Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
December,  1910.  J 
Insects  Destructive  to  Books. 
557 
And  so  we  see  the  special  laws  of  nature  by  which  forms  of 
low  life  live,  actuated  by  the  first  principles  of  their  instinct  to  return 
to  their  primitive  mode  of  feeding ;  that  is,  the  life  that  is  generated 
from  the  botanical  kingdom,  much  in  sympathy  with  the  facts 
established  by  Dr.  Hahnemann,  which  verifies  the  principle  that  like 
attracts  like. 
Monorium  pharonis,  or  red  ants,  Termites,  or  white  ants,  are 
found  destroying  paper  that  has  clay  in  its  composition.  The  first 
named  is  also  fond  of  saccharine  that  is  found  in  wood  fibre. 
Paper  Eaters  ;  Animal  Fibre,  Parchment. — Insects,  such  as 
roaches,  which  destroy  parchment,  are  after  the  oils  and  fats  which 
are  used  in  their  preparation ;  for  however  carefully  the  parchment 
may  be  prepared,  there  is  always  a  certain  amount  of  oil  and  grease 
left  in  it.  These  oils  are  obtained  from  the  plants,  minerals,  and 
animals  of  the  earth,  which  the  roaches  have  always  been  used  to ; 
therefore,  when  placed,  in  a  location  away  from  their  natural  food 
supply,  their  instinct  compels  them  to  seek  those  books  which  have 
the  foods,  etc.,  in  their  composition  to  which  the  roaches  formerly 
had  access.  After  the  processes  of  the  manufacture  of  the  paper 
have  been  completed  and  it  is  ready  for  the  printer,  another  transi- 
tional change  is  nigh,  due  to  the  chemicalization  of  the  inks  that 
are  used. 
Parchment  is  especially  eaten  by  the  roaches,  Periplaneta  anieri- 
cana,  and  Ectobia  germanica,  the  crickets,  Gryllus  assimilis,  and 
some  species  of  Coleoptera,  or  beetles. 
Skin  Bindings. — Bindings  made  of  skin  always  have  a  certain 
amount  of  oily  or  gelatinous  substances  in  them,  even  though  they 
may  seem  perfectly  dry  to  the  observer,  and  these  bindings  are  sub- 
ject to  the  ravages  of  the  insects  that  in  their  natural  state  go  after 
substances  containing  oils  and  greases.  Leather  that  is  perfect  in  its 
external  appearance,  under  degrees  of  dampness  will  expand,  and 
under  degrees  of  heat  will  contract.  The  oil  is  hidden  at  the  bottom, 
and  does  not  come  to  the  surface  until  pressed  out  by  expansion 
caused  by  dampness.  The  skins  contain  the  same  elements  in  the 
dead  state  as  in  the  living,  and  the  bindings  will  be  attacked  by  the 
same  forms  of  life  that  lived  upon  the  live  animals,  because  they  can 
still  find  the  mineral  poisons  and  the  alluvial  substances  that  were 
part  of  their  natural  food  supply.  Leather  bindings  are  also  subject 
to  the  depredations  of  insects  and  worms  which  are  partly  after  the 
oils,  acids,  and  fats  which  are  in  the  skin,  as  well  as  from  the  new 
