2 1 4 THE CORK MO TH. 



places. Not having ever lived in town, I cannot 

 tell whether the creatures I purpose to speak 

 about would be found there, and my remarks 

 must, therefore, apply to country-houses and their 

 visitants. If I had been told that a certain moth 

 existed in my wine-cellar, and that by means of 

 its larvae burrowing into the corks some dozens 

 of choice old Italian wines would soon ooze away 

 and leave nothing but half-empty bottles, I should 

 have been very incredulous. I had never seen 

 such an insect in the wine-cellar in the past thirty 

 years, and knew nothing of its existence. 



I made its acquaintance, however, in the follow- 

 ing manner. The plate containing the daily food 

 of my mongoose is kept on a bracket just inside 

 the cellar stairs. A cork had lain on this bracket 

 for some months, and had apparently become 

 glued there, for I could not detach or lift it. On 

 close examination I found that this cork must 

 have a tenant of some kind, for it was surrounded 

 by fine particles, evidently gnawed by an insect. 

 When a light was brought I soon found that a 

 grub had been at work mining holes and furrows 

 in the cork, and had then spun a very strong silky 



