30 ANIMAL PARASITES 



treatment of the skia, must be thoroughly attended 

 to. 



Of the million and a half of men who composed 

 the Northern and Southern armies during the re- 

 bellion, we doubt if many score escaped being in- 

 fested by these parasites. We should not like to 

 say what proportion of the thousands of recruits 

 who passed through our examination, had to be 

 made clean before becoming soldiers. We have 

 known of officers being furloughed from the field 

 to return home, and once more get free of their 

 travelling companions in the shape of vermin. 

 Had every army surgeon, North and South, been 

 quite familiar with the habits and habitats of 

 these insects, much sujffering might have been 

 saved. Those who did understand the proper 

 and efficient methods of prevention aiid treat- 

 ment, often labored strenuously for the personal 

 cleanliness of their command. Of course all ef- 

 fort failed when the accidents or necessities of 

 war prevented for weeks, or months, perhaps, 

 change of clothing, requisite ablutions, and the 

 wasning of under-garments . The horrors of the 

 Southern prisons were rendered still worse by 

 the loathsome presence of vermin, which the in- 



