The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-20
4 REAL n0oKwoRM.
The Hare and Precious Grub on
View in New York.

The Hare and Precious Grub on
view in New York.
From New York Advertiser.
In the window of a Fifth avenue book
store is shown a piece of glass, near the
bottom of which, carefully preserved from
the air, is a Htte object that looks ike a
bit of black yarn pressed mo an irregular
semi-circular shape. 1t IS only about three
sixteenths of an inch in length, but If you
should happen to come across the mate 10
this insignificant looking creature within
the pages of some musty old tome, don't
flick it away with a snap of the finger
For it is a genuine. boring book worm,
rare and precious grub.
This strange little creature now on eXhi-
bition is a specimen of SCrodrepa Panicea,
family ptlnidae, order Coleoprera, and il is
the property of William Harris Arnold OF
New York, who has described it in his
First Report of a Book Collector" The
specimen was sent by him TO j. H. Com
stock, professor of entomology at Cornell
University, who received it with others
from Willard Austin, assistant librarian of
the university Mr.. Austin thus describes
how he made the discovery which is re-
garded as being one of the best authenti-
Gated instances on record:
1T was on the 18th of May, 1893, that
took from the shelf a volume of Dante's
works, which had been sent from Florence
by Willard Fiske as a part of the Dante
collection which for some years he had
been gathering. The volume had been re-
ceived by mail few days previously. The
cover was worn by lime more than by
use, and was riddled with worm holes
Down close to the hinges of the
front cover were found remains of worms
which had had their day and ceased to
be- together with the larvae of several
that were alive. The title page was pierre
ed with eight holes, which extended
through only a few leaves. In the back
hinge were found some remains and some
live larvae The holes which pierced
through the back leaves numbered TWEEN
ty, and went deeper than those in front
Knowing the chronological department de-
sired all such unusual specimens, 1 took
them there, together with the volume. The
cover was removed, and the volume re-
turned TO the library"
Prof. CONS Ock examined the cover with
great care and found that it contained
many specimens, and il was placed in
tight insect case and the insects were al
lowed to develop. A considerable mum Der
of beetles matured and left the covers,
and certain of the larvae were sent by
man 10 NI. Arnold. NOW MI. Arnold is
not merely a well-known book collector,
he is business man also. and he deter
mined so to treat some of his specimens
that accurate scientific study of them
could be made. Pictures of bookworms
have been drawn and engraved more than
once, but Mr.. Arnold is The first person
to reproduce bookworm by Photographic
process. He made coIotypes of one of
the Cornell specimens. natural size, and
also magnihed thirty-six diameters.
In fact. the glass plate upon which is
shown the bookworm, exhibited uptown,
is one of the negatives he made, and close
inspection Of the glass far above the clear
cut image of natural size reveals the en-
larged hkeness-a vague, shadowy mass,
the outer edge forming a semicrcle, hav-
ing indentations here and there. Project
ing from the body of this indistinct half
moon are countless hairy particles I'm
less the observer is thoroughly informed
upon the subject it would be almost i'm
possible for him TO determine at which
end is the creatures head. And yet the
genuine bOokworm is armed with power
fully constructed jaws and strong muscles,