6 LICE AND THEIR MENACE TO MAN 



of the Pharaohs the idea seems to have prevailed 

 that dust could become lice. " And there were 

 lice upon man, and upon beast ; all the dust of 

 the earth became lice throughout all the land of 

 Egypt." The same belief was held by our 

 soldiers in the Boer War. After a wet night the 

 men would spread their blankets in the sun to 

 dry, and the heat would make the lice on them 

 become active and restless, so that what had 

 appeared to cursory inspection to be a clean 

 blanket had apparently become lousy owing to 

 its contact with the ground. Our troops in India 

 speak also of " ground lice " which appear among 

 them on the march and which they think originate 

 from the earth. In barracks with their cleanly 

 habits the men are almost free from lice and do 

 not notice the few. Under the harder conditions 

 of the march, when garments are less frequently 

 changed, these scanty lice increase and the men 

 notice their presence for the first time, hence 

 mistaking their origin. Lice hatch only from the 

 eggs of lice, and the eggs are always closely 

 cemented on to the hairs of the body or the 

 clothing. 



The irritation caused by the bites of lice varies 

 much in different people. It is possible for a 

 person to become heavily infested and yet to be 

 quite unaware of his condition. This is especially 

 the case with the crab-louse. Immunity to the 

 sensation of the bite may be natural or may be 

 acquired after longer or shorter infestation. 



