St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-04-05
CARE OF FINE BOOKS.
Valuable Suggestions O6ea1Dod Iro0 Q
Well-known Blbll0p0le.


Valuable Suggestions Ohtalood From
well-known l3ibllopole.
A representative of the American An
alyst called upon . wc3l-known biblio-
pole Of New York City for information
respecting the care Of fne hooks. "A
book" said the expert, lis delicate
organization, whose foes are perpetu-
ally endeavoring to destroy 1t, and its
foes are legion. Water, moisture ordamp-
ness, on the one hand. and excessive dry.
ness on the other. are both extremely
injurious. A high temperature dries
paper, parchment and leather. and rem
ders them very brittle. IN the opposite
direction great cold affects books in the
Same manner. but 70 . much smaller ex-
tent. For this reason . Swede or . Can
adian has harder time with his library
than . Frenchman, an Englishman or
an American. But tho hardest time
Of all il experienced BY the rest
dents Of hot climates like South
ern India, Egypt, Brazil and Co
lOmbia. Another dangerous enemy to
all books is what 10 usually termed
mold. This is not . simple veg
etable growth, as is popularity believed.
Microsc0pists have discoSssed over
hundred species Of mold with which
librsfies are anlicted. Some attack
paper; others parchment; some fatten
on sheepskin, while others prefer mo-
rocco for diet There Is hardly . sub
stance Of any sort used in bookmaking
but what has anywhere from two to
ten different molds which find In IL .
home or source Of punishment In
sects are the cause Of endless trouble.
Flies and spiders merely soil books;
moths and butterflies bay eggs which
hatch into voracious and destructive
larvW. These do any amount Of dam
age. I have seen fare and valuable
volumes which had been bored through
and through by these minute pests.
Ants do little or no harm in temperate
latitudes, but are scourge in tho trop-
les. A colony Of white ants has fre.
quently been known to devour not only
. library, but also the book cases in
which the books were kept In pro-
viding against those dangers . lit
tie common sense win suggest
all requisite remedies. "A library
SnOuIO % kept Clcdus WclA-0uSt"
ed and thoroughly ventilated. A
hardwood marble OF mosaic floor with
rugs is far better than . .carpeted
one. For the same reason wooden or
leather furniture il superior TO the
handsomest products in silk and wool
of the upholsterer's art. In respect to
heating, . CRATE hre either Of coal or
the old-fashioned one Of wood is the
best. Dry hot-air from registers or fur
naces, IL too desiccating, while . gas
stove or oil stove is ruinous. For fight
ing mold and insect life there are .
number Of good methods. Pieces Of
camphor, menthol and tobacco are Of
great value. They should be placed in
bookcases on every shelf. Pulverized
salicylic acid sprinkled over the books
and shelves Is probably the best II Is
colcrless, tasteless and 0dorless, and
has NO action either chemical or me-
chanical upon the books Spraying .
bookcase with weak solution Of eorro-
sive sublimate has been recommended.
but do not like the idea Of playing
with 50 powerful q poison. Last Of all,
in using fine books put on tempo
rary cover before you begin reading"