Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
December,  1910.  J 
Insects  Destructive  to  Books. 
555 
waste,  from  chemically  prepared  woods,  from  straws,  from  bark 
without  the  wood,  from  wood  not  chemically  prepared,  and  many 
other  substances.  In  a  great  many  papers,  clay  and  other  minerals 
are  added  as  fillers.  While  we  are  conversant  with  the  various 
processes  used  by  paper  manufacturers,  yet  very  little  attention 
has  been  given  to  the  real  character  of  life  that  dwells  within  the 
manufactured  product  in  its  primoid  state.  Cotton  fly  is  used  for 
low  paper  stock,  and  the  little  insect  that  infests  the  cotton  boll, 
known  as  the  cotton  weevil,  sends  forth  its  offspring  under  a  dif- 
ferent form,  yet  with  all  the  instincts  of  itself. 
After  the  paper  has  passed  through  certain  stages,  but  not  with 
sufficient  intensified  heat  to  destroy  the  principle  of  existence,  the 
species  evolutionizes  into  another  state  or  mode  of  living.  In  the 
broader  conception  of  biological  truths,  ready  answers  are  given 
to  this  profound  question,  i.e.,  the  origin  of  various  forms  of  life, 
and  the  researcher  has  ready  for  the  querist  the  proper  foundation 
whereon  to  build  the  superstructure  of  that  truth  which  the  arcanum 
of  nature  reveals  to  the  desires  of  the  mind  of  the  scientist  and 
physicist.  Too  little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  manuscript 
notes  of  scientific  workers,  often  only  a  line  or  two  of  their  observa- 
tions upon  the  small  forms  of  life.  The  average  scientist  thinking 
it  too  trivial  to  notice,  often  passes  over  the  very  observation,  which 
is  the  key  to  the  puzzle  that  he  has  been  spending  years  in  trying 
to  solve. 
Paper  Eaters  ;  Wood  Pulp. — A  species  of  insect,  frequently 
found  in  libraries,  is  the  Cimex  lectularius,  vulgarly  known  as  the 
"  chinch  "  or  "  bed-bug."  Its  natural  instinct  leads  it  to  wood  on 
account  of  certain  poisons  in  the  form  of  acids  contained  therein, 
and  certain  nourishments  which  are  of  a  poisonous  character  to  the 
human  being,  but  beneficial  and  necessary  to  insects  and  worm  life. 
Where  paper  has  been  manufactured  from  wood  pulp,  containing 
the  particular  acids  or  poisons  which  the  "  bed-bug  "  requires,  there 
you  will  find  the  insect  with  all  its  instinctive  faculties.  Why  do 
they  live  and  thrive  under  wall  paper?  Many  wall  papers,  some  of 
which  are  known  to  be  a  cause  of  illness  to  mankind,  have  large 
quantities  of  arsenic,  cochineal,  and  paris  green  in  them.  This 
mineral  compound,  being  changed  by  the  continual  variation  of 
temperature  going  on  in  the  room,  is  sufficient  to  change  the  natural 
character  of  the  paper,  and  also  the  habits  of  the  bugs,  who  are 
thus  able  to  obtain  nourishment  from  the  back  of  the  paper. 
