Am.  Jour.  Fiiarm.  ) 
November,  1911.  j 
Insects  Destructive  to  Books. 
507 
favorable  conditions  for  the  propagation  of  these  small  forms  of  life 
without  much  chance  of  their  being  disturbed  during  the  evolution 
of  their  life-cycle. 
Gases. — It  is  known  that  quite  an  amount  of  poisonous  gas  is 
given  off  by  the  gas  used  for  lighting  purposes,  and  also  from  the 
breath  of  readers,  and  that  if  the  room  is  not  properly  ventilated, 
a  cjuantity  is  constantly  floating  in  the  air.  As  plant  life  is  known 
to  live  upon  this  gas,  so  will  the  lower  forms  of  life  be  found  to 
exist  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  upon  them. 
In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  earth's  history,  when  the  chaotic 
conditions  were  in  full  play  and  harmony,  every  form  of  life  was 
crude  and  drawn  to  the  grosser  matter  that  surrounded  it  for  its 
energies  and  principles  of  growth.  From  the  sun  emanates  the  rays 
that  have  acted  on  the  earth's  surface  and  its  interior,  generating 
various  elements  known  to  science  to-day  to  the  extent  of  some 
seventy  elements.  By  the  action  of  these  heat  rays  in  associating 
the  waters  of  the  earth  with  these  elements  were  generated  gases,  and 
these  gases  are  the  energies  upon  which  the  lower  organic  life  live. 
Man's  body  is  a  laboratory  of  life.  While  man  uses  intelligence 
in  regards  to  poisons,  the  instinctive  power  of  the  little  insect  is  used 
with  greater  care.  Doctors  will  prescribe  poisons  and  the  patients 
take  them  without  question,  but  the  little  insect  uses  its  instinct  to 
know  what  not  to  touch,  and  of  those  that  it  does  partake,  knows 
just  how  much  to  eat. 
UNFAVORABLE  CONDITIONS  FOR  THE  INCREASE  OF  THESE  INSECTS. 
Light. — This,  with  cleanliness,  are  the  two  most  important  factors 
in  preventing  the  ravages  of  insects  among  books,  and  will  also 
prevent  another  sort  of  damage  tO'  books,  which  is  the  various  kinds 
of  fungi  which  start  to  grow  upon  and  in  the  books  a  short  time 
after  they  have  been  placed  in  a  damp,  warm  atmosphere. 
The  lessening  of  the  destruction  of  books  by  insects,  that  have 
been  kept  on  shelves  in  badly-ventilated  and  badly-lighted 
libraries,  after  having  been  transferred  to  a  new  building  having 
good  ventilation  and  light,  is  ably  illustrated  by  the  experience  of 
Mr.  Ernest  J.  Reed,  Librarian  of  the  Oahu  College,  Honolulu,  Terri- 
tory of  Hawaii.  He  stated  in  a  letter  to  me  that  before  the  books 
were  moved  tO'  the  new  building,  the  whole  collection  was  constantly 
being  riddled  by  various  species  of  boring  insects,  but  that  since 
