Furniture Beetles. % i 



bleaching properties ; but in cases where these are not a source of 

 objection, it may be used with very good effect for fumigating 

 worm-eaten furniture or wood fixtures of a room. 



It is obtainable compressed into liquid form in steel cylinders, 

 and by means of suitable appliances may be forced under its own 

 pressure into worm-eaten wood. 



Another method by which it may be applied is to dissolve 

 camphor in the liquid, and paint the solution over the wood to be 

 treated. The camphor soon crystallizes out and forms a temporary 

 crust which prevents the escape of the gas outwards and causes 

 it to pdnetrate the wood. This method has been tried on an 

 experimental scale and found successful in destroying the worm. 



The vapour of benzene, if proper precautions are taken against 

 the danger from fire or lights, is probably the best and safest gas 

 to use for the fumigation of wood- carvings and small gilt or 

 ornamented articles of furniture. The article to be treated is 

 placed in a well-made, tight-fitting box or case, and the benzene 

 poured into saucers or shallow dishes, is placed at the bottom of 

 the box, which should then be closed, made as airtight as possible, 

 and left for some time. When the benzene has all evaporated 

 more should be poured into the dishes. 



Old books infested with the " book- worm," which is usually 

 the larva of the common furniture beetle or of some other 

 Anobiid beetle, may be successfully treated in this way. Vapour 

 of benzene is very penetrating, is an effective insecticide, and has 

 no deteriorating effect on paper or on delicate woodwork of 

 any kind. 



Carbon tetrachloride, another very volatile Uquid, which is 

 not highly inflammable like benzene, and for that reason safer, 

 may be used instead for household purposes in the treatment of 

 furnitm-e. Its vapour being very heavy, the liquid should, like 

 carbon disulphide, be placed in the upper part of the fumigating 

 chamber when used for fumigation. 



3. Treatment by the application of a liquid.— When other 

 methods are not easily available or, for one reason or another, are 

 objectionable, treatment by the direct application of a liquid, either 

 as a wash or by injection may be adopted, and for this purpose 

 benzene, carbon tetrachloride or terebene can be used. The liquid 

 may be applied with a brush to the unvarnished or unpolished 

 parts of the worrn-eaten article, and injected with a syringe into 

 the worm holes vrherever they appear on the surface. 



Naphthalene is readily dissolved in carbon tetrachloride, and 



