132 THE HUMAN FLEA. 
time. Born, perhaps, in a filthy hut, the flea, depending 
upon the great strength of its armor and its power of rapid 
motion, boldly attacks even princes born in castles. The 
flea is decidedly a republican, who cares for neither titles 
nor positions! To realize how great tormenters fleas can 
become it is only necessary to enter a house tenanted by 
them, and which has not been occupied by man for some 
time. To get rid of them sticky fly-paper fastened to the 
legs is an excellent remedy, and immense numbers of fleas 
are caught while the person thus equipped walks over the 
floors of infested rooms. 
In some parts of the old world fleas are exceedingly 
abundant, and it seems that the more that are killed the 
more come to attend the funeral, and their activity, their 
energy and their appetites are prodigious. In Tom Moore’s 
words— 
“You may crush, you may smother, the flea as you will, 
But his brothers and sisters will cling round you still!”’ 
We have in our own country also many localities where 
a “flea hunt’ is a regular occupation of many a mother as 
she tucks up the little ones before retiring to rest. 
The length of the reddish-brown or pitchy-brown male 
varies from 2 to 2.5mm.; of the female from 3 to 4mm.; the 
larva measures 3.5mm., and the egg 0.7 to 0.8mm. 
It is frequently stated that fleas multiply very rapidly 
in saw-dust impregnated with liquid manure, and saw-pits 
near mills are said to breed even millions of them. In fact 
many people claim that they are here produced in spite of all 
natural laws, i. e. by spontaneous generation. Of coursethe 
latter is all nonsense, though the fact remains that such 
places, being just suitable for the growing larve of fleas, at- 
tract the adult ones. Strange to say many fleas obtained 
from saw-pits in Minnesota were all specimens of the 
human-flea. 
It is well-known that fleas have been trained to perform 
ina kind of minute circus. Of course such fleas are not 
really trained; they are simply forced to act in a certain 
manner and the whole performance is a case of cruelty that 
should not be permitted. The strength of fleas is best given 
