874 HOME LIFE IN FLORIDA. 



Does he crawl up your sleeve, or down your back, and 

 adorn you with a cluster of lumps more pronounced than 

 pleasant ? Then shoot him once, again ; let but the tiniest 

 atom of the powder touch him, and his race is run. 



So, even if the fleas ever do become troublesome, as they 

 do sometimes in some sections, no one need dread them 

 very much ; keep the insect-powder and gun on hand for 

 use when wanted, and the enemy is easily routed. 



The powder used to be very expensive, and then its free 

 use was a serious matter ; but now that the pyrethrum is 

 raised in the United States it has become much cheaper ; 

 instead of one dollar per pound, which was charged for the 

 imported, we have recently seen it placed on sale by gro- 

 cers and wholesale druggists at thirty-five cents a pound. 

 It should be kept in light jars or bottles, and, when genu- 

 ine, is so powerful that it will admit of being mixed with 

 one third its bulk of flour, starch, or some other powdered 

 medium, and yet be entirely effective. 



Whether at home, North or South, in hotels, or in trav- 

 eling, we would advise as a constant companion and fre- 

 quent "friend in need" the little powder-gun, w^ell loaded 

 for use. Those who have not tried it can not conceive 

 how much it adds to one's comfort, nor hoAv much better 

 one can sleep if a few puffs of powder are sent abroad 

 among the bedding of the sleeping-car or steamer berths 

 before stepping into them. 



It is charged by some that the presence of dogs or cats 

 in the house involves the presence of fleas also. That this 

 is a '' true bill," so far as dogs are concerned, can scarcely 

 be doubted, unless, indeed, the animal is a pet and is fre- 

 quently combed and washed. Fleas love dirt, and will 

 breed industriously in the fur of a dog, if allowed to work 

 their own sweet will ; then, of course, the result is an ex- 

 cess of population, and internecine wars, during which the 



