24 



furniture and commit great destruction, attacking 

 chiefly beech-wood, elder, white poplar, cherry-tree, 

 &c. ; they will, however, attack mahogany, par- 

 ticularly if wax has been much used. If the white 

 woods are used for furniture, they should be brushed 

 repeatedly with a hard brush ; by striking the wood 

 with a hammer it is easy to perceive if Ptinus or 

 Anobium has made its attacks. If a fine white pow- 

 der or sawdust falls upon the ground, the furniture is 

 infested by them. If the attack is early discovered, 

 the insects may be made to abandon the wood by 

 repeated hammerings. Furniture, which is seldom 

 moved from its locality, such as wardrobes, chests of 

 drawers, &c. is generally most attacked ; that which 

 is in common use, and daily well rubbed, will last 

 years uninjured. The wonderful increase of Ptini and 

 Anobia of late years may be attributed to the great 

 importation of carved woods from the Netherlands, 

 the major part of which is infested to a great extent 

 with the above-mentioned genera. 



Hister, Linneus. 



Sp. 1. Maximus. — Now of the genus Oxysternus 

 Erichson ; according to my views this should be the 

 Type of Hister ; the locality recorded by Linneus is 

 India ; East or West is not mentioned. It occurs in 

 Cayenne, and is not very abundant. To investigate 

 this interesting group, the reader is referred to Erich- 

 son's Kafer der Mark Brandenburg, where there will 

 be found the ablest account yet published of these 

 mimic beetles. 



