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244 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



lack of those things more to their liking, they do not invade the liter- 

 ary sanctum. Some are so cosmopolitan in their tastes that they 

 seem to take whatever is most convenient, whether it be books or 

 boots, pepper or poison. 



As has been said, the earliest observation of value was made by 

 Hooke on Lepisma, commonly known as " fish moth " or " silver fish," 

 from its resemblance, in shape and coating, to a fish; also as " bristle 

 tail," from its caudal appendages. They are found in closets, cup- 

 boards, and clothes baskets. Opinions have differed as to its destruc- 

 tiveness to books, but the weight of evidence is against the insect. It 

 seeks the paste and sizing used about books, and this leads it to attack 

 bindings and labels. There is a theory that paste made from pure 

 starch is not to their liking, but this is not substantiated by obser- 

 vation. 



Termites or '" white ants," another misnomer, since they are not 

 true ants, are also well-known ravagers whose deeds of destruction 

 assume a serious aspect, especially in the tropics. " Humboldt," 

 according to Shimer, " informs us that in all equinoctial Amer- 

 ica, where the white ants abound, it is infinitely rare to find papers or 

 books that go back fifty or sixty years." Their destruction to timber 

 has been the cause of serious accidents, at one time so weakening the 

 supports of a dwelling that a whole dinner party was precipitated 

 from the third floor to the basement. These pests belong to the order 

 Isoptera. The American species is known as Termes flavipes, and 

 several well-authenticated cases of their having done serious injury 

 to books and bindings in this country are recorded. As the chief 

 sustenance of these insects seems to be dead wood, it may be that the 

 increased use of wood in paper will make modern books, which book- 

 worms are said to scorn, more tempting than ever to them. 



By opening quickly some old book which has lain long unused, 

 one may see tiny pale creatures with knowing black eyes scurrying 

 across the pages. These insects are known as " book lice," or by the 

 Germans as " Stauhlaus " (dust louse). Entomologists have given 

 them the high-sounding name Atropos divinatoria. They belong to 

 the family Psocidce, of the order Corrodentia. Some writers, begin- 

 ning with William Derham, in 1701, are of the opinion that this 

 delicate little creature makes a noise like unto that of the coleopterous 

 insect called " death-watch." These little fellows are said to have 

 stout jaws with which they do damage to books, dried plants, etc., 

 " nibbling away the leaves and covers of the former." 



Of all the insects that injure books perhaps the best known are 

 the cockroaches, scientifically called Blattidce, of which there are five 

 species whose bookish habits are unquestioned. Many instances of 

 serious damage done by them to the bindings of books are on record, 



