Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-07-15
Poor. Innocent Moth.

| the moth Is not prevented from attack
| ing furs or woolens by tobacco stems
or leaves, which have been recon-
mended as preventive against their
| depredatiOns. Owners of furs have
| often found out to their mortificat ton
that such things as tobacco, pepper
Icamphor, sandalwood, and other woods
and herbs, do not prevent moths from
damaging furs. When at times such
| furs or woolenS have been spared, no
| thanks are due to these nostrums. The
| inexperienced owners of fur garments
| do not know that in most cases the
hair and fur that has been bitten off
! does not fall out. for the simple reason
| that it felts, and thus is retained with
ing showing any damage whatever.
Il have frequently been asked" says
| Lanquillon, what ways and means l
| employ against attacks by moth, and
when | told my interlocutors that only
| the furriers' stick and scrupulous
| cleanliness could accomplish this end,
| | have been favored with many d bit
| ing remark and cross look. Had | re-
sorted to long-drawn-out explanations
and humbuggery, things would have
been entirely different. 1t is true,
people will be humbugged.
! Il maintain: There is no preventive
| against moths that does not at the
| same time detract from the beauty of
| the article protected, and does not hurt
the nature of the pelt and fur. Cleanli-
ness, frequent beatings. and expert
| treatment of the article alone can pro-
tect furS or WOolenS.'
The moth which attacks furs and
| * IF CT Gh
gray color, about GA millimeters in
length, and is known in every fur
using country under the sun. The fly
| ing moth does no damage outside of
depositing its eggs. AS from these the
| future generation develops, it must be
destroyed. For this purpose it is by no
| means sufficient that at the first APP
pearance of one of these insects the
entire family should jump up in unison
shouting IA moth, a moth" and three
pairs of hands try to catch it. because
We're it to find itself between the air
| currents of so many hands. it is bound
| to be famed in just the opposite
| direction.
Instead, wet your hand and slowly
try to touch it. In nine cases out Of
| ten it will stick to it.
| '
| which articles likely to be attacked by
moths are kept. inspect carefully the
covers and tops. The worm which de-
| velops from the eggs. about 10 milli-
| meters in length, surrounds itself,
when sufficiently strong, with a pipe
| formed cocoon. and as long as it is
| possible for 1t to wander follows a
natural instinct to pass the process fde-
| velopment in as high an altitude as pos
sible. Unless arrested in its peregrina-
| ton toward the ceiling or the cover Of
| the receptacle in which ii is born. it
| will be found at all times at as high an
| altitude as it has been able to reach
| These storage receptacles are mostly
kept under the hot roof. and when
looking for moth larvae they will be
found when existing under just the
conditions named.
When spring arrives. the sleeping
arva. Or chrysalis. awakes to new life
The complete moth crawls from its
cover. and after its arrival and short
period of domestic life. has but one OBJ
ject in view. and that to beat all com
ers in the plentiful deposition OF its
eggs. While resting during the day.
dusk finds it ready for work
The larvae which grow from the
eggs deposited after only a Few days.
as soon as their little brown heads be-
sin to show are ready for a destruc-
tive career. They in their turn envelop
themselves in their cocoon from which
the butterfly or moth springs. and
| these in return care for the proper
propagation of the race. Thus the
never-ending cycle Of destructiventss
in the family is kept up.
\ few hints as to the proper storing
ana retaining of the beauty of furs for
the guidance of the fur owner:
| The so-called summing" is hurtfuI To
furs.
Before storing. take the fur on a dry.
shady day. beat carefully, and comb it
thoroughly with blunt horn or metal
comb, entirely free from all fatty or
oily substances; inclose it in re-
ceptacle sealed as nearly Theoretically
as possible. and store it in some dry.
cool. and dark place.
DO not place any camphor or other
powerfully scented ingredients in the
box as it is only hurtful to furs. rem
dering the hair and pelt tender. and
bleaching the fur.
AS previously remarked. all nostrums
are worse than useless. Moths do not
eat fur-they only bite off the hair in
| order to reach the root of the fine
hairs, which they bite from the skin.
| This explains the reason why when
new and old furs are stored together.
the former will always show more
damage than the old. dried out ones.
winch fact is sometimes held up to the
furrier. who must have known that he
sold the new furs infested with moths -
| The justified complaint that nova
days more moths are found in houses
and living apartments than formerly is
caused by the better heating and I'M
interrupted favorable calOric conditions
in living apartments by the introduc-
ton of steam and other heating APP
| paratuS. The moth is not influenced
by the calendar, but knows only what
the thermometer has to say.
Books have been written on how to
protect furs against moths. These are
read by furriers with avidity, and the
consequence has always been that as
soon as a dry-cold storage house has
Iopened its doors to the public, it's most
liberal patrons have been these very
same furriers. Dry-cold storage is the