490 
Combating Lousiness 
(3) Experiments have amply demonstrated that hungry lice will 
bite and suck blood from an individual in spite of his skin being anointed 
with so-called repellants. Thus Heymann (in. 1915, p. 253) found that 
hungry corporis bit through the skin anointed with various essential 
oils, but they disliked grease. Kinloch (vi. 1915, p. 1041) found that 
hungry lice fed through ointment on the skin (he tested sulphur, Peru 
balsam, storax, oleate of mercury, chrysarobin, staveacre and black helle¬ 
bore, heavy mineral oil) and states that they prefer a clean arm; merely 
putting lard on the arm was as effective as any of the foregoing remedies. 
Heymann (vm. 1915, pp. 311-312) saw hungry lice bite through tricresol 
powder, “Anisol,” etc. applied to the skin, whilst they ran about for 
hours when pure naphthaline was dusted thereon; the lice disliked 
naphthaline-vaseline, but he thought any grease would exert the same 
effect by making the skin slippery. Widmann (ix. 1915, p. 1336) saw 
hungry lice bite in spite of cresol, formalin, “Anisol,” etc. applied to 
the skin. Glalli-Valerio (1916, p. 37) obtained a like result with “Anisol”; 
Swellengrebel (1916, p. 26) experimented on lice that were in the act 
of feeding, by applying various so-called repellants to the skin near them 
or directly to the insects; the results were negative unless the insects 
got into the fluid, when some died; he tested essential oils (anise, fennel, 
turpentine, bergamot, rosemary, orange), “Texan” of Gross, “Anisol” 
of Frankel, “Globol” of Nocht and Halberkann, cresol as recommended 
by Herxheimer and Nathan, “Lausofan” (Bayer and Co.), and naph¬ 
thaline and iodoform dusted on the insects in powder. A small amount 
of oil of anise or Anisol killed or stupefied the lice but did not repel; 
2|- % carbolic acid drove them off when feeding and killed if it wetted 
them, mustard oil likewise drove them off but it irritated the skin; 
neither of these substances could be used in practice as repellants. An 
aqueous solution of H 2 >S did not stop their feeding though it might kill 
them if dropped on them. On the other hand they avoided mercurial 
ointment (effect of grease alone?). 
Prior to having read the papers of the authors above cited, I tested 
36 different reagents smeared upon the skin immediately before placing 
numerous hungry body-lice upon it; the results were negative almost 
throughout. The lice fed normally and promptly on the skin anointed 
with oils of citronella, eucalyptus, peppermint, thyme, cedar, sassafras; 
with linseed oil containing 1 to 25 % naphthaline, camphorated olive oil, 
tar and olive oil (strong), strong tobacco infusion, terebene, turpentine, 
glycerine, quassia in 90 % spirit and infusion, nitrobenzene, eugenol, 
colophane, vermijelli, white precipitate ointment, pyrethrum powder. 
