The San Francisco call., 1898-08-14

difficulty to be overcome in rloolnS house of f1eas or other pests Is Una. IT ; sects possess marvellous tecunoity dno while there are only hundreds llVlhs there are thousands in various stages of development Therefore, unless tne remedies are followed up promptly, IL IS only a question of days and III soIle cases hours when we will nave ne" crop that can bite quite as 1eroclousiy as did the previous ones. AS neas anu other insects delight to reVei anu . ol Tn dirt. 1t follows that the great preVen- tive is absolute cleanliness. He recoln- mends that carpets should be taken up at least twice a year, while every rpoiii should be swept and thoroughly uuStsu several times a week. Care must De taken that dust does not eoliect III corners, and every crack Tn the nooi mnst he carefully closed He recom- mends that in sweeping the mousse keeper should place some kerosene Ill the little tin tray of the carpet-sweeper and then as she wheels over the carpet the feas are carried in and Killed oy kerosene.
 Professor Skinner claims that the nea undergoes it's transformation Tn various kinds of dust, and that an apparently harmless collection of dust in corner may prove tc be perfect hea 1ncuDa- tor Mats rugs CT straw on Whlch the fayorite poodle or pet cat may pass It's sleeping hours are also fertlle nelos when it comes to flea raising, ana as these places are always loaded with neas in various stages of transtorIna- tion it is we'll that they should pc Ire ouently attended to. It will do httle good to rid the pets of their f1eas if they are allowed to go right back to tnelr bed and take on another load.
 It does not require the instructions or the professor to know that fieas delight
 I,N1N Nnt~r1 fQn picking out the most tender morseis. Many housekeepers have thought 10 trap the willy flea by placing a piece or raw meat on a piece or ny paper anu laying it on the floor. the idea being that the flea will be attracted to the meat, and in his frantic enorts 10 reach 1t light on the fly paper and stick there. Professor Skinner says that this IS a delusion, not for the fly but to the housekeeper, for dead flesh offers no inducement to the epicurean flea, and the only ones that are so caught are those that light there by accident,
 According to Professor Skinner. the f1eas, that is, If you feel that you must use it, is to tie 1t about your legs the sticky side outward, 1t is pre- sumed, although the learned pro- lessor Is silent on this point, ana when thus armed walk up and down II can sight an approaching person at some distance when they immediately square themselves for an attack and al- ways manage to light plumb on the an kle of the intruder. The professor would have you take advantage of this peculiarity of the flea and by the use of the fly paper turn 1t to his own de- struction. There Is one point however, that the professor overlooks, and that is to give warning as to the manner of walking. To do the sticky y-fly-paper-fieaact properly. one should have first become a snow shoe expert in order to learn the proper walk and control of the feet. for if you are careless in your movements and are at all inclined to interfere the chances are that you will not have gone man steps before an entangiement may follow that will result in the con fusion and abashHentf of the intruder.
 Professor Skinner quotes an instance in which the janitor of fiea-ridden college quickly banished the pests by the use of fly paper. The janftor donned long-legged rubber boots, which he had previously covered with fly pa per. Thus armed he made his rounds through the college halls and rooms and acting the part of the man with the seven league boots, with the excep- ton of in this instance the feaS in their endeavor to get away with the big boots brought about their own de- struction.
 Another pest which man has to con- tend with, but fortunately not to any extent in California, except in certain localities, is the mosquito. In this State the mosquito Is not universal pest, yet there are many locations that can claim 'the Jersey canaries" as among their products. It is said that they flourish best in warm moist
 4~ r1f the degree of heat they delight in or the degree of cold that they can with stand, for mosquitoes are to be found in every tropical cline, and on the other hand the gold-seekers from Alaska tell wonderful stories of the size and ferocity of the mosquitoes that live in that region of snow and ice.
 All mosquitoes live and thrive ir stagnant water and usually undergo
 their transformation in rain barrels
 sewage water, cesspools and drains
 According to Professor Skinner, WhC
 has studied their habits, the fernal,
 mosquitos egg mass contains over fiv, hundred eggs. These she deposits or the surface of the water and the yount hatch out in about sixteen hours. Tn, larvae breathe through little tube. ,, which they stick up out of the water and the only way to rid a locality O mosquitoes is by an attack on tn, : breeding places. This is very simpl . method as one only has to pour littl kerosene on the surface of the wate where one supects mosquitoes might b. } breeding. The film that spreads owe ? the water from the kerosene not onl, 7 kills the eggs which the female ma,
 have deposited, but kills all larvae ii ? process of transformation. One ounc 6 0 Q Q Q c Q 6 oo 6 oooo 0 co