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the form of a truncate cone. He then sticks his finger into the apex of 
the cone, making a hole half an inch in depth, into which he pours half 
a teaspoonful of kerosene. He leaves it a few minutes and then lights 
it with a match. The resulting smoke is dense and cool and the cone 
burns down to the ground. 
AUSTRALIAN PARASITES OF* VERTEBRATES. 
Apropos to the description of a new flea from New South Wales, Mr. 
E. A. A. Skuse, in the Eecords of the Australian Museum, Vol. n, No. 5, 
gives a list of the insect parasites of Vertebrates which he knows 
to occur in Australia. The new flea occurs on the body of the Aus- 
tralian Tiger-cat, and for it Mr. Skuse erects the new genus Stephanocir- 
eus, characterized chiefly by the absence of eyes in the female and the 
possession of an exerted cap-like patella in the front of the head. 
Among the animal parasites he mentions the common Sheep and Horse 
Bots, two species of the Oscinid genus Batrachomyia, the larvae of 
which live under the skin of frogs, two species of Hippobosca, five of 
Ornithomyia, the common Sheep Tick, a single species of Olfersia, five 
fleas of the genus Pulex, one of the genus Echidnophaga, occurring 
upon the Australian Porcupine, the common Bed Bug, the head, body 
and crab Lice, and of other lice two species of Philopterus on chickens 
and pigeons and five of Trichodectes on domestic animals. Most of 
the latter are of wide distribution and by no means confined to Aus- 
tralia. 
KEROSENE EMULSION AOAINST SHEEP TICKS. 
A recent writer in the American Agriculturalist speaks highly of ker- 
osene emulsion for killing sheep ticks. He has tried a score or more 
of remedies and finds that this has the advantage of cheapness, ease of 
application, harmlessness to the animal, and efficiency against the ticks. 
Instead of dipping the animals, which the average sheep raiser consid- 
ers altogether too much trouble, he crowds the sheep into some corner 
or pen, so as to bring them into a compact body, and then sprays the 
emulsion over them until they are thoroughly wet, the flock being occa- 
sionally moved about so as to expose all parts of the body. We are 
glad to see this practical testimony, since, although the effectiveness 
of the remedy was proved some years ago by Messrs. C. P. Gillette and 
Cooper Curtice, the late tendency of Experiment Station entomologists 
has been to depreciate the use of the emulsion on account, as they say, 
of the difficulty which the ordinary individual has in making a perfect 
emulsion. As we have stated on two occasions before the Association 
of Economic Entomologists, we do not consider this a valid reason for 
refraining from recommending an efficient remedy. The farmer must 
be induced to take a little pains in this matter. He must be shown 
that it is not difficult when properly undertaken and he must, in fact, 
be educated up to its use. 
