514 
Combat iiig Loiisiness 
Various proprietary remedies and nostrums were tested by Bacot 
(MS. Report, W.O. i. 1918) to which we would allude briefly: 
Ref. 
No. 
339. W. A. Procter’s Parasiticide Paste and Fluid, for application to the skin and 
clothes. When applied to the skin, lice remained unaffected and were not 
prevented from biting. Upon clothing it killed lice during 2-3 hrs after it was 
applied, but it deteriorated greatly in its action after 24 hrs. The amount 
required to treat a shirt is estimated by Bacot at 400-500 c.c. Would the 
cost be commensurate with the result? 
340. McDougall’s Insecticide Powder. Lice dusted with it and confined unfed in a 
box therewith, lived 72 hrs at room temperature. Tested on flannel worn next 
the skin, with lice confined thereon by chiffon, it was found to be but feebly 
insecticidal. There is no evidence that the preparation possesses any practical 
value. (10. xn. 1917.) 
341. S. Crawford’s Fluid for the Destruction of Lice. This appears to contain 
camphor. Lice were confined on flannel slips 3x2 inches treated with 0-3 
and 0-6 c.c. respectively and worn next the skin for 6 hrs (only 3/20 dead) 
and 5-| hrs (only 7/22 dead). A feebly acting preparation. The cost probably 
prohibitive in practice. 
342. “No Germo” when tested was found to be of little or no use. 
343. “Para-quit” found to have practically no effect. Supplied in the form of 
ointment, liquid and soap. Probably contains oil of sassafras (Bacot states 
that this oil emulsifies with soft soap and keeps for 2-3 weeks when the 
emulsion breaks down). 
344. “Parastik” found less effective than “Parasitox.” (Bee No. 327.) 
345. Huxley’s “Khaki Trench Powder” contains naphthaline. 
346. Maw’s Preparation, consisting of 9 essential oils and naphthaline, evaporates 
too rapidly to be of use. 
347. Harrison’s Pomade (vide Expts 307, 309). Apparently contains veratrine (vide 
Expts 308, 310), a highly toxic alkaloid so that it should not be applied to 
the abraded skin. It kills slowly, vide p. 549, No. 460. 
B. Experiments wherein Phthirus pubis were exposed to 
various Insecticides. 
The insects, mostly adults, were immersed in the fluid insecticides, 
or, in a few instances, exposed to the effects of their vapours at ca. 16° C. 
The experiments were made on three lots of insects obtained in large 
numbers from heavily infested soldiers in Cambridge in July and August 
1915. The lice were tested by me in batches of 2-5 at a time, either 
immediately or within 1-4 hrs of their removal from the men. The 
insects were handled as little as possible, being left clinging to hairs. 
Some preliminary experiments with nits proved unsatisfactory as very 
few of the untreated control nits hatched in the thermostat at 30° C., 
