yVNIMAL PARASITES 173 



liLin^Ty creature happens to attacli itself to the 

 clothing- of a human being-, it will n-iake the best 

 of a bad job, and at the same time teach its host 

 a lesson in natural history. 



The pig, also, h is .s[)ecial persecutors of its 

 own, and is oftcm waited u|:)on by the ferocious- 

 looking creature shown in bdg. 112. Members of 

 this family of pess also patronise the field-mouse, 

 rat, dog, ox, ass, horse, rabbit, srjuirrel, camel, 

 monkey, &c. They resen-ilde each other Aer\' 

 closely, although of different species ; and one of the 

 common characteristics of the various genera is 

 the strong dex'elopment of their legs, all of which, 

 as our illustration shows, are adaptetl for climbing 

 and holding firml\' to their victim. 



Birds, both great and small, suffer eciualh' with 

 man-m-ials in the n-iatter ot troublesome \'isitors. 

 The parasite of the ostrich shown in bdg. 113 is a 

 formidable-looking e.\amj)le, but, taking into con- 

 sideration the size of its host, perhaps it is only in 

 the natural order of things. The parasite of the 

 crow (Pig. 114) is content with more reasonable 

 dimensions ; and the common domestic fowl, alon;g 

 with many other familiar birds, provides board and 

 lodgings for very similar |)arasites to this ot the 

 crow ; while the pigeon, amongst its \-ariety of 

 such uninvited guests, possesses one at least of 

 this family. Perhaps, however, the nKjst interest- 



