COLLECTING ECONOMIC PLANT DATA 



matter of fact, one may travel for months without seeing a snake, and 

 even then it is likely to be harmless. 



The greatest danger results from the prevalence of insects, especially 

 mosquitoes, which transmit a number of diseases. When in malarial 

 districts, quinine or a synthetic substitute should be taken as a preven- 

 tive. Some authorities recommend 10 grains of quinine daily, 5 in the 

 morning and 5 at night. Medicines and doses for specific purposes should 

 be prescribed, however, by a physician. 



Various kinds of insecticides and repellents exist, but the most effec- 

 tive, developed recently for use of the armed forces, are not yet avail- 

 able to the general public. 



At night, nets furnish the best protection against mosquitoes, but the 

 nets supplied by most hotels and hostels of tropical America are usually 

 torn and unserviceable; for this reason, the traveler will do well to cany 

 his own. Small light nets, measuring about 8 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, and 3JH? 

 ft. high, can be made to order of bobbinet having a mesh of 24 by 24 

 per square inch. A foot-wide hem of muslin at the bottom serves to 

 tuck under the mattress. The edges also are reinforced with muslin, and 

 each top corner is fitted with two tie strings. In regions where hammocks 

 are used, specially shaped nets will be needed, but usually these can be 

 purchased locally. 



During the waking hours some protection against mosquitoes can be 

 had by keeping fully clothed. Sport shirts and shorts are dangerous 

 apparel in infectious regions. Since mosquitoes are attracted by dark 

 clothing, some measure of relief can be found by wearing white suits 

 and socks. Mosouito boots are well-known in English colonies but are 

 scarcely heard of in the United States. These, with thin leather tops 

 reaching to the knees and thin soles, are worn after dark to prevent 

 mosquito bites. 



Attacks from red bugs (also called harvest mites, or chiggers) and 

 ticks can be prevented by dusting the body freely with flowers of sulfur. 

 A small metal can with a shaker top makes the best container for the 

 sulfur. If ticks become embedded in the skin, they can be loosened by 

 holding a heated needle near them. In Latin American tropics the larvae 

 of a warble fly (called nuche in Colombia and torcelo in Nicaragua) may 

 sometimes cause serious trouble by developing in exposed parts of the 

 arms or legs, sometimes even on the face or in the scalp. The infestation 

 may be mistaken at first for a small boil, but the appearance of a delicate 

 hairlike appendage, accompanied by an ooze, will indicate the true nature 

 of the trouble. Some people calmly cut open the swelling and remove the 

 parasite, but that procedure can lead to infection. The larvae can be 

 killed by holding a bottle of chloroform or ether to the opening in the 

 skin. Also they can be suffocated by covering the area with a piece of 

 adhesive tape. After the worm dies, the contents of the wound can be 

 gently pressed out like an ordinary boil, but care should be taken not 

 to burst the maggot during the process, since some believe that absorp- 

 tion of the juices might cause serious shock. 



Another common pest is the true chigger or chigoe (called nigua in 

 Colombia, and bicho do pe in Brazil), which penetrates the skin usually 

 near or under the toenails. A slight irritation, or itching, is caused. Ex- 

 amination will reveal a small whitish area with a black dot at the center, 

 the black dot being the embedded insect. Removal is made with a flamed 

 needle, care being taken not to break the egg sac attached to the insect. 



