THE COMMON FLEA 259 



We have now to trace the life history of the flea. 

 The eggs are oval, whitish, sticky things, and though, 

 of course, actually minute, are yet rather large in pro- 

 portion to the size of the insect itself, their longest 

 diameter being about ^th of an inch, and the shortest 

 g^th. So far as the human species is concerned, the 

 eggs appear to be laid, not upon the body or clothes of 

 the host, but amongst rugs, mats, and other accumu- 

 lators of dust and dirt. It is commonly believed that 

 cats and dogs bring fleas into a house, and there is 

 certainly good evidence that at least their own parasites 

 may be introduced in this way. For example, Mr. S. J. 

 M'Intire states that, wishing to obtain some eggs of the 

 cat's flea, he placed, late one night, a cloth for his cat to 

 lie upon, and early in the morning inspected it in order 

 to collect any eggs that might have been deposited. On 

 the first night 62 eggs were obtained, on the second 78, 

 on the third 67, and on the fourth 77, a total of 284 

 eggs from one cat in the course of four nights ! No 

 doubt many of these, if left to themselves, would never 

 have reached maturity ; still, the number is sufficiently 

 startling, and, unless the animal in question was literally 

 swarming with vermin, seems to indicate on the part of 

 the cat's flea a fecundity considerably in excess of what 

 is usually attributed to the human species, which is said 

 to produce only about a dozen at a laying. Of course it 

 by no means follows that the fleas which would have 

 resulted from these eggs would have been troublesome 

 to the human inhabitants of the house; in fact, con- 

 sidering the great zoological difference between man and 

 the cat, the presumption would be in the other direction. 

 It has, however, been asserted that the cat's flea will 

 attack a human host ; but, however that may be, it is 

 evident that, to be on the safe side, rooms in which cats 



