282 REPORT—1905. 
Halts and Peculiarities of some South African Ticks. 
By Cuas. P. Lounssury, B.Sc., FHS. 
[Ordered by the General Committee to be printed in extenso.] 
THE Jxodide, the family of Acarids to which the name ‘ticks’ is com- 
monly applied, until recently had little attention from students in any 
branch of science, but of late its members have begun to share the popu- 
larity of other blood-sucking parasites as subjects for close investigation. 
It is certain that ticks are responsible for the spread of a number of stock 
diseases, and their study therefore possesses much of the importance 
characterising the study of mosquitoes since the discoveries that some 
species are intermediate hosts of the malaria protozoans. Numerous 
workers all over the world have taken up the study of mosquitoes, but thus 
far only a few have been attracted to ticks. To my mind, the ticks now 
present the more profitable field for the student, whether he be interested 
in the systematic classification of species, in the determination of habits 
and metamorphoses, in experimental research in regard to their trans- 
mission of diseases, or in the development of pathogenic organisms within’ 
the body of intermediate hosts. An excellent groundwork for the classi- 
fication of the species has been made by Professor G. Neumann in his 
‘ Revision de la Famille des Ixodides,’ which has been published in 
several parts by the Zoological Society of France during the last ten years ; 
but very little has thus far been recorded on the internal anatomy 
of any species, and, so far as I am aware, no one has yet traced the 
development of a disease organism within the body of a tick as has been 
so ably done in the somewhat analogous case of malaria organisms in 
Anopheles mosquitoes. Also very little has been recorded in regard to the 
habits and metamorphoses of any species other than those of the genus 
Boophilus. : 
Ticks of divers species are a severe pest to farm animals in many 
districts of Cape Colony, and about seven years ago the writer under- 
took to trace the life-cycle of the most injurious species, Amblyomma 
hebreeum, with the object of obtaining data that would assist in determin- 
ing the best measures and:procedure to effect the suppression of the pest. 
The investigation revived an old-time supposition that A. hebrewm was 
associated with a disease called ‘heartwater,’ which had practitally put 
a stop to the farming of sheep and angora goats in several south-eastern 
districts ; and, encouraged by his success in elucidating the life-history of 
the species, the writer began a seriés of experiments which soon showed 
conclusively that the tick did actually communicate the disease from sick 
to susceptible animals, The stimulus of these discoveries has led to the 
conduct of a large amount of experimental research to determine the con- 
nection, if any, between other South African stock diseases and ticks, 
and during the years that have intervened the American discovery that 
havine piroplasmosis (Texas fever, or redwater) is transmitted by a tick 
has been affirmed, and proof over and over again obtained that canine piro- 
plasmosis (malignant jaundice) and African coast fever are also normally 
tick-transmitted. No one spevies of tick has thus far been found to carry 
any two of the diseases, and, indeed, no two diseases have yet been found 
to be associated with any one genus. Incidental to or in connection with 
