182 
Notes on Tides 
III. Regarding the loss of life in ticks occurring on 
WANDERING HOSTS. 
In acknowleding the receipt of my paper, entitled, “ On the 
Adaptation of Ticks to the Habits of their Hosts,” Mr E. G. Wheler 
writes from Claverdon Leys, Warwick, April, 1911, that he does not 
consider the loss of life in ticks which occur on w'andering hosts is as 
great as might be supposed. “ If the habits of cattle, sheep, etc. are 
watched, they will be found to be guided by very great regularity. 
They feed in the same places at the same time of day, lie down in the 
same part of a field or moor, and even take a regular round of their 
ground day by day. All these movements are governed by the weather, 
and are subject to variation accordingly ; but taking the year round, the 
chances of ticks finding a host are much greater than if the habits of 
the hosts were purely haphazard in character. 
As a typical example, I often used to stay at a vicarage near 
Chillingham, and in sight of one part of the Park. The wild cattle 
were, in fine weather, always visible from the house at the same time 
in the afternoon, never in the morning, and the portion of the Park in 
question was only a few acres in extent. 
Again, in Alnwick Park, where I collected most of my ticks 
(/. ricinus) for experimental purposes, I rarely found any except in 
patches of long rushes, where the deer lay habitually in the summer 
months because the stags could brush the Hies off their horns, then in 
velvet, and except for a few weeks in the spring and again in the 
autumn, very few were to be found, showing plainly that they had soon 
found a fresh host. Of course, a certain number must fall off in other 
places, but I fancy the proportion is smaller than might be expected, 
taking into consideration the amount of unsuccessful searching I have 
done in unlikely places.At Alnwick Park a portion of the Deer 
Park was fenced off, and after two years it was practically clear of ticks. 
I think after a long search I found two where they were abundant 
before the deer were excluded. It has a possible bearing on the time 
required for extermination of I. ricinus,” 
