48 AXIMAL PARASITES 



patieDt was told he had tho "' Seven-years' Itch," 

 he naturally concluded that he could not get rid 

 of it in less than that number of years, which gave 

 time for treatment. As time goes on, soap and 

 water, and personal cleanliness, become more 

 popular, hence the itch-mite has become less and 

 less common. In the old New England days it 

 was the pest of the village-school, the town poor- 

 house, and the city jail. During the rebellion, 

 the great armies, on the march and in the field, 

 of course had no opportunities for personal clean- 

 liness, so as to prevent the contagion of the itch- 

 disease, therefore it spread with great rapidity by 

 contact, and the effects of the mite's presence in 

 the skin would also be severe. The various arni}^ 

 surgeons had not been accustomed to any such 

 cases ; they searched in vain for the insect, and, 

 repeatedly failing to discover it, finally concluded 

 there must be an*itch-disease not due to the itch- 

 mite, and called it the " Army Itch." These cases 

 often were furloughed, and, in the cities at home, 

 came under the care of those who, from special 

 study of cutaneous diseases, were more familiar 

 with the means of obtaining the parasite, as we 



