The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1882-10-06
THE LIVELY SAND FLEA.

THE LIVELY SAND FLEA.
There is one branch of compulsory ed
ucation in,no wise dependent upon State
or National enaotments. Let the flea
stand as representative of that branch.
The flea IS selected because nothing will
represent more in given area and time.
The flea Is so comprehensively repre-
sentative that he seems to gather up in
himself about all of the lower charac-
terlstics of his constituency. He has no
fences to look after; he always wins
against the most brazen competitor, and
in the vast congress Of fieas, he faithfully
represents all tho bilge, scum and effer-
vescent eussedness of his fellow savages
of the highest. order.
Remarkable as the statement NAV APP
pear, it is nevertheless true that the
sportive flea has been made pet and an
instrument of amusement by man, al
though the great mass of the people
have suspected that the sport was all on
the side of the flea. The naturalist Will
oughby made pet of a flea, and lit
orally fed him from his hand. We are.
also. told of cherry stone chariots with
fleas for horses; yet how grim the humor
which can turn sucha distressing subject
into jesti The flea presents us notonly
with skip and a stab, but paradox.
There is at once a great deal and very
little known about him. Aristotle, Pliny,
Linn9us and Cuvier devoted their genius
to the study of the flea, and the fruits of
their labors are stored among the tones
OF empires and republics. In the
face of all this chronological cru
dition u certain uncultured student |
of nature has probably been more
quoted, his explanation declared to be
more lucid and his summing up of
the flea question more complete and ac-
curate than those of Aristotle, Pliny and
the entire army corps of German scien-
lists. In fact, the latest results of the
world thought on the subject of heas
are summed up in an Irishman's COM
ment: II put me finger upon him and
he wasn't there Among all the lum-
Der of chronological analysis is found
one bit of description from a celebrated
author, which is perfectly clear and will
secure universal assent: The flea bites
all the time, day and night, and is never
satisfied With all the flea literature
of twenty three, centuries before US, it is
almost impossible to elucidate the philo-
sophy of this most interesting and ubiqui-
tous companion of man. The flea is
wonderful touchstone, and the ignorance
which he exposes is alarming With
the immense practical knowledge which
his business end is constantly -incul- /.
eating, it is astonishing that the general
public is so.deiicient in its observations |
of the more scholarly side of the flea
theme. For instance, in one of the in
terviews, hereinafter alluded to, the fol-
lowing answer was made to the query:
What do YOU know about fieas?'' Il /
know all / want to; / know that they
have six legs and bite like thunder"
There appears to be tideal wave of re-
search just now upon this topic Call |
ing upon gentleman the other evening
he suddenly yanked up one of his trous- /
ers legs and, after some violent and vain
gesticulations, the result of this recon-
noisance was thus announced: Course
that Heap In many localities the flea
plague speeuliarly annoying, and hence
information on the subject viii be well
coined as timely and great boon. Some
houses are infested which were never be-
fore entered by the pests. One family won
ders how it could have become subject
ed to the wholesale intrusion, as there
are no cats or dogs about the premises.
Here, again, proof is given of the pre-
vailing ignorance. One party was asked
if he wasn't aware of the difference be-
tween the common eainfesting animals
and the sand flea, "A flea is a lea;
don't know anything about your dis
tinctions. p" And yet this distinction has
its difference 1t is the sand flea herein
treated of, and he has as many aliases as
an experienced jailbird. This inveter-
ate torment is known as the sand flea.
the chigo, the iigger, the chigre and the
IN vades houses, swarms beneath carpets,
illing all upholstered furniture, threat
sning the expulsion of the entire house,
lold. 1t is almost impossible to deter
nine the habits of the sand flea The in
ect is perfect eleven days after the dep
'sition of the egg. The male is much
ike the common dog flea. but the female I
5 very different. burrowing beneath the I
kin, and there depositing her eggs. |
When thus buried in the flesh, the fe-
male swells to great size by the dis ]
ension of her eggs, and removal is not
My difficult, but dangerous. If the j
,ody of the flea be broken while beneath
he skin. the released eggs are dissent
ated among the surrounding tissues, {
nd painful ifritations ensue. They may I
Ne safely removed, however, with a l
eedle by those expert in the process. /,
The public is in blissful ignorance of {
he jobs which the upholsterers have q
Then these Willoughby's pets so thor 1,
ughly take possession of a set of furni- /
nre that the covering and stuffing is 9
tripped to the bare frame in order to- I
ust the .tormentors. Several years ago /
n extensive upholstering establishment L
'as forced to entirely suspend operations v
,r a season, so overwhelming was the f
ea scourge, while in 1867 New York t
ity suffered from most peculiar and
glorious visitation. The attendants upon
race Church were suddenly afflicted (,
ith an intolerable itching, which proved a
to all spiritual exercises. The b
evn had entered that sacred edifice, and a
lille he came not as an angel of light :