THE MOSQUITO. 209 



forests. There is no keeping these little busybodies out 

 of the tent, and it is no joke if a great bull-dog, or soldier- 

 ant, about an iucb long, finds its way up the leg of your 

 trousers. Swarms of mosquitos hover over every marsh 

 and water-hole in the evening, and myriads of sand-flies, 

 hardly perceptible to the naked eye, are sure to attack 

 the back of your neck and ears when seated by a water- 

 hole, quietly watching for a duck or pigeon at evening. 

 These are the only insects I really cared for. I could 

 generally keep the mosquitos off by the smoke of my 

 pipe, but with the sand-flies I could do nothing. The 

 Australian bug is harmless, luckily, for it is about the 

 size and shape of an almond ; and as for fleas, they breed 

 in the sand, so that it is easy to guess their name is 

 legion. The blight in the eye, which is so common here 

 during the summer, especially on the diggings, is brought 

 on, I believe, by a small fly. The sting of the scorpion 

 and centipede are not only very painful, but very danger- 

 ous. A little sweet oil promptly applied soon cures the 

 bites of the others. 



,T 



