374 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 39 



Quarantine of the United States Department of Agriculture. It was 

 first applied to the fumigation of books in a library by Thomas M. 

 liams, who has charge of the preservation of rare books and manu- 

 scripts in the Huntington Library. The cylindrical vacuum fumi- 

 gator installed in 1931 at that library is shown in plate 17. Although 

 vacuum fumigators are expensive and may represent an outlay 

 greater than is practicable for smaller institutions, all libraries and 

 book lovers can arrange to treat effectively in small rooms, or even 

 in very tight chests, books requiring treatment for the destruction 

 of borers or bookworms within their covers and pages. 



The insects responsible for some of the most serious infestations 

 in books as they stand on the library shelves have been effectively 

 destroyed in 24 hours by fumigation of the library space as a single 

 unit; and this method of combating bookworms is highly recom- 

 mended when funds are available for the employment of a profes- 

 sional fumigator. The w^riter knows of no instance where such 

 fumigation has failed. 



For libraries loaning books that must be subjected to all sorts of 

 conditions in homes, or for home owners themselves, there have been 

 perfected formulas for washes that may be applied to book covers 

 to prevent or retard the attack of insects. A letter of inquiry ad- 

 dressed to the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C, will bring details of treatment. It should always be remem- 

 bered in combatting book insects that frequent inspection of books, 

 and prompt action if insects should be found, will prevent the ruin 

 of valuable books. 



