FLEA 



221)0 



FLEA 



method, called dew retting, consists in spread- 

 ing the stalks on the grass and exposing them 

 to the action of the weather for several weeks. 

 The stems are then dried so that the hard 

 parts may become brittle. 



Freeing the fiber from the stem requires two 

 operations, breaking and scutching. In the 

 first process the stems are pounded with mal- 

 lets or run through a machine that breaks the 

 hard portions to pieces but leaves the fiber 



^Argentina tf^ Russia i 

 35 23 



British India 

 21 



United States 

 18 



Saskatchewan 

 13 



Figures Represent Millions of Bushels 



FROM FLAX 



The above figures represent the average annual 

 production of linseed oil and linseed meal, from 

 flaxseed, in the countries or provinces named. 



intact. Scutching is for the purpose of re- 

 moving the broken pieces of the stem. The 

 old method, and the one still employed in 

 some places, consists in laying the flax over 

 the end of an upright board, which is fastened 

 in a block, and striking it with a flat, wooden 

 blade. This knocks off the woody matter 

 clinging to the fibers and leaves them free. A 

 scutching machine, in which a number of knives 

 attached to the arms of a vertical wheel strike 

 the flax in the direction of its length, accom- 

 plishes the same result, and is now in general 

 use. Finally, the fibers are heckled, or combed, 

 so they may be separated into "line" and 

 "tow." The flax line is the long fiber, used in 

 fine linens and the like; the tow, the short and 

 coarse fiber used in making coarse linen, 

 twines, cordage, etc. M.S. 



Related Subjects. The reader Is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Adulteration of Food- Linseed Oil 



stuffs and Clothing Spinning 

 Linen Weaving 



FLEA, flee, a troublesome wingless insect, 

 some species of which pierce the skin and 

 suck the blood of most all animals, leaving 

 itching red spots. One species is found all over 

 the world, tormenting cats, dogs, rabbits, poul- 

 try, and even biting human beings. Another 

 species infests various birds. The true flea, 

 so common in Africa and some European 

 countries, which attacks human beings but 

 does not attack animals, is rare in America, al- 

 though it is found in parts of California. A 

 curious flea called chigoe is troublesome in 



tropical America. Unlike other fleas which lay 

 their eggs in the hair of animals, the female 

 chigoe buries the forepart of her body in the 

 flesh of human 

 beings to lay her 

 eggs there. That, 

 flea, however, is> 

 not the jigger of 

 the Southern 

 United States, 

 which is the larva 

 (young) of a mite. 

 Not only are 

 fleas annoying, 

 but it has been 



discovered that S o, naturalists observe, a flea 

 the bubonic Has smaller fleas that on him 



prey; 

 plague (see And these have smaller still 



PLAGUE) is trans- And proceed* ad infinitum. 



mitted through SWIFT. 



The flea in the illustration 

 is about twelve times the 

 length of the insect. 



fleas from rats to 

 man, as well 



as well as 



from one man to another. That fact suggested 

 more careful study of this tiny, quick-jumping 

 creature, so an exact wax model of the insect, 

 1,728,000 times the size of the living flea, has 

 been made and is exhibited in the American 

 Museum of Natural History in New York. 

 In that model the biting parts of the insect are 

 of special interest. 



The common flea is about one-eighth of an 

 inch long, somewhat flattened in shape and 

 covered with a shell of hard, overlapping plates. 

 In comparison with the body, the head is very 

 small. Two threadlike feelers (antennae) lie 

 in half-covered grooves behind the eyes, and 

 can be lifted when needed. The beak consists 

 of two inner and two outer parts. Between the 

 two sawlike inner parts is a central part with 

 a piercing point. The outer parts protect the 

 inner ones. Two sharp-edged plates in front 

 of the beak are used to help enlarge the wound 

 made by the piercing parts. 



Cleanliness is the best protection against 

 this pest. If it has been brought into the home 

 by animal pets numerous tiny, white, oval eggs 

 will be laid and the number of fleas will soon 

 increase, unless extreme care is exercised. From 

 the eggs active, wormlike young will hatch. 

 They will spin their silky cocoons in dust, and 

 within about two weeks will appear as full- 

 grown fleas. Thorough dusting of animals, 

 rugs, etc., with pyrethrum, spraying with ben- 

 zine and scrubbing with hot soapsuds will be 

 effective. Spraying with oil of eucalyptus will 

 also bring relief. 





