22 
Argas persims 
the life-history and habits, some including a more or less detailed 
description of the external structures. The only published paper 
dealing specially with the anatomy of Argas persicus is that of Heller 
(1858), a lengthy dissertation with four plates of twenty-five figures, to 
which further references will be made. 
The synonymy, iconography, geographical distribution, hosts, general 
biology and systematic position of the species are treated extensively 
in a recently published monograph, to which the reader is referredh 
Technique. 
The greater part of the material used in this work was sent from 
South Africa by Mr C. P. Lounsbury, of Cape Town, to whom the 
authors express their most grateful acknowledgements. Their best 
thanks are also due to Prof. G. H. F. Nuttall, of Cambridge, for material 
collected at Kasauli, Punjab, India, and to Mr J. D. Davidson who 
collected and sent supplies from Potchefstroom, Transvaal, S. Africa. 
In addition to these sources, the authors were able to avail themselves 
of the store of preserved material in the Cooper Collection, Watford, 
which included specimens from Africa (Algeria and Rhodesia), from 
Texas, U.S.A., and from Queensland, Australia. 
In the study of the external anatomy, the same methods were used 
as those which have been described in an earlier communication to this 
Joui’nal, in which one of the authors (L. E. R.) collaborated^ 
For the general examination of the external structures, living 
specimens may be killed by a momentary immersion in boiling water. 
Apart from its simplicity, this method has two advantages—the 
specimen dies with the appendages in a state of extension—and the 
adherent dirt, which frequently obscures the surface details, is for 
the most part removed. If it is desired to make a cleared and mounted 
preparation of such a specimen, the careful application of a little soap 
and warm water on a small camel-hair brush is advisable, as the 
neglect of this precaution frequently spoils an otherwise good prepa¬ 
ration. The clearing of a specimen is best effected with an aqueous 
solution of pjotash (10"/n) which should always be used cold; if, with 
the object of hastening the operation, heat is applied, the chitin swells 
and many of the finer details are irretrievably lost. 
In making preparations of the cuticle, it is advisable to remove and 
1 Nuttall, G. H. F., Warburton, C., Cooper, W. F. and Eobinson, L. E. (1908). 
Nuttall, G. H. F., Cooper, W. F. and Eobinson, L. E. (1908). 
