Vol. VIII. Xo. 197 



THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



367 





PRESERVING BOOKS IN THE TROPICS. 



Mr. H. JI.i.xwell-Lefioy, M.A., F.E.S., F.Z.S., Ento- 

 inologist to the Government of India (sometime 

 Eiitomoiogi-t to this Department), ,s(ives, in The Eastern 

 Printerii Ycdrhuok, several precautions ao;ainst the 

 destruction ofbooics and papers by insects in the tropics. 

 As some of these are comparatively new, the following 

 extracts are taken from his article : — 



The most destructive in.seot to liook.s is the book beetle 

 ■{SitodrejHi p'iriirc(i). This is a small brown beetle, which is 

 only one stage of this insect's life, the greater part of the 

 destruction being caused by the small Avhite ,£;vub, ^vhich is 

 one of the earlier stages. The grub eats tunnels in the 

 "books, feeding upon the paper or binding, eating straight 

 ahead through the pnges, but always keeping inside; iiaturally 

 it can feed undisturbed only in a bonk which is not in use, 

 and it is in books that are left neglected on the shelf that 

 this insect is found. The grub is white, with the head brown, 

 and llie body is clothed with .short, brown hairs. It 

 batches from eggs laid by the beetle, and after some weeks of 

 active life, transforms into the dormant chrysalis, from 

 which, after a little time, comes the beetle. It is the beetle 

 that starts the mischief, by eating into tlie book and laying 

 eggs there, the grubs then continuing it. The insect is 

 probably an introduced one, having been brought most likely 

 in books or merchandise from Europe: it is common practi- 

 cally all over the world, and feeds not only in books, paper, 

 cardboard, and similar matei ials, but in dry wood, in the 

 cane that furniture is made of, and in dried foodstuffs. 



Where books or papers are constantly in use, or being 

 moved, the insect is not generally found; when it is found, 

 tuere is only one radical cure, which is to go over all the 

 books or stocks of papers and search out the insects; in bad 

 cases of attack, where this is not imssible, it is necessary to 

 clear out all infested articles, clean the room thoroughly, and 

 putting the articles in a tight bo.^ or cupboard, put sufficient 

 carbon bisulphide or benzine in to thoroughly impregnate 

 everything with the fumes, and kill the insects. At least 

 one pint of the fluid used must be put into every 200 cubic 

 feet of space, and it is necessary to keep the infested articles 

 exposed for twenty-four hours, and to take precautions that 

 no light is brought near wliile the fumes can be smelt. 



The above procedure is necess.ay only with very bad 

 cases ; as a rule, it is sufficient to deal with each attacked 

 book separately. Prevention is of lourse better than cure 

 and the general precautions suggested below are the best for 

 this insect, as for others. 



Another injurious insect is the cmimon cockroach ; the 

 commonest cockroach in Indian houses is Pevi/ilanetii. 

 nvstrn/asine, the big brown cockroach; but there are several 

 other househc)ld species. These have a fondness for the 

 colouring matter of cloth bindings, es]iecially of certain reds 

 and other tints ; they feed at night and nibble otf the surface 

 of the binding, greatly disfiguring the books. The prepara- 

 tion given below is a certain preventive of damage ; where 

 cockroaches are, however, very plentiful, a liberal application 

 of borax, or the provision of plenty of a mixture of borax 

 (one part) and syrup (two parts), smeared thickly on pieces 



of card or tin and put under furniture and in tlark coiners, 

 is a great chock on their numbers. Borax is a specific poison 

 to cockroaches and should be used freely. 



We know of only one other class of insect injurious to 

 paper and books ; these are the curious shiny insects known 

 as ' silver fish ' which arc so common in cupboards and in 

 dark, dusty places. They cannot injure books or papers 

 except by destroying the glaze, which they nibble, spoiling 

 the surface of the better classes of glazed papers ; they are 

 also fond of starch and eat the starch u.sed in binding books 

 or papers where they can reach it. Against the.se insects, the 

 following general precautions are desirable : — 



(1) Add a little blue .stone (sidphate of copper) to all 

 starch paste; about half aU; ounce to a pound of ])aste is 

 sufficient. It makes the starch distasteful to silver fish and 

 to beetles. 



(2) If possible, keep hooks and papers in clean cases, 

 with plenty of flake naphthalene or naphthalene balls. We 

 use flake nRphthalene liberally with all valuable papers and 

 drawings, and it is always put in book .shelves and cupboards. 



(3) Where paper cannot be stored in cases, it should be 

 in good, tight packages, to which insects cannot get access. 



(4) If po.ssible, take down every book on a .shelf at least 

 once in three months, dust and wipe it, open it, and if there 

 are no beetles, replace it. 



(5) All books .should be painted yearly with one of the 

 solutions given below : it is best to do this' before the rainy 

 season begins. Every part that can be reached when the 

 book is tightly closed should be painted, the back especially, 

 as well as the inside of the covei«. 



A. Spirits of wine (methylated spirit) I (piart. 

 Carbolic acid j^ ounce. 

 Corrosive sublimate 1 ounce. 



This mixture is very poisonous and should be applied 

 with a long handled brush. It is the best, as it also checks 

 mould; but if used, the room jn which the books are, must be 

 thoroughly aired once daily in hot weather as the sublimate 

 is volatile, and poisons the air. (See also Ai/ricuUiiral 

 .Ve-^r.s, Vols. I, p. 140 : II, p. 42; VI, p. 346.) 



B. Kerosene, best wlnte 1 pint. 

 Naphthalene 2 ounces. 



Hub on lightly with a cloth, or brusli. 



t'. Spirits 1 quart. 



Camphor 1 ounce. 



Burnt alum -J ounce. 



Corrosive sublimate 1 ounce. 



This mixture is used in the Pusa Library. It is as 

 poisonous as A. 



RICE IN BRITISH GUIANA. 



The last fortnightly report of Messrs. Sandbach 

 Parker & Co., of Georgetown, on the rice industry of 

 British Guiana, dated October 28, 1909, gives informa- 

 tion as follows ; — 



■The weather during the fortnight has continued fairly 

 dry and suitable for harvesting and milling, lieapino- is 

 going on all over the colony and quality of paddy is good. 



Rice is coining into town freely, and a few shipments 

 have been made to We.st Indian Islands during the fortnight, 

 amounting to 600 bags all told. 



We quote to-day, f.o.b. Demerara, for good export 

 quality : — 



Nominally 18«t. M. to 19s. 9c?. per bag of 180 B). gross 

 17s. ^d. to 18s. 3d „ „ „ 164 ft. „ 



