The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1882-10-26
THE LIVELY SAND FLEA,

There is one branch of compulsory ed
hcation in no wise dependent upon State
Or National enactments. Let the flea
stand as representative of that branch.
The flea is selected because nothing will
represent more in a 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-
terstlcs OF his constituency. He has no
fences to look after; he always wins
against the most brazen competitor, and,
] IN the vast congress of ieas, he faithfully
represents all the bilge, scum and effer-
sFescent cussedness of his fellow sayaoes
sOf the highest order.
Remarkable as the statement NAV an
pear, it is nevertheless true that the
ssportlye flea has been made a 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
sOughby made a pet of flea, and lit
1erally fed him from his hand. We are
also told of cherry stone chariots with
aeas for horses; yet how grim the humor
which can turn such distressing subject
INTO jest! The flea presents us not only
With skip and stab, but paradox.
There Is at once a great deal and very
little known about him. Aristotle, Plinv.
Linn@us and Cuvier devoted their genius
% the study Of the flea, and the fruits of
laelr labors are stored among the tones
Of empires and republics. In the
lace of all this chronological cru
ahon a certain uncultured student
OF nature has probably been more
quoted, his explanation declared to be
more lucid and his summing up of
] Inc iea question more complete and ac-
earate than those of Aristotle, Pliny and
me entire army corps of German scien-
.'sts. In fact, the latest results of the
a~orid thought on the subject of fieas
Fte summed up in an Irishman's COM
ISneht; Il put ME finger upon him and
le wasn't there Among all the lum-
per OF chronological analysis is found
s'ne bit OF description from celebrated
gu'nof, which is perfectly clear and will
Sgetre universal assent: .'The flea bites
gu the time, day and night. and is never
Islsled. With all the flea literature
~ Wenty-three centuries before us, it is
aAuost impossible to elucidate the philo-
sspny OF this most interesting and ubiqui-
s~uS companion of man. The flea is a
s'paaefiul sp;i touchstone, and the ignorance
Hsu'eh he exposes is alarming. With
" immense practical knowledge which
E business end' is constantly incul-
ing 1t Is astonishing that the general
gsoIie Is so deficient in its observations
the more scholarly side of the flea
elne' FOR instance, in one of the in
views, hereinafter alluded to, the fol- |
hs answer was made to the query: |
"nat do You know about fieas?F II
NOW all | want to; l know that they |
Nv SIX legs and bite like thunder"
nere appears to be tideal wave of re-
'sn just now upon this topic. Call
upon gentleman the other evening
I,uaaehly yanked up one of his trous-
leSSs ana, after some violent and vain
~ the result of this recon-
M. ,,a,lce was thus announced: Curse
lae nea = In many localities the flea
Fsae Is pecuiiarly Y annoying, and hence
~,vli9aeon sw9 on the subject will be well
Dm0ai mea as timely and great boon. Some
- are infested which were never be-
ar. eeneefed by the pests One family Won
n A. = now 1t could have become subject
I'M " 'he Wholesale intrusion, as there
s.u no cats or dogs about the premises.
3sil;na again. proof is given of the pre-
us h : ignorance. One party was asked
saaa : wasn't aware of the difference be-
I'M r. = 'ne common fleainfesting animals
ae sand flea, "A flea is flea;
NJ Know anything about your dis
IONS aa y And yet this distinction has
s,.a, cnefence. 1t is the sand flea herein
ssd o. and he has as many aliases as
t@perienced jailbird. This inveter-
%pfnent is known as the sand flea.
sbs sllgo' the jigger, the chigre and the
r,S ~ ps,1etfans. 1t is this species which
ena ss houses, swarms beneath carpets, |
a. az upholstered furniture, threat
Tue expulsion of the entire house
s. u u Is almost impossible to deter
~ Tue habits of the sand flea. Them