San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-05-27
HOW TO, PACK AWAY FuRs.
Best Way to Save Your sealskin sacque-
Preserving Wearing Apparel.

about this time" as the old Farmers
Almanac says, "look out for instruc-
tons about preserving wearing apparel
from the ravages of moEhs." Every
woman must know tho theory, but
every autumn wall goes up from tho
women who have not been able to mako
practice and theory agree, and who find
their furs and wooden garments more
OF less the worse for the inroads of
moths, says Jennes.
The secret of preventing moth raw
nges, in a nutshell, is this: Prevent
moth millers from laying their eggs
in the garments. If garments are
packed away free from miller eggs, apd
nre kept where the moth miller can't
get at them, there is no danger Of the
goods being injured. If there are
moth eggs in the goods when they are
put away, all the "preventives" that can
be packed among the goods will not pre-
vent the eggs Matching ont the worms
that eat the goods.
Furriers, as a general thing, do not
pack away their furs. They fill their
shops with strong-smelling drugs, and
once week shake and refold or rehang
the garments, to keep them from be-
coming creased and marred, and feel
safe enough with these provisions to
accept private furs and insure them
against damage. But the housewife
cannot turn her house into drug store,
and is obliged to put her furs into spe-
cial receptacles. The best one would
undoubtedly be light room with hooks
and shelves and tight-fitting door and
window. The room could be aired oc-
casionally, a screen in the window pre-
venting moth millers getting in surrep-
titiously, and old sheets or unbleached
or calico cotton covers would keep of
dust.
In the absence of such room dark
closets must generally be made the re-
ceiving places for wopls and furs.
Moths love the dark, and have a pen
chant for tucking themselves away out
of sight. Therefore it not infrequently
happens that goods are put away moth
free, but in closets where stray mil
lers are lowering the result upsets all
calculations as to the efficacy of such
preventives.
To outwit the millers, do all the pack
ing in the sunlight First clean clothing
free from spots, beat and dust and
hang every piece out of doors on a
breezy, sunshiny day. Bring them in
ut night, and hang them out a second
day for an hour or two, as il is not wise
to pack away goods that have lain over
night exposed to the sly miller, looking
for a soft nest, without another airing.
After a final shake, do the packing in
trunks, boxes, drawers or bags, but al
ways in something that can be covered
up tightly. Be sure these receptacles
are clean, then line with newspapers
and have the edges overlap widely. Be-
tween every two layers of goods spread
newspaper, and put one over the top.
Moths do not like printers ink and
will not eat through it. The use of tho
paper is to prevent moths getting at the
goods from the outside, and from eat
ing in more than one layer If by chance
a collection of eggs has been deposited
in some garment before it is packed
away, despite ones best endeavors.
Dresses and mems suits, which cannot
we'll be folded, may best hung upon
wooden shoulders" and covered with
cotton bag. This bag should have
double-stitched seams, and the top
should be folded down twice and basted,
strip of the stuff being wound about
the wire hook where it comes through
the top of the bag to hang the shoulder
up by.
To sum up, it is not the miller, but the
miller's eggs, from which are Matched
the ravenous moths that do the mis-
chief. Moth marbles and camphor,
tobacco and pepper, and all the other
GLORIOUS substances are useful only
when the air can be so saturated with
them that millers cannot live in it.
They do not prevent the Matching out
of eggs once laid. Brushing dislodges
eggs, wind and sunshine and beatingop-
crate tokeepmillersa at bay and the COM
Eination of these agents with keen eyes
and newspapers and tightly covered re-
ceptacles will prevent moth ravages
without the aid of any ill-smelling or
expensive chemicals.
1t may not be generally known that
while all wooden is beloved of moths,
not all furs are. The miller seldom
settles down to lay her eggs upon seal
skin or Persian lamb, for instance, but
will get at marten wherever it happens
to be, unless the utmost care is taken
to prevent her doing So The explana-
ton is that certain dyes are obnoxious
IN tho fact;dionS ,,,otb ,rt,;Ia oar@o;r