29 



pets under their exposed edges, and these parts may be protected 

 by washing over the edges and a few inches of the under side with 

 a solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol in the proportion of 

 sixty grains to one pint. The alcohol quickly evaporates, leaving 

 the corrosive sublimate over all the fibres of the carpet where the 

 application has been made. It must be remembered that corrosive 

 sublimate is a rank poison and cannot be safely used where chil- 

 dren play upon the carpet. 



The larvfe of the Buffalo beetles appear to be attracted to certain 

 colors of a carpet more than to others, especially to the animal 

 dyes, and some people have found it very useful to spread pieces 

 of carpeting in which red was the prevailing color on the bare floors 

 of closets, and then take them up every day and kill the larvae 

 found under them. 



I have tried many insecticides and many methods for the destruc- 

 tion of the Buffalo beetle, and find no more successful way of keep- 

 ing a house free from them than by a very careful watch for the 

 beetles on the windows in February and March, a frequent inspec- 

 tion of all woollen clothing not in constant use, a daily examina- 

 tion of pieces of red carpeting on the floors of closets which are 

 liable to be infested, and carefully excluding the beetles from 

 flowers brought into the house. 



It is necessary for the members of the family to be able to rec- 

 ognize this insect in its different stages, and to aid in this matter 



Via. 1. — Anthrenus scrophularice. L. 

 a, larva; b, skin of a larva; c, pupa; d, beetle. All much enlarged. (After Riley.) 



Fig. 1 is introduced, which represents the full-grown larva at a, 

 the larva skin at &, the pupa or quiet stage at c, and the perfect 

 beetle at d, all greatly enlarged. 



The perfect beetle is about three-sixteenths of an inch in length, 

 black and white as marked in Fig. 1, cZ, and has a scarlet stripe 

 along the middle of the back. The insect does no injury in this 

 stage of its existence, but lays its eggs, and from these are hatched 



