Household Clcanincr 



409 



tions. I'he winged moth, that flies about in 

 the dark, does not, cannot eat or destroy 

 cloth of any kind : but it lays its eggs in 

 woollen articles, upon which alone nature 

 dictates to her that her young must feed. 

 These eggs in time produce little caterpillars, 

 and it is they w^ho eat holes in and destroy 

 clothes, &c. After a time these caterpillars 

 assume the pupa state, out of which burst 

 forth the winged insects, to proceed, as before 

 described, in laying eggs. From this account 

 it is easy to see that, provided you can pre- 

 vent the winged moth from having access to 

 what you wish to preserve, no injury by moths 

 can happen to them. For instance, if you tie 

 up any article that is quite free from moths in a 

 bag of linen, cotton, or paper, no winged 

 moth can enter the bag to lay its eggs, and 

 therefore the bag will be a perfect security. 

 But it is to be observed the winged animal is 

 very cunning, or rather instinct impels it to 

 search with great care for suitable places to 

 lay its eggs ; and, therefore, simply putting 

 things into drawers, however tight, or cover- 

 ing them over with paper, will not be suffi- 

 cient : if there are chinks by which the winged 

 animal can insinuate itself, such places will 

 not be safe from moths. 



Nature has likewise given the instinct to 

 moths, not to lay their eggs in places liable 

 to be often disturbed : therefore, if you shake 

 any articles very frequently, it is not likely 

 that moths will deposit their eggs there ; and 

 if not there can be no caterpillars to do mis- 

 chief. These facts being clearly understood, 

 the means of guarding against these destruc- 

 tive insects will be comparatively easy. Should 

 any articles of wool appear to be beginning to 

 be attacked by moths, beating and brushing 

 should be resorted to, and, if possible, they 

 should be put into hot water to destroy the 

 young larvse. It sometimes happens that on 

 discovering the winged moth in some places, 

 they are driven out to fly about, when they 

 resort to some other part of the house, where 

 they will be more safe. This must, if 

 possible, be prevented ; otherwise they will 

 continue to propagate somewhere, and the 

 breed will be kept up. Even if driven out of 

 the house they have been known to enter 

 acrain at the windows. 



Curtains of moreen or cloth, when taken 

 from the windows for the summer season,, 

 should be well cleansed (by brushing and 

 shaking in the open air) from eveiy particle of 

 dust, and then folded and enclosed in strong 

 unfractured linen, or brown Holland wrappers, 

 and laid away in some dry airy room or closet.. 

 If the moth have not previously deposited its. 

 mischievous embryo, the curtains so enveloped 

 may be considered as safe, without further 

 notice for the summer. But if any doubt be 

 entertained on this point, it will be requisite 

 to open the envelopes once or twice during 

 the three or four months of the summer, and 

 to take out and shake well in the open air, if 

 the weather be dry, the curtains or other 

 articles enclosed. 



It is said that the cloth moth declines as a 

 receptacle for its eggs any spot in which it 

 can detect the odour of the wood of the 

 cedar, or of camphor, Russia leather, black 

 peppercorns, and the tallow of a rushlight. 

 It is, therefore, very usual to enfold woollens 

 and furs with one or other of these supposed 

 specifics. But it is a fact that furriers adopt 

 no other means of saving their stores of furs 

 from the moth than that of frequently shak- 

 ing each article in the open air and in the 

 sun. 



XVIII. THE HOUSE FLY. 



The common house fly it would be vain to 

 attempt to exclude from our houses entirely. 

 Wherever there are food and Avarmth there 

 will they find entrance. The only remedy 

 for the injuries they inflict on clean paint 

 w^ork and whitewash, or on the cook's bright 

 dish covers, is to w^ash and clean them as often 

 as the spots become very apparent, and to 

 cover such articles as do not admit of being 

 so cleansed. 



Kitchens are the favourite resort of the 

 common fly. In these a fly trap, as it is 

 called, may be used to attract the fly to settle 

 upon it rather than upon the walls or ceiling. 

 Flies seem to incline to settle more on sus- 

 pended objects than on any other ; and thence 

 the use of "the fly trap," which is usually 

 formed of papers of various colours cut out 

 fancifully, in order to render them somewhat 

 ornamental as well as useful. 



