37 



art of manufacturing flour, attempted to cut down expenses. He 

 looked upon the sweeper in a mill as a sort of luxury and dis- 

 pensed with his services. The mill run night and day and soon 

 became filthy. In about four months' time the moths made their 

 •appearanr^e; in fact they got so bad the head miller was forced to 

 resign. I was then engaged, by correspondence, for one year. 

 Had I known the condition the mill was in at that time, I should 

 not have accepted; but, as it is, I have done the best I could. I 

 have succeeded fairly well in getting rid of the pest, and I expect 

 to drive them out entirely." 



The remainder of this interesting letter is quoted under the 

 heads of remedies and distribution. 



I made the first public announcement of this pest in New York, 

 in a short article in the "American Miller" for May, and special 

 editorial mention of it was made in the same issue, warning mil- 

 lers to be on their guard in that and adjoining states. 



I made an especial etfort to account for the presence of the flour- 

 moth pest in this mill; but, after a large amount of coirespondence, 

 I only ascertained that it had been established for some years in 

 mills at several places in southwestern New York, and, possibly, 

 in parts of Pennsylvania. Some mills in this region were forced 

 to shut do;vn and clean out spouts and elevators nearly two years 

 before the pest came to my attention. The infested district in 

 New York is inland, and to say that the moth came originally 

 from Canada, or from any other specified source, would be pure 

 assumption. The moth is still present in New York; but the head 

 miller who first m^de known its presence to me assures me, in a 

 letter dated September 14, 1895, that it is not nearly so abundant 

 in his mill as formerly, and that he has it under control. 



NEW OUTBREAK IN CANADA. 



It will be remembered that the Mediterranean flour moth ap- 

 peared in destructive numbers in Ontario, Canada, in the year 

 1889, and after encountering a determined and energetic fight, 

 practically disappeared, little or nothing having been heard of it 

 since in that region. In the November (1895) number of the 

 "American Miller" I recorded its occurrence in the Province of 

 Qaebec, Canada, and gave other notes concerning it. My atten- 

 tion was called to this outbreak by Mr. Edward R. Taylor, manu- 

 facturing chemist, Cleveland, Ohio, who wrote me September 23, 

 1895, as follows: "I take the liberty to forward you a letter and 

 sample of flour infested with what appears to me to suit the de- 

 scription of the Mediterranean flour moth. If you will kindly 

 •examine the material and report to the party concerned it will be 

 greatly appreciated.' The letter was from a Canadian miller, dated 

 September 19, 1895, and read as follows: "I mail you to-day a 

 sample of flour containing a little pest that has appeared in our 

 mill this year for the first time, and is consequently a stranger 

 to me. You will find in the sample several small flies, with their 

 young in the mat enclosed. They are to be fouud in great quanti- 

 ties in our spouts, in every conceivable corner, and so abundant 



