INSECTS INJURIOUS TO MEATS 279 



Unlike many of the household pests, the ham beetle 

 is not present and injurious the greater part of every season, 

 but it appears occasionally in a ham or two and when 

 destroyed may not be seen again for years. Its most 

 serious injuries are caused to stored meats in warehouses. 

 It occasionally becomes established unawares in large 

 storehouses and the infested hams are shipped to retail 

 dealers, who in turn deliver them to private households. 

 Since these hams are tightly wrapped, the dealers may be 

 wholly unconscious of the infestation. 



C. V. Riley gives some interesting accounts of the 

 work of this insect on hams in storehouses. He cites 

 the case of S. S. Pierce & Co., of Boston, who ordered 

 twenty tierces of hams from S. Davis, Jr., & Co., of Cin- 

 cinnati during April and May, 1873. The hams were 

 received and hung without examination in a dry, airy 

 loft, where they remained until the following August. 

 They were then examined and found full of worms. It 

 seems probable, in view of the fact that the hams had been 

 kept closely wrapped, that they were infested with the 

 eggs of the beetle before leaving the packing house in 

 Cincinnati. However, as this could not be definitely 

 proven, Pierce & Co. were not able to collect damages 

 from the packers. 



He also cites the case of Francis Whittaker & Sons, St. 

 Louis, who suffered severe loss through the injuries com- 

 mitted by this insect. The principal injury to the hams 

 was done in this case around the end of the prominent 

 shank bone. Here the canvas had become weak and 

 worn through, giving the beetles access to the meat. 

 Moreover, it seems that the Company had been in the 

 habit of wrapping their hams a little too late in the spring. 



