6 
AUDY & HARRISON 
2. Klang and Port Swettenham , by Dr. M. I. Mohamed, Health Officer, Coast (1072 
pairs regularly from January, 1949 to August, 1951). 
3. India (mostly North India), by Kalra (34 pairs, 1949 to 1952). 
4. Hong Kong , by Mr. J. D. Romer, Municipal Health Office (40 pairs, 1949 to 1950). 
5. Kuching area, Sarawak, by Tom Harrisson (414 pairs, 1950 to 1952). 
Body Service 
We have borrowed this term from Mr. Charles Elton, f.r.s. : it implies all the routine 
processes of collecting, examining, and otherwise dealing with the individual animals which are 
being investigated. 
Animals are trapped in wire cage traps of standard pattern, in forest by Aborigines, in 
Estates by estate labourers, in wasteland and special localities by our own trappers, and in town 
by the municipality’s trappers, usually on a reward basis. 
Every vertebrate brought into the laboratory is entered in a register and given a number 
(prefix R). The date, place, and method of capture are recorded and the species if known. 
Some animals are retained for observation, others are collected for keeping over water so that 
engorged larvae may be recovered for breeding (and also so that feeding times may be estimated), 
but most animals are put into white cloth bags and killed with the petrol-gas which is piped to 
the laboratory. All visible ectoparasites are then removed and either mounted in PVA or 
preserved in spirit. Trombiculid mites are searched for and removed under a stereoscopic 
dissecting microscope ; fleas, lice, parasitoid (gamasoid) mites, and similar parasites are 
collected by shaking, beating, and combing, but no special techniques are used for the recovery 
of any of these. 
The host body is then measured and weighed, photographed if such records are lacking, 
examined for fertility (presence of sperm or embryos) and stomach contents, and, if worthwhile, 
the skin and skull are preserved. Skins are mounted flat on cards by the method devised by 
Elton (1938). Attempts are being made to build up a collection of photographs of the living 
animals. A certain number of live animals of various interesting species are regularly kept in 
the laboratory under observation. 
All this information is recorded in the register and thence transferred as required to punch- 
cards. Admittedly the double entry increases the work involved, but since several laboratory 
assistants may be involved a register system allows for better control. No body is disposed of 
until its entry in the register has been initialled by a responsible officer. The senior laboratory 
assistant responsible for the animals is Mr. Lim Boo-Liat, who is assisted by Mr. Abdul Rahman. 
Ectoparasites are either mounted on glass slides or preserved in spirit, frequently in pools 
relating to particular species of hosts. The trombiculid mites are mounted and identified as a 
matter of routine but as each host-species from each locality becomes adequately sampled, its 
parasites are thenceforth pooled and preserved in spirit. Other ectoparasites were formerly 
mounted on slides but are now pooled by host-locality or by host species. These are passed on to 
our colleague Traub at intervals. They are being studied by various workers : the parasitoid 
mites by Dr. Edward W. Baker (U.S. Department of Agriculture) in collaboration with Traub 
and his colleagues ; the ticks by Dr. Glen M. Kohls of the Rocky Mountain Laboratory ; the 
fleas by Traub; and the lice by Dr. Wernicke of Brazil. The trombiculids are being studied 
by Audy in collaboration with Mr. H. Womersley of the South Australian Museum, Adelaide, 
and with Traub and his colleague Dr. Douglas Gould of the U.S. Army Medical Service 
STUD. INST. MED. RES. 
