The age-herald., 1901-08-15
THE FLEA IS WORSE
 THAN THE MOSQUITO

man, but this is not in accord with ex- perience in the United States. There Is no doubt that this flea does bite man. and and it was found on two of a small mum Der of plague infected rats examined by Sydney. The common rat flea is Pelux Fasciatus, which is supposed to bite once when 1t gets onto the human body"
 pr. Simond further found that -fieas taken from rats and transferred to hu- man subjects sucks the blood of their victims He also found bacillus pestis in fieas taken from rats dead of plague.
 The theory that fieas and rats are both responsible for the transmission of the plague bacilli can be considered as thor oughly established.
 It has also been demonstrated that the domestic flea (musca domestica) carries the infection of plague and itself dies in the disease. In India rats and mice have been killed by being inoculated with the excreta of ants which had previously de- voured rats dead of the plague.
 The fact hat plague is seldom commu- nicated from one person to another was demonstrated at Sydney by the fact that 1t took 276 households to furnish 289 cases, and that of ten Chinamen attacked each occupied different dwelling.
 Proof that the plague was taken to Sydney by rats was adduced from the fact that the first man stricken with had visited a wharf several days before he was stricken, at which rats were dying by the wholesale of the plague. The sec ond man to be attacked worked two hun de third worked on the west side of the wharf. The fourth case received his sup plies from the wharf, and so on.
 From further observations 1t appears that he rats arrived at Sydney on yes sel from a foreign port, and that from them the infection was carried to other domestic rats by CD the deyouring of rats dead of the plague by other rats: CD the ordinary method of transmission by menas of fieas; (0 the extraordinary method of infection from the mucous membrane when the rats sneezed.
 Another highly important point brought out by this investigation was that the plague was not in any instance found to have been conveyed through soil water, food or fomites.
 The difficulties in the way of annlhilat- ing the vast army of rodents which are today employed In carrying the loath- some disease to all parts of the world seem almost insuperable.
 The only means found efficacious to any extent has been the employment of car bonic gas to suffocate them. An Italian physician recommends a systematic re- sort to this gas for the purpose of de- stroying the rodents. The plan he sug- gests Is the placing of casks containing a mixture of corbonates. and calculated water in the deepest parts of the holds of vessels ss
 The gas given out from these casks would drive out the lighter air from the lower parts and suffocate all the rats there before they could escape. He sug- gests, as a safeguard to the crew, that af- ter the gas has been produced the height of it could be tested by means of light ed candle, which would go out as soon as it reached the carbonic acid The hold could be ventilated each morning by means of blasts of air or of bright fires. and ventilating pipes. It would be neces- in succession to eradicate the rats and bacill. The operations would not hurt the merchandise and could be carried on either in or out of port. This seems to be the only possible plan yet advanced to get rid of the vermin.