PKEVENTION AND KEBIEDY. 63 



entrance for egg-laying. Where the above is not practicable, frequent 

 examination of the meat stores to ascertain whether maggot attack is 

 noticeable would be very desirable. 



It has been suggested that where a store-room is infested the 

 contents should be cleared out, and the room " either be sprayed with 

 benzine or subjected to strong fumes of bisulphide of carbon." I 

 should not myself like to advise either of these applications on account 

 of the great danger from their inflammability, especially in the case of 

 bisulphide of cai'bon, which is liable to ignite at a raised temperature, 

 even without the presence of flame, as of fire, candles, &c. 



In many cases a thorough good clearing out of the infested larder, 

 or store, and washing and " swilling " floors and every accessible part 

 (especially all crannies) with hot soft-soap and water, as near scalding- 

 heat as can be managed, would do much to clear out the infestation, 

 which appears to me (in private houses) to depend very much on the 

 amount of care given to general order as well as to condition of stores. 

 Before bringing back the removed contents of the larder, or other 

 infested rooms, everything should be examined. Meat should be lifted 

 from anything it is lying on, and piles of plates or basins raised one 

 from the other so as to ensure that there are no beetles hidden away 

 among them. 



Where the outside of bacon or other meat is found to be maggot- 

 infested on the surface, this part should be cut away and burnt. It 

 has been suggested that the exposed surface should be washed with a 

 very dilute carbolic solution. This, if not objected to as giving a 

 slightly peculiar flavour to the bacon or other meat, would almost 

 certainly do good in a remedial point of view. 



Nothing (so far as I see) has been suggested as to a treatment 

 which sometimes does all that could be wished in clearing broadscale 

 infestations where steam power is available. By turning on scalding 

 steam from an engine at hand it might be certainly hoped that beetles 

 and maggots alike would be got rid of. 



Amongst other methods of lessening attack, whitewashing meat, 

 such as flitches of bacon, has been mentioned ; and also trapping the 

 beetles by placing cheese to attract them. This is noted as having 

 proved very successful, the beetles resorting eagerly to the cheese, so 

 that examination, and hand-picking and destroying the creatures two 

 or three times a day, in this case " practically exterminated them." 



Wliere larder or store-room windows are open to the outer air, it 

 might prove serviceable to place screens of fine wire, or netting, or 

 wire gauze to prevent access from the outside at times when the beetles 

 were likely to be, or were known to be, about. 



