Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-05-03
KILL MOTHS In TINE.
GREAT MISTAKE TO WAIT FOR THE
HEAT or SUMNER.
Bepeiiants Never Kill the Worm or Egg
Three Species of Wool-Destroyers
and Their Habits-when to
Watch for Them.

Inc great mistake folks make IS 20 await
the heat Of the summer before watching
for moths. Artless young housewives look
askance at the bare thought of bugs in
their newly-built home. but If they stop
TO squarely consider the subject they must
admit that visitors are at any time liable
to bring in with their clothing q guileless
moth, which, with good health and indus
try, can hatch hundreds of its kind in
week, aud ruin everything of an animal
texture with which ITS larvD or grubs
come. IN contact, therefore. says this
months UphoissrT, of Philadelphia, the
need for serious watchfulness and a
knowledge Of the subject becomes ap-
parent.
One Immediately protests, But | have
never watched specially for moths, and
everything in the way Of clothing and fab
rios in my home has not been ruined"
u" True. but your immunity from depre-
dation has been good luck-nothinC more.
The moth lays its eggs in dark places, and
the grub which is Matched moves slowly.
and its feedinc-spots are usually within q
foot or two OF its place of birth. If, by
good luck, its place Of birth isaway from
a textile fabric the texture will not be
hurt; If near II is sure DESTRUCTION
The quacks and preventive" manutac-
tuTers have ALWAYS reaped q rich harvest
through the ignorance Of people regarding
the moth and It's habits. Folks have bum
died up their woollens and packed them
away in their chests full of tarboline, or
carbollne. or cedarline, or camphorline,
and actually believed that they would be
safe until fall. They have wrapped up
hundreds Of moth eggs. which eventually
hatch the grubs. These odors
Will, NEVER KILL A MOTH
or destroy is life germs. To be sure. a
moth Will not voluntarily seek a nesting
place where the odor exists. but II boxed
up with an odor il cannot escape from, 1t
simply proceeds TO lay its eggs in the at
mosDhere, which becomes O second nature
to the grub when Matched
Anything saturated with arsenic or creo-
sOte, " even salt, or impregnated with
sulphur. the moth or worm will not touch,
but the use OF these articles is dangerous
10 the colorings of fine textures. IL Is dis
cOuraging. indeed, when housewife
shakes out her clothes and puts them into
a camphOr trunk and keeps them there all
summer to find that In the fall they are
fairly riddled; but the trouble has been she
watched only for moths, when the moth IS
not at all destructive. 1t is the worm that
she should have been on the lookout Tor,
which matches out Of the egg, and as the
tEE IS uAIllN DtEttDblblt W bbN AAhhNA - -
q mere white speck like the point of pin.
the danger Is passed over unseen.
Until recently, the utmost confusion
and ignorance has prevailed regarding tho
nomenclature of the moth species, but it
is now q clearly defined fact that there are
three distinct species OF Notwithstanding
moths common IN this country all OF
which are of European origin. 10 be SCI
entitcally correct, We should term them
| Al ,.~1l.z,o1;a 4 inn tho
| petZella, Linn, and the IlneOla blsellella,
! Hummel.
The commonest species are light brown
and marked with spots. They begin 10 APP
pear late in April and may occasionally be
| seen fitting about as late as August. They
| pair off and the female then searches for
| suitable places for the deposition OF her
eggs working her way into dark corners,
crevices of the walls, cracks in the tioor, or
| deep in the folds of garments. apparently
| choosing by instinct the least conspicuous
| places. The moth lays
PROM IS TO 40 EGis AT TIME.
From these eggs hatch, in period from
| three to seven days, the white, soft body
| laryn or worms, all of which begin imme-
| diately 10 make a case for themselves from
! the fragments of the cloth upon which
! they feed The case is in the shape of
| hollow roll from thirty-second to an
| eighth of an inch long.
We have all noticed these rolls" on
| fabrics, and frequently we have crushed
| them, supposing that we have thus pre-
venCtd all damage, when the very existence
| of the cylinder shows that the grub has
| already ted. As the worms grow they en-
| large this case by adding material which
| they get by feeding. The worm reaches its
! full growth in thirty-siX days, and then,
| crawling into some yet more protected
| spot. remains TORPID during the winter
within its case which by this timeis thick
ened and fastened at either end and Is the
| full-siZed cocoon. The transformation OF
the moth takes place within the case
| during the following spring. Such Is the
| lIfe-round of the species.
The worm feeds on woollen fabrics,
| curled hair, hair-cloth, feathers, or any
| thing of that character which may possess
| an animal deposit. for within the cellular
| tissues of hair, there is the same nutrlment
which one finds, on o smaller scale, within
| bone.
It is the 96-day period from the time
| that the eggs are laid TO the time that the
worm or grub reaches the full size that the
| damage IS done. and il is fortunate that
| all the eggs that are laid do not hltch-ln
fact, but a small proportion ever find life.
! The second species constructs its cocoon
| mainly from fragments of the material
upon which il has been feeding, spinning
q certain amount of silk, however, where
ever it goes. leaving the trace which one
| sometimes finds on woollen fabrics. ms
species is most common from Washington
| southwark.
The parent moth is of q dark straw
color, and has none of the spots on IT that
YOU see on the Tinea pellionella.
The moth of the Tlnea tapetZella,. the
third species, is readily distinguished from
all others by the front wings, which are
black from the base TO the body and white
beyond, tne white portion being sometimes
clouded with dark gray.
THE HABITS OF THESE SPECIES
ore much the same, with the exception
that the larya or worm of the last-named
is most destructive, using for its cocoon
cylinder pieces Of the cloth itself on which
it is feeding.
1t must be now apparent to the careful
reader that it Is quite difficult TO XII the
| inhuitesimally smalleggs by reason OF their
almost imperceptible dimlnutiyeaess ana
difficult also 10 eradicate the moth by
reason Of his secretiye habits. oenZlpe
spray is sure death, but there are many OBJ
iections TO it's use and danger from ITS In
fiammable character; still, II the ordinary
| throat-spray, which cen be bought Tor
trlfle, is filed with benzine and the Vapor
thrown into crevices against moth or eggs
it will destroy them, but no hght should
be brought into a room thus treated untli
after it has been thoroughly aired and the
odor dissipated.
After a thorough airing Of woollen IA
brio, for the purpose Of driving out any
concealed moth (for amoth abhors light
and after time has been given to the de-
velopment OF any concealed egg. you
NAV be reasonably sure that there IS no.
thing harmful on the fabric; then 1t Is as
safe done up in a paper parcel as IL Would
he If saturated and buried beneath all the
anti-moth remedies in existence.
Camphor, tobacco, naphthallne, and