IN A FISHING COUNTRY 



excuse for their small borrowings, and 

 they too are more or less balked and dis- 

 concerted by an oily medium. This ne- 

 cessary ingredient of a repellent should 

 have body enough not to dry off quickly. 

 The other essential must be pungent — to 

 override or mitigate that which allures the 

 horde; our fashionable perfumes would 

 probably serve, though there is no oc- 

 casion for using anything so disagreeable. 

 Crude petroleum and oil of citronella in 

 the proportions of twenty to one, will an- 

 swer well, but is not very lasting and tends 

 to burn a delicate skin. An excellent mix- 

 ture, for one who is not pernickety about 

 his complexion, is pine-tar, three ounces; 

 castor oil, two ounces; pennyroyal, one 

 ounce; simmered over a slow fire; but 

 there is choice for all tastes within the 

 general formula. A remedy handed down 

 by generations of fishermen — sovereign 

 against the pain, itching and swelling of all 

 poisoned stings — is acetate of lead, three 

 drachms; carbolic acid, four drachms; 

 tincture of opium, four drachms; rose- 

 water, four ounces. 



The mosquito breeds in still, the black- 

 fly in running, water. Why is it that the 

 latter are never more plentiful or annoying 

 248 



