658 • Reading-Course for Farmers' Wives. 



and persistent " roachy " odor, coming chiefly from a dark-colored 

 fluid which they exude from scent glands. The croton-bug is more active 

 and wary than the larger kinds, and much more difficult to eradicate^ 

 often displaying great intelligence in keeping out of the way of the irate 

 housekeeper, and in avoiding food and other substances which have been 

 doctored with poisons for its benefit. 



There are many " roach poisons " on the market, but most of them 

 give little satisfaction. A phosphorus paste consisting of sweetened 

 flour paste, containing one to two per cent, of phosphorus, has been 

 found quite effective when spread on bits of cardboard and placed in 

 the runways of roaches. The persistent and liberal use of insect pow- 

 der sometimes affords relief; flowers of sulfur dusted about where the 

 roaches abound is also said to be effective. Others report that pow- 

 dered borax freely used in cracks around sinks and baseboards frequented 

 by roaches has given very satisfactory results. If infested rooms 

 can be very tightly closed, fumigation is an effective method of destroy- 

 ing them; either carbon bisulfide or hydrocyanic-acid gas, burning 

 pyrethrum powder or sulfur may be used as the fumigant. Various 

 traps have been employed for capturing roaches. A simple and cheap 

 pasteboard trap is shown in Fig. 23. The roaches can easily get into 

 the box through the holes and funnels, but can not find their way out. 



IV. The Bedbug. 



The bedbug (Fig. 24) has been a household pest for many centuries. 

 Various medicinal virtues were' ascribed to it by the ancients. For 

 the poison of an asp an old Grecian rhyme says: 



" Some men prescribe seven bedbugs'for to drink, 

 Mingled with water, and one cup, they think, 

 Is better than with drowsy death to sink.'- 



An old medical dictionary states that "The smell of them relieves 

 under hysterical suffocation" ! It is also said that less than half a 

 century ago American country people sometimes gave bedbugs as a 

 cure for fever and ague. 



The presence of this insect in the house is not necessarily an indication 

 of neglect or carelessness. The dearest friend may unwittingly bring 

 them with his baggage that may have become infested at some hotel 

 on his way. New servants often introduce them. The insect probably 

 came to this country with the earliest colonists. Having little use 



