind legs have the femora 

 so curved that when opposing each other they form nearly a complete circle, fur- 

 nished inside with stout hairs and ending in an obliquely truncated point with a few 

 hairs at the tip, and having at the truncated base a linger or process also slightly 

 tipped with hairs; the hind tibiie are articulated some distance back of the tip of 

 the femora, are slightly curved in the opposite direction, fringed with hairs, and 

 having quite a tiift of longer ones arising from the lower middle; the hind tarsi are 

 also three-jointed, the basal joint nearly as long as the tibia?; the second joint 

 small, with three long straight hairs at the tip; the terminal joint simple and about 

 one-fifth the length of the basal. Abdominal joints 8-9 and subjoiut but slightly 

 sutured dorsally, the eighth more bulging, with a stout, slightly curved spine each 

 side. Length of body, about one-eighth inch ; length from the elliow of the an- 

 tennae to the tip of the straightened legs, more than three-eighths of an inch. 



HOMINIVOROUS HABITS OF THE SCREW WORM IN ST. LOUIS. 



By Mary E. Murtfeledt. 



A remarkable instance of illness from the attack of Screw Worm fly 

 was brought to my notice this summer by a friend, a distinguished and 

 successful physician in St. Louis, who, at my request, very kindly gave me 

 a detailed account of the case. The subject was a lady who was spend- 

 ing the summer on a farm about ten miles from the city. Opposite this 

 farm, as the Doctor was particular to mention, was a large sheep ijasture 

 which had been in use for that purpose for many years. One day this lady, 

 whom for convenience we will call Mrs. A., was seized with sneezing 

 which continued with such constancy and violence, accompanied by 

 such peculiar sensations in the anterior nasal passages, that my friend, 

 Br. B., was called to attend her. He could not, however, distinguish 

 the symptoms from those of severe inlinenza, and prescribed accord- 

 ingly. On the second and third days he found the patient in greater 

 distress, with face, nose, and throat much swollen and intense pain be- 

 tween the eyes. 



On the morning of the fourth day Mrs. A.'s husband appeared early 

 at the doctor's office, and related with horror that his wife had in 

 sneezing expelled ftom her nose two or three white worms. Upon this 

 Dr. B, summoned for consultation and assistance one of the leading 

 surgeons of the city and by the aid of mirrors and other instruments 

 discovered a large number of white larvae attached by their mouth 

 hooks to the mucous membrane of all the cavities of which the physi- 

 cians could obtain a view. Forceps and tweezers were brought into 

 requisition and, with nuich difficulty, 25 or 30 of the larvae were ex- 

 tracted. Spraying with chloroform and carbolized fluids had no effect 

 to make them loosen their hold. Indeed, upon disturbance they would 

 contract so as to almost bury themselves in the inflamed and bleeding 



