OTHER ANIMALS 665 



while oil of tar has been used in bad mosquito localities. A mix- 

 ture recommended by E. H. Gane, of New York, is the following: 



Castor oil ounce. . 1 



Alcohol do 1 



Oil of lavender do .... 1 



Fishermen and hunters in the north woods will find that a 

 good mixture against mosquitoes and black flies can be made as 

 follows: Take 2V 2 pounds of mutton tallow and strain it. While 

 still hot add one-half pound black tar (Canadian tar), stir thor- 

 oughly, and pour into the receptacle in which it is to be contained. 

 When nearly cool stir in 3 ounces of oil of citronella and 1M> ounces 

 of pennyroyal. Oscar Samostz, of Austin, Tex., recommends the 

 following formula: 



Oil of citronella ounce. . 1 



Liquid vaseline ounces. . 4 



Apply freely to exposed parts. 



Doctor Durham, of the 'English Yellow Fever Commission, 

 Rio de Janeiro, said that he and the late Doctor Myers found that 

 a 5 per cent solution of sulphate of potash prevented mosquitoes 

 from biting, and that they were obliged to use this mixture while at 

 work in their laboratory in Brazil to prevent themselves from being 

 badly bitten. 



Remedies for Mosquito Bites. It must have been the experi- 

 ence of most people that ordinarily little swelling and irritation 

 result from the puncture of a mosquito where there has been no 

 scratching or rubbing of the part. But individuals vary greatly in 

 this respect, and it is undoubtedly true that not only do different 

 species of mosquitoes vary in their effect, but that different indi- 

 viduals of the same species may also vary. The application of 

 household ammonia has been found by many to give relief, and 

 alcohol is also said to stop the irritation. Dr. E. O. Peck, of Mor- 

 ristown, N. J., finds glycerin a sovereign remedy. Touch the bite 

 with glycerin and in a few minutes the pain is gone. Dr. Charles 

 A. Nash, of New York City, marks the puncture with a lump of 

 indigo and states that this instantly stops the irritation, no matter 

 whether the application is made immediately or after the lapse of a 

 day or so. The most satisfactory remedy known to the writer from 

 his own personal experience has been moist soap. Wet the end of a 

 piece of ordinary toilet soap and rub it gently on tho puncture and 

 speedily the irritation will pass away. Mr. Charles Stevenson, of 

 Montreal, writing to the Canadian Entomologist in September, 

 1901, stated that he found naphthaline moth balls to afford imme- 

 diate relief from the bites of dangerous Diptera, including mosqui- 

 toes, and that a friend of his had used it successfully on flea-liid 1 -. 

 He advises rubbing the moth ball on the affected part for a few 

 minutes. Naphthaline is also recommended by Professor Bnnvs. 

 director of the national board of health at Buenos Aires. lodin is 

 frequently recommended for this purpose, and a note in a recent 

 number of the Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene recom- 

 mends a modification in the shape of 30 to 40 grain* of iodin to 



