TROUBLESOME INSECTS. 1 37 



likely to do harm unless used much too freely. The infusion, 

 the preparation for the purpose, is made as follows : Put 

 four ounces of the chips into a demijohn containing a gallon 

 of hot water ; stop the same with a cork — only gently in- 

 serted — and place it on the back of the stove where it 

 will keep warm. In the course of two or three hours the 

 virtues of the chips will all have been extracted, when 

 sufficient of the liquor should be poured into a tub, in 

 which, after the infusion has cooled, the infested dog 

 should be stood and thoroughly drenched. 



There are many kinds of soap on the market for which 

 the claim is made that they are destroyers of fleas. The 

 writer has given a very large number of them fair trials 

 yet found but few which acted as reputed ; and the strong- 

 est form of carbolic soap was the most notable exception. 



Some carbolic soaps are intended for toilet purposes 

 merely and contain such small quantities of the essential 

 agent that they are but little if any better than common 

 unmedicated soaps, but the strongest kind is destructive 

 to fleas as well as of real value in the treatment of par- 

 asitic affections. And although there is a prejudice 

 against it because of its great strength it is perfectly 

 safe for use on mature dogs, provided it is applied quickly 

 and a free rinsing follows without delay. 



To afford relief from flies, which in hot weather cause 

 nearly as much annoyance as fleas, tar soap is recom- 

 mended, for the reason that the odor of tar is highly ob- 

 jectionable to them, and this can be used freely in wash- 

 ing dogs or they can be dipped in a strong suds ; and in 

 neither case will it be necessary to rinse them, as there 

 is nothing poisonous about the active agent. 



Mature dogs are seldom infested with lice, but puppies 

 are frequent victims, and their favorite habitat is the back 

 of the neck and around the ears, where they appear as 



