THE belief that the fox rids himself of fleas by the device to which Prof. Hughes has directed attention in NATURE is a long-established one. This is shown by the following passage from Allan Ramsay's “Gentle Shepherd”, which appeared in the year 1725:— “As fast as flaes skip to the tate o woo, Whilk slee tod lowrie hauds without his mow, When he to drown them and his hips to cool, In summer days slides backwards in a pool.”