G. H. F. Nuttall 
71 
is unnecessary to dampen the atmosphere within the tick containers. 
A bi’ight light is inimical to ticks; we have usually maintained them in 
semi-darkness in a glazed and curtained cupboard or in vessels covered 
by a cloth. By the use of thermostats the rate of development during 
metamorphosis may be greatly accelerated. 
Keeping records. It is imperative to keep proper records relating to 
the ticks under observation and such records are best kept in tabular form 
with headings like those contained in this paper. By the use of headings 
to ruled columns relating to specific observations and the dates of certain 
occurrences, it is easy to guard against a regrettable oversight which 
cannot afterwards be remedied. As a matter of routine my laboratory 
assistant, Mr Clarke, makes a daily inspection of the wdiole stock of ticks 
under observation and makes notes in the protocols wherever necessary. 
By the use of narrow columns and short headings thereto the record of 
almost the whole life cycle of a species can be compressed into a single 
sheet of foolscap. It is owing largely to improperly kept records that 
there is such a dearth of information about the life histories of species 
of ticks which have been repeatedly raised by various observers. In 
place of the dates entered in the original protocols the number of days 
which have elapsed (let us say for metamorphosis) should be entered in 
any published results, for it is scarcely fair to the reader that he should 
have to calculate the length of the period from a confused mass of dates. 
A complete record, when obtainable, should contain the following- 
data : 
(1) The time the tick remains upon the host, from the date it was 
placed upon it until it drops off gorged. The kind of host should be 
mentioned and the temperature at which it is maintained; the object of 
noting this is to determine if ticks remain longer upon the host in cold 
than in warm seasons. We lack information on this point. The 
record should contain data relating to larvae, nymphs, females and males, 
and their behaviour on different hosts. 
(2) The behaviour of the sexes either on or off the host, together with 
notes on copidation. It has been noted, for instance, by Lounsbury for 
Amblyomma hebraeum that females of this species will not remain upon 
the host unless the males have previously attached themselves. At 
present I have Amblyomma variegatum under observation wherein the 
males are still attached to the host, over four months having elapsed 
since the females dropped off gorged. In most cases however males 
and females remain upon the host when placed thereon simultaneously. 
In a number of Ixodes the males do not attach themselves to a host 
