The San Francisco call., 1906-09-23

one when he bites US The California
flea, in my Judgment. II the worst OF
ALL He possesses the exploring pro-
clivity of DR.. Livingstone and the per,
sistency of Abe Huef / could stand
him IL he were less OF a prospector.
II he would sink his shaft and finish:
but he Is too tentative in his work He
roams around over the human territory
looking for a soft place like Walter
Scott In Death Valley. You back up
against the door janb and press until
you have exercised enough power TO
f1atten q billiard ball; he becornes quiet
and you pronounce his obituary But
he isn't dead After you begin to work
he starts again tin you think there is
q twenty-mule borax team roaming
over your System Then vou undress
and, OF course, md nothing. His bite
affects different people differently:
some skins assume an erubescent tint;
others grow unduIatory and have
ridges like little terminal moraines
left by q prehistoric glacier; while
some are literally poisoned Some peo-
pie are not bitten at all and So
cialist lecturer assures me that when
a hea harpoons his epiderris IL rolls
on dead This statement seems strange
till you think the matter over: but on
the whole you can't blame the hea.
But 1t strikes me some folks select q
questionable style OF suicide
Are Fond of Flea Powder.
In my opinion fiea powder is USE
less and no fiea, unless he Is an epi-
cure or reads the label. can tell dee
powder from gun powder. Sometimes
the flea after eating IL seems to lapse
into sort of coma, but he always
awakes refreshed by the dose. From
what I can see II Isn't really coma
but kind OF after dinner nap supertn-
duced by eating too much OF the pow
der. One remedy appeals to me: take
a sheet Of NY paper and put a piece Of
raw beef upon It, The meat attracts
the flea, which hops on the paper; the
rest Is dead easy. am told that
some time ago this was tried at the
Democratic headquarters. and as the
fieas stuck on the paper, hopping In
concert. the whole sheet hoped out OF
the room As one who was raised
Democrat pronounce this falsehood.
In the first place who ever saw 50 much
concert in the Democratic partys The
next thing somebody will say that "a
flock OF flies few OF with a sheet OF
ny paper Another plan submitted TO
me seems specfous but not feasible, 1t
is TO MI a basin with water and put a
lighted candle in the middle. Of the
water. This might do to catch flying
dsh. but I must repudiate II as q nea
decimator- I have been told that in
sacramento during flea season you can
throw sand into q great cup with both
hands and the neas will kick it out
faster than you can throw 1t In We
hear much Of dirt attracting neas and
to q certain extent that Is true. but
ft doesn't follow that immaculate clean
Ine4s win repel them. Every -hez
season take at least one bath a
month, but / am punctured from head
TO foot. The only help see for eur
trouble Is to OFFER q big reward for
something that will drive thsm away
BY its odor. II carbolic acid Is deadly
to all the lower forms OF animal life.
why should not bathing with carbolic
soap prevent the inroads OF this fright
ful insect: And in the midst OF our
misery Professor Loeb amuses himself
by propagAtfnf such things artincfaffy.
He would be happier over the artificial
construction of one nsa than the kill
ing Of every natural born 1ea In Cali
fornia-
Anxious for New Remedy.
We have discovered the mosquito
cure. and ! understand that the dis