1899] MEDITEKRANEAN MILL MOTH, 83 



thirty-nine English inches in length, this will convey to those un- 

 acquainted with the importance of the subject some idea of the mischief 

 caused in milling operations by continuous yards of felted-up flour. 



In one of my earliest reports from steam mills in the north of 

 England, the miller put the matter shortly: — "They get into the 

 spouts and machinery, and do no end of mischief, both by destroying 

 the silks, and stopping the flow of flour, &c." 



But where once the infestation gets even a slight foothold, thorough 

 possession follows very rapidly, as shown in the following extracts 

 from the exhaustive report kindly placed in my hands by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, Ontario, Canada, whilst I had the honour of 

 being in communication with them on the infestation on the occasion 

 of the first appearance of E. kuhniella in that country.* The locality 

 was at some large steam mills in the Province of Ontario. 



The first appearance of the moth, so far as known, was during the 

 month of March, 1889 :— 



" The moth was seen flying about near a steam-pipe in the base- 

 ment of the mill, but little attention was paid to it. In April there 

 was an appearance of a few moths on the difi"erent floors of the mill, 

 even at the top, but still there was nothing suspicious. 



" In the month of May we were troubled with a few worms in 

 some of our goods, and in June more of them appeared. In July they 

 increased rapidly, and then we began to suspect they were from the 

 fly which we had seen in the mill during the previous months, and 

 which were steadily increasing in numbers. 



" About the middle of July we shut down for a day or so" ; and 

 details are given of treatment of clothing from bolting-reels and of 

 elevators. Then every corner and part of the mill having, it ivas 

 supposed, been thoroughly cleaned, work was commenced again, and 

 after about four days, bolting-reels, elevators, &c., were found worse 

 than before. They were literally swarming with webs, moths, and 

 worms, even inside the dark chambers of the reels, " We shut down 

 again, and made a more thorough cleaning by washing, &c, 



" While this was going on, we found there was no use to try and 

 clear ourselves of the pest, as the mill walls, ceilings, cracks, crevices, 

 and every machine was completed infested with moths, cocoons, and 

 caterpillars, and there was no use going on. , , . The moth was 

 different to any of which we had had any knowledge or experience, 

 and we decided to apply to the Dominion Government for relief and 

 assistance," 



The Dominion Government having happily on their staff thoroughly 

 efficient advisers, both scientific and practical, in the persons of their 



• See ' Bulletin 1, Provincial Board of Health of Ontario ' : " The Flour Moth, 

 Ephestia kuhniella." Issued by the Ontario Department of Agriculture. 



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