"We depended upon the mixture of one part of carbolic acid and nine parts of sweet oil to keep off various things that sought our acquaintance. A very little of this mixture on the face and hands was effective. It is a preparation that I learned to use in Labrador, where none of the common applications would suffice".

Doctor Durham, of the English Yellow Fever Commission, Rio de Janeiro, told Dr. L. O. Howard that " He and the late Dr. Myers found that a 5 per cent, solution of sulphate of potash prevented mosquitoes from biting, and that they were obliged to use this mixture while at work in their laboratory in Brazil to prevent themselves from being badly bitten".

I judge this would also be a good preventive of attacks from ticks and chiggers, as they cannot stand sulphur.

Plain kerosene is certain death to all sorts of insect pests, so long as they have not burrowed beneath the skin, and one of the best preventives of their attacks. It is used everywhere by men whose constant exposure renders them less fastidious about personal greasiness and aroma than they are solicitous for comfort and health. Dr. W. H. Dade, an army surgeon in the Philippines, found that the addition of one part oil of bergamot to sixteen of kerosene made the odor less disagreeable and added enough body to prevent evaporation in less than six to eight hours. I have used Japanese oil of camphor for the same purpose.

Some Dopes

The following mixtures may be particularly recommended:

Mr. C. A. Nash's

Oil of citronella .................... i oz.

Spirits of camphor .................. i oz.

Oil of cedar ........................l/z oz.

Doctor Howard says this is the most effective mixture he has tried. " Ordinarily a few drops on a bath towel hung over the head of the bed will keep Culex pipiens away for a whole night. Where mosquitoes are very persistent, however, a few drops rubbed on the face and hands will suffice".

Dr. Edward Beck's

Pine tar............................ 3 oz.

Olive (or castor) oil................ 2 oz.

Oil pennyroyal ..................... 1 oz.

Oil citronella....................... 1 oz.

Creosote............................ 1 oz.

Camphor (pulverized) .............. 1 oz.

Carbolated vaseline ................ large tube.

Heat the tar and oil and add the other ingredients; simmer over slow fire until well mixed. The tar may be omitted if disliked, or for ladies' use. Above will rather more than fill a pint screw-top tin flask. This mixture not only discourages insect attacks but is also a good counter-irritant after being bitten. One may substitute for thy olive oil its weight in carbolated vaseline and thus make an unguent that can be carried in collapsible tubes, and the Doctor now recommends this.

Col. Crofton Fox's

Oil pennyroyal................... 1 dram.

Oil peppermint .................. 1 dram.

Oil bergamot .................... 1 dram.

Oil cedar ....................... 1 dram.

Quassia ......................... 1 dram.

Gum camphor.................... 4 drams.

Vaseline, yellow.................. 2 drams.

Dissolve camphor in vaseline by heat; when cold add remainder.

I doubt if peppermint adds anything to the efficacy of this formula, and would substitute citron-ella or lavender.

The principles to be observed in compounding a dope of one's own are (1) choose your repellents or insecticides, or both; (2) add enough lanolin, vaseline, castor oil, or other base to give the desired " body." It is well to incorporate some good antiseptic with the stuff, to relieve irritation and poisoning from bites already received, and to serve as a healing ointment for abrasions, bruises, and other injuries, as already mentioned. Any ingredient that irritates the skin or makes the eyes smart should be avoided, except where insects are so bad that such addition may be necessary.

Bites And Stings

To relieve the itching of insect bites the common remedies are ammonia or a solution of baking soda. A better one is to cover each bite with flexible collodion (" New Skin ") ; but be sure the bottle is always securely stoppered, for the ether of the solvent evaporates very quickly and then the stuff is useless.

A bee leaves its sting in the wound, and this of course should be removed; a wasp, hornet, or yellow-jacket can sting repeatedly. For the pain, apply ammonia or baking powder solution, or a weak solution of carbolic acid, or wet salt, moistened clay, a mud poultice, a slice of raw onion, or a moist quid of tobacco.

Fleas

In the high mountains of North Carolina and adjoining States there are no mosquitoes, at least none that sing or bite; but if a man sits down on a log, it may be five miles from any house, the chance is good that he will arise covered with fleas. I have been so tormented by these nimble allies of Auid Reekie, when spending a night in a herder's cabin on the summit of the Smokies, that I have arisen in desperation and rubbed myself from head to foot with kerosene. That settled the fleas. Citronella will do as well.

If you catch a flea, don't try to crush it, for you can't, but roll it between the fingers; that breaks its legs; than you can open your fingers and kill it. A good way, if water is handy, is to keep a tight grip until you get your thumb and finger into some water — a flea can't swim — then, if it is not already filled with blood, it will sink, and drown, and go to meet its reward, which, let us hope, is a hot one.

When you have to occupy a cabin infested with fleas, scrub it out with hot soapsuds, and see that the site is well wet beneath the floor. Fleas will not stay in a wet place.

Blood-Sucking Flies

In northern forests we have several species of flies that attack man. The deer-fly or " bull-dog " is a small gad-fly that drives her dagger-like mandibles into one's skin so viciously that she takes out a bit of flesh and makes the blood flow freely. The black-fly (Similium molestum) is a stout, hump-backed, black termagant with transparent wings, from one-sixth to one-quarter inch long. This creature is a common nuisance of the forests and along the streams of northern New England, the Adirondacks, the Lake region, and Canada. She keeps busy until late in the afternoon, poisoning everything that she attacks, and raising a painful lump as big as a dime at every bite. Closely related species are the buffalo-gnat and turkey-gnat of the South, which sometimes appear in incredible numbers, driving animals frantic and setting up an inflammatory fever that may prove fatal. Black-flies and their ilk are easily driven away by smudges. Mosquito dopes will protect one from them.