20 ANOIAL FARASITES 



CHAPTER II. 



We have given a sketch of the habits, habitats, 

 and appearances of the three animal parasites of 

 the human skin which live upon it, of the family 

 of pediculi. AVe also spoke of the eftect upon the 

 cutaneous surface of their seeking nourishment in 

 the skin, the result of the intense itching caused 

 thereby, and the consequences of the irritation 

 from the person's endeavors to allay this. In this 

 chapter we will endeavor to explain how and where 

 these insects deposit their eggs, in w^hat w^ay they 

 can be destroyed as well as the animals themselves, 

 and thus enable those annoyed and chagrined by 

 their presence to rid themselves of them and their 

 effects. 



The head-louse and the crab-louse lay their eggs 

 on the hairs, to which they are very firmly ftist- 

 ened, so that endeavoring to remove them will 

 sometimes even pull out the hair itself. They arc 

 called nits, and are struno: alono- on the hairs like 

 beads. The pediculus of the head, as it can run 



