TRAVELS IN BRAZIL. 259 



{Fulex 'penetrans), which are concealed in numbers 

 in the sand, penetrate under the nails of the hands 

 and feet, and, by producing a blister filled with 

 little eggs, cause the most painful sensations, which, 

 if the sympathetic swelling of the inguinal glands 

 is neglected, are often followed by mortification. 

 The blister, as soon as it gives pain, must be care- 

 fully removed, and snufF rubbed into the wound. 

 Besides these, the inhabitant often has other 

 enemies in his house ; the white-bellied ant {Cupim, 

 Termes fatale), a great number of blattae {Blatta 

 orientalis), and other vermin, continually oblige him, 

 by their destructive fury, to make new arrange- 

 ments. The first cause the most terrible devast- 

 ation wherever they pass in their course ; for, 

 metals excepted, they gnaw through everything, 

 and in a few days the beams of tlie house are 

 rotten, the linen, books, and all the household 

 furniture, are destroyed. The blatta commits 

 great destruction among the vegetables in par- 

 ticular, and in the night, even attacks the tips of 

 the fingers. The injury which these animals cause 

 to the naturalist is extremely distressing; he fre- 

 quently finds his collections, which he thought quite 

 secure, by being carefully shut up and hung against 

 the wall, destroyed in a single night. Taught by 

 repeated experience, we found the only safe means 

 to be the application of Bufibn's arsenic salve, 

 wrapping the parcels in linens dipped in oil of tur- 

 pentine, and depositing them in tin cases, which 



s 2 



