The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-26
SPEAKING OF FLEAS.

From the New York Press.
The reason why the Lord did not
send a plague of fleas along with the
other plague that worried Phalaoh
may be easily guessed. The Egyptians
were. so accustomed to fieas that
few billions more to the cubic CEN
timetre would hardly have bsen noticed
With water turned into blood, mop
ping toads, lice, flies. murrain OF beasts.
boils and hlains, hail, fire and thun-
der locusts, darkness and the Staying
of the first-bor conditions were vast
ly different Fleas. flies and friars,
according to an ancient remark, az
fiicC the people of the LORD.
But of all plaques. good Heaven, thy
wrath can send,
Save. save, oh. save me from the cam
did friend
The woman the Flea.
A brilliant humorfst might write
column on the agitations OF woman
with a flea on her. Nature has Hat
tened the body of the flea from side
to side, until it resembles the general
shop of an ocean greyhound, and his,
in conjunction with its smooth, hard
and nearly naked integument, enables
the insect to traverse swiftly the hairy
coating of its host, whether man, wom-
an or animal. The fiea has no wings
1t is the kangaroo of insects. 1t can
leap through an openwork stocking
to a silken petticoat, and back from
the pftticoat through lace edging,
etc. etc. When the dainty feminine
finger is placed directly upon him he
is not there If mouse could create
as much CONSERVATION I'm proportion
to it's size as a flea, there would be
no women in the world.
Ways of the Flea.
In Sir Thomas Lipton's tea fields OF
Ceylon there are fieas. They may be
seen In myriads in the dust of the
roads. or skipping in the sunbeams
which fall upon the clay floors of the
cottages. III a. horse weighing 200
pounds were as strong in proportion
to his size as a flea, he could draw
a load of $500 pounds. If one OF the
steeplechasers on our turf could jump
as far in proportion to his size as
the flea, he could cover the mile and
a half course in just two leaps, which
probably would return him as a vim
ner.
Partisan woman had a flea trained
to haul a cannon an inch long, which
could be fired without frightening the
brave insect by its artillery roar. His
mistress kept him in her pocket. She
fed the creature easily by putting it
every day. for a little time, on her arm,
scarcely feeling the bite. Happy flea,
Fifty years ago troupe Of trained fieas
were exhibited in Barnum's Museum.
riagc, driven by a position with a dog
between his knees. Four gentlemen
rode within the vehicle. Two others
drew a cannon. The escort consisted OF
of four feas with pixies. marching on
their bind feet. The exhibition was
given on polished glass. The flea horses
were harnessed with golden chains at
tached to their thighs, and the chains
were never taken off. The feas lived
thus for four years. When they baked
the manager held above them a light
ed piece of wood, which made them jog
along. They were fed by putting them
on a mans arm. which they sucked.
The Mother Flea.
The flea mother has a heart in her
as big as all out Of doors. She lays her
eggs In the dust. I'm door cracks. on
cushions where animals sleep, or in
the clothes of children. The larvae re-
semble little cells. The mother flea
pours into their mouths the blood with
which she has filled herself from your
arm. One may see under their trans
parent skin the coloring of the diges-
tive tube.
thC AEsA Jump
Aristophanes says that Socrates and
Chaerephon tried to measure how many
times its own length flea could jump.
They took in wax the size of fiea's
foot, then, on the principle of "expede
Herculem," calculated the length of its
body. Having found this and measured
the distance of the fea's jump from
the hand OF Socrates to the hand of
Chaerephon. the problem was resolved
| by simple multiplication.
Swift ON Parasites.
Dean Swift hated flea. Read his
rhapsody"
Hobbies clearly proves that every crea-
ture
| Lives in a state Of war by natures:
So naturalists observe flea
Has smaller heas that on him prey:
And these have smaller still to bite
'em.
And so proceed ad infnitum.
Ibid Noah take two of each kind