Books, and their Enemies.* 
By James Rodway, F.L.S. 
HAT so many old books exist to-day, is a proof 
that our ancestors took greater care of them 
than is taken by the present generation of 
readers. It is very difficult to keep a Library in good 
condition in the damp climate of British Guiana, where 
myriads of inse6l pests are always ready to destroy the 
books ; but, that it is not impossible, I will endeavour to 
prove. That many valuable old works have been des- 
troyed in this colony, through want of care and attention, 
is shown by the dilapidated state of those which are 
commonly sold at Au6lion, and also by the great scarcity 
of local works, which must have had a large circulation 
at the time of their publication. As it is of some impor- 
tance to our descendants that our local literature should be 
preserved, the following notes on the destruftive agencies 
which are continually at work in our Libraries may be 
found useful to book-lovers. It may be obje6led that no 
one will trouble himself to take all the precautions 
against damp and inserts which are suggested, but, as 
there are probably a few genuine Bibliophiles in the 
colony, who like to have good books in good order, 
they will not mind a little care in preserving their 
treasures. 
Whether the greatest injury is due to climatic influences 
* Samples of books which have been ruined by insects, together 
with some of the insect pests, illustrative of this paper, are on view, for 
a limited time, in the British Guiana Museum. — Ed. 
QQ 
