The common fleas of Europe, diffused like æther throughout every part of the air, are not only bred in Paraguay, but domineer most insolently here, as in their native soil. It is a remarkable circumstance that the plain itself, which is covered with grass, swarms with fleas. Persons sailing on the Paraguay, when they leave the vessel to pass the night or noon on the shore, though they lie on a green turf, where no man or dog ever trod, will return to the ship blackened with fleas. If this occurs in the green plain, what must we expect in the dry floors of an apartment, covered neither with brick, stone, nor board? In apartments of this kind have I dwelt seven years amongst the Abipones, during which time I had to contend with countless swarms of fleas. Do you enquire the remedy for fleas in America? There is but one, namely, patience. Columella, Kircher, and others, are indeed of opinion that these insects are not only driven away but destroyed by a decoction of odoriferous herbs scattered on the floor; and the Guaranies do certainly boil for this purpose a strong-scented herb, sprinkling the chamber with the water when boiling hot, and sweeping it once or twice. But if the fleas are destroyed by this means, I attribute it, not to the strong smell of the herbs, but to the water in which they are boiled, and to the mops by which they are swept away. Let the houses be cleared of dust and dogs, and rendered pervious to frequent winds; these are the best precautions against the smaller insects. Lice are never to be met with amongst the Abipones, except in the hair. The Spanish colonies abound in bugs, but I never beheld one in the towns of the Indians. Flying bugs, called _binchuccas_, are common in Cordoba, and other parts of Tucuman. By day they lurk in the chinks of roofs and chests, but fly out at night and make bloody war upon sleepers. They affect the part upon which they fasten with an intolerable heat, seeming rather to burn than bite the body. The red spots caused by the pain appear as if they had been raised by a caustic. Fatigued with fifteen days hard riding, through a continuous desert, and amid unceasing showers, I reached the town of Salabina, where repose was not only desirable, but almost indispensable for me; yet the whole night passed away without my being able to obtain a wink of sound sleep. I felt all my limbs pricked and heated, but was unable to discover the cause of this unusual pain. When day-light appeared, all who saw me covered with red spots pitied my misfortune, and assured me that the flying bugs were the cause of it. In another journey I passed the night in company with a noble priest, who, after we had partaken of a light supper, set out with me and his domestics to sleep in a neighbouring field. In that part of the country this is both customary and necessary, for in hot nights the houses swarm with bugs to such a degree that it is impossible to get any sleep in them.