ladies’ department. 
97 
Caines’ department. 
INSECTS.—No. 2. 
From the Diary of an Old Lady. —March. 1st, 
half past four o’clock. A fine bright morning, pro¬ 
mising a spell of weather that should put house¬ 
keepers in motion. 
The first day of spring brings with it a train of 
thoughts—of anticipated pleasures—and a crowd of 
business. My household all in motion, and I only 
wait for breakfast and daylight to begin a strict, 
though quiet investigation of closets, cellars, and 
other unexplored corners that have rested in peace 
since the cold weather set in. To-day I must pre¬ 
pare the trunks and closets that are to receive 
blankets, furs, and carpets, for the summer; not that 
we can yet dispense with them, but the moths are 
beginning to take wing, and they must be looked to. 
2d.—Visited the flannel closet, and found moths 
suspended from the ceiling and on the walls—a few 
had already taken wing; but the largest portion are 
still in their little sacks, waiting the next warm 
weather to change into the fly, and deposit their 
eggs on the first woollen garment that they meet 
with out of use, or carelessly left in their way. It 
is a common error that moths love dirt—it is not so 
but they do love to live with a careless house¬ 
keeper, where they can feed unmolested on the 
woollen cloths that are suffered to remain in dusty 
closets or garrets that are seldom visited by the 
brush. Moths, in common with all insects, deposit 
their eggs on or near the food best suited to the 
young grubs; the eggs soon hatch if the weather be 
favorable, and the worms feed for five or six weeks, 
when they leave their food, and suspend themselves 
in their sacks on the walls, or in corners of closets, 
drawers, and where they must be searched for and 
destroyed. There are many species ; some feed on 
fur, some on wool, and some on skin; thus an old 
neglected hair trunk may supply moths enough of 
various kinds, to ruin half the valuable clothes in 
the house; for in the absence of their proper food, 
they devour all woollens indiscriminately. Must 
give strict orders to have the hair trunk well ex¬ 
amined—troublesome things—determined never to 
have another. Visited the meat room, found moths 
in their sacks hanging on the wall—wondered what 
could take them there, when, on a strict search, 
found to my astonishment that they were feeding on 
the skins of the hams—a new species to me, and 
therefore to be carefully preserved in my cabinet, 
and their pictures taken. 
Explanation. —1, Ham moth; 2, worm partly 
projecting from the sack. 
12th.—The 
moths I found 
feeding on the 
hams have tak¬ 
en wing. They Ham Moths.—Fig. 28. 
are of a small size; pale yellowish brown with a 
slight golden lustre ; the under wings of the same 
color, but much paler. The worm never entirely 
leaves the sack; but when feeding or in motion, 
projects its head and four front feet out, clinging 
with the hind feet to the inside of the sack, thus 
prepared to retire under cover on the slightest danger. 
Both ends of the sack are open, and it walks with 
equal ease, backwards or forwards. 
The mice, too, are now to be carefully looked, 
after; they are making nests in band-boxes, in my 
summer bonnet, and other inconvenient places, 
where they imagined they might bring up their 
little families in peace and prosperity ; but they did 
not know me, they are new comers. 
14th.—Betsy tells me that the cockroaches are 
beginning to show themselves in the kitchen— 
nasty things! and should never be allowed to rest 
in peace in a well ordered country-house ! therefore, 
I will send for plenty of spirits of turpentine this 
very day, and this evening will pour it into every 
crack and hole about the kitchen, which will drive 
them out; and, on their appearance, a stream of 
boiling water from the kettle shall prevent their re¬ 
turn. It is not true that if you kill one, ten will 
come to the funeral; the person who first said that 
was either ignorant of their history, or she was too 
lazy to take measures to kill them. The cockroach 
which infests our houses (Blatta orientalis ) was 
originally taken from Asia to Europe, and from 
thence to America. It deposits its eggs in warm 
places, near ovens and under hearths, where it de¬ 
lights to pass the remainder of its life. It lives 
three years, and undergoes no other changes than 
frequently casting off its skin, like the crab, when¬ 
ever it has grown too lar^e to be comfortable in the 
old one, and on the third year gains a pair of 
wings ; it has then arrived at maturity, and deposits 
,a number of eggs enclosed in a dark brown case of 
a bean-like appearance. They increase with great 
rapidity, but may soon be destroyed if diligently 
looked after and killed. Turpentine poured into 
their haunts will instantly drive them out, when 
boiling water thrown on them will effectually 
destroy them. Red lead, Indian meal and molasses, 
mixed in equal proportions, and placed in their way, 
will be devoured greedily by them, and proves cer¬ 
tain poison. Nothing appears to come amiss to their 
appetites, either animal or vegetable; but wet, dirty 
dish-cloths appear to be their peculiar delight; and 
should you visit the kitchen an hour after the 
family are gone to bed, you will find such articles 
blackened by their numbers. A pan of boiling wa¬ 
ter placed under such articles, and the cloths dropped 
in, will prove an excellent trap. A week’s diligent 
search will clear a house, unless they have been 
suffered to increase for years. Their vile habits 
and disgusting odor make them dreaded by every 
one; yet they are suffered to remain in most houses 
without molestation. 
Having made these discoveries, it is my determi¬ 
nation that all the pleasant weather of this month 
shall be devoted to a careful cleaning of all the cel¬ 
lars, closets, store rooms, and neglected crannies, 
and that neither water nor white-wash shall be 
spared; but it shall be done quietly and in order, 
and with as little inconvenience to the family as the 
nature of the case will admit. I do not wonder that 
men and the seamstresses of the household com¬ 
plain of bustling housekeepers—I shudder when I 
think of them. A bustling housekeeper is seldom 
an economical one ; for while her peculiar occupa¬ 
tion is attended to, everybody else must stop theirs,, 
thus only half the household machine is effectually 
employed, while all is in motion and wearing out. 
