Ticks.—­Ticks are to be classed among the intolerable nuisances to the Ceylon traveller.  They live in immense numbers in the jungle[1], and attaching themselves to the plants by the two forelegs, lie in wait to catch at unwary animals as they pass.  A shower of these diminutive vermin will sometimes drop from a branch, if unluckily shaken, and disperse themselves over the body, each fastening on the neck, the ears, and eyelids, and inserting a barbed proboscis.  They burrow, with their heads pressed as far as practicable under the skin, causing a sensation of smarting, as if particles of red hot sand had been scattered over the flesh.  If torn from their hold, the suckers remain behind and form an ulcer.  The only safe expedient is to tolerate the agony of their penetration till a drop of coco-nut oil or the juice of a lime can be applied, when these little furies drop off without further ill consequences.  One very large species, dappled with grey, attaches itself to the buffaloes.

[Footnote 1:  Dr. HOOKER, in his Himalayan Journal, vol. 1. p. 279, in speaking of the multitude of these creatures in the mountains of Nepal, wonders what they find to feed on, as in these humid forests in which they literally swarmed, there was neither pathway nor animal life.  In Ceylon they abound everywhere in the plains on the low brushwood; and in the very driest seasons they are quite as numerous as at other times.  In the mountain zone, which is more humid, they are less prevalent.  Dogs are tormented by them; and they display something closely allied to cunning in always fastening on an animal in those parts where they cannot be torn off by his paws; on his eyebrows, the tips of his ears, and the back of his neck.  With a corresponding instinct I have always observed in the gambols of the Pariah dogs, that they invariably commence their attentions by mutually gnawing each other’s ears and necks, as if in pursuit of ticks from places from which each is unable to expel them for himself.  Horses have a similar instinct; and when they meet, they apply their teeth to the roots of the ears of their companions, to the neck and the crown of the head.  The buffaloes and oxen are relieved of ticks by the crows which rest on their backs as they browse, and free them from these pests.  In the low country the same acceptable office is performed by the “cattle-keeper heron” (Ardea bubuleus), which is “sure to be found in attendance on them while grazing; and the animals seem to know their benefactors, and stand quietly, while the birds peck their tormentors from their flanks.”—­Mag.  Nat.  Hist. p. 111, 1844.]

Mites.—­The Trombidium tinctorum of Hermann is found about Aripo, and generally over the northern provinces,—­where after a shower of rain or heavy night’s dew, they appear in countless myriads.  It is about half an inch long, like a tuft of crimson velvet, and imparts its colouring matter readily to any fluid in which it may be immersed.  It feeds on vegetable juices, and is perfectly innocuous.  Its European representative, similarly tinted, and found in garden mould, is commonly called the “Little red pillion.”