Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-08-09
THE MUSICAL MUSKETO.
Who Does the biting, and How It Is
bone.
From the Chicago Tribune

FROM the Chicago Tribune
There is no way that know of whereby you
can keep mosquitoes from biting you except by
keeping them off by some sort of obstruction"
said well-known entomologtst in reply to a
question, the purport Of which is indicated by
the answer. ''It is true however, that at GER
tain times when the mosquitoes are not vora-
cious nor strong and vigorous. as, owing to the
cool weather they now are. simple rubbing Of
the exposed parts with oil will keep them of;
then, when they have become q little more az
gressive. the oil OF pennyrOyal will If placed on
rag near or on the pillow. for instance. by its
powerful OdOr keep them at distance as long
as the odor lasts, which is not a great while,
but long enough to permit one to get to Sleep
when one may become oblvous to the bites
and music OF the pestss But there are times
when nothing but netting will keep them Off,
for they become absolutely ferocious l saw the
other day an account of some traveller in the
country of the Cossack, in which he stated that
at times the mosquitoes would light down upon
them an inch thick and unless they had been
prepared with cages and netting for their heads,
and heavy leather gloves on their hands. they
would have been bitten to death. The same &C
count went on to state that the inhabitants Of
that country burn piles of manure all the time
in front of their huts, the smoke from which
makes a great cloud, which has the effect of
driving the pests away from the villages to a
great extent but where this or other protection
Is HoI auorueu tney XIII every living creature.
THE WAY THEY BITE.
"HOw does the mosquito bite?'
81 will tell you. But first let me explain.
"The females are the ones which are theworst
biters and most noisy singers, and this is prob
ably because they require more food to fit them
to endure the labors of maternity. Take a mos
quito, when you can catch one, and squeeze his
head little and you will see his proboscis;
squeeze a little harder and there will come out
OF his rroboscis five little lancets like brstles
with hook on the end of each. These are
driven into the flesh. Now. the construction of
these little hooks Is such that the mosquito can
withdraw them easily when it gets done making
its meal. but if you kill it with slap or drive it
away suddenly these little hooks are left in the
wound, and create great deal more irritation
than would naturally arise from the bite"
But is not the bite posonous?''
~ es. to certain extent, but not as the bite
of rattlesnake is poisonous. Look at the
mosquito under glass and it is one of the
most beautiful and delicate of all insects, and
its structure is very frail. In withdrawing the
blood from your hand, for example, it could
hardly be expected to force its proboscis into
the flesh and by the power Of suction draw the
thick blood through the very narrow aperture
1t has into its stomach To help in this, nature
has secretea in its proboscis a saliva, just as
man has in his mouth. This liquid it injects
into the incision, and it reduces or thins in
some way the blood and by irritation draws it
to the surface of the wound, SO that it can be
more readily taken up. All this creates consid-
cradle pain and itching. Now. a sensible mos
quito. like a sensible man. will not salivate nor
chew more than he can swallow. So If you let
mosquito finish hismeal he will take up nearly
all the saliva he njects, withdraw his proboscis,
aud leave comparatively little trace"
DIFFERING DEGREES OF sENSITvENEss
"But why is it that the bites affect people diff
ferently?"
thnf ic har ~ IN,
bodily conditions. A bite on different portions
of the body is quite different thing Let
mosquito bite you on the end of your finger or
on the sole of your foot, and see how different it
is from bite on the cheek or arm. Persons
VINO suffer most from mOsquitO-bites have a
supersensitive skin that suffers from any irrita-
ton"
HOW TO TREAT BITE.
DESTROYS of discovering something about the
treatment of the bites OF mosquitoes the reporter
visited doctor and asked him If he ever had
calls for the treatment of mosquito bites.
occasionally" he replied. ''Sometimes a
man who has been hunting or fishing or detained
by some reason where he was exposed to them
becomes badly bitten. and the Inflammation be-
comes serious and treatment is necessary: or.
again. some person may be in an unhealthy con-
dition. 30 that the prick of a pin or the bite OF
mosquito, or, indeed. anything, will bring their
disorder to the surface. Then. too, mosquito
may bite diseased person and nocuIate an
other with the disease, but that does not appear
so possible Oh account of the poisonous saliva
that the mosquito forces into the wound it
makes"
What is the character Of this poison?"
at is supposed to be forlnc acid. and In large
quantities would be fatal"
What is the best treatment for painful bites?'
"Simpiy ammonia, which neutraliZcs the pos-
on and nearly always proves efficacious When
it does not weak solution of chloride of lime or
Eau de Luce can be used. Some people cover
ther exposed parts with oil of pennyroyal.
which, however, is very likely to prove hurtful
il long continued"