The Washington herald., 1921-07-31

his taste, but he languished and died in
three weeks, and sfterward it became .
matter of conjecture to the chronological
Department of the British Museum. After
ward, an officer Of that same museum gave
to Mr.. Blades two specimens Of bookworm
which he had found in a volume which
had recently arrived from khens. 1t was
an old Hebrew commentary upon which
these Greek bookworms were feeding, and
they seemed to thrive upon this queer diet.
In captivity, one of them died, but the
other remained under observation for some
eighteen months, gradually languishing. In
the history Of the British Museum il does
not appear once in ten years that one Of
these rare creatures turns up in the ma
terial that is brought there for preservs-
ton
GIT is curious to notice." says Blades,
L describing an attack of group Of these
insects upon a volume, how the holes
rapidly at first, then slowly and more
slowly disappear. We trace the same
hole through leaf after leaf until, sud-
denly. il becomes in one leaf reduced to half
its normal diameter. and close examination
will show a small abrasion upon the next
leaf exactly where the hole would have come
IL continued. In this book il is just as il
there had been a race. In the first ten leaves
the weak worms are left behind; in the
second ten there are still forty eight eaters;
these are reduced to thirty-one in the third
ten. and only eighteen in the fourth ten. On
folio 81 only six worms hold on and before
folio 81 two Of them had given in. Before
reaching folio Il it is a neck and neck race
between two sturdy gourmands, each max
ing a fine large hole, one of them being
oval in shape. At folio a they are still
neck and neck, the same. At folio 81 the
oval worm gave in, the round one eating
three more leaves and part way through the
fourth The leaves Of the book are then un-
touched until we reach the sixty ninth from
the end, upon which is one worm hole.
After that they 60 on multiplying to the
end of the book"
The rarity of the bookworm at the pres
ent time is attributed in part TO the
inedible quality Of the books Of today. The
materials from which they are made and
the CLOSES and bleaches which are part OF
their treatment do not appeal, apparently.
to the taste of the bookworm. When found
at all, it is much more likely to make It's
appearance in books that were printed cen
turtles ago. The product Of CaIton, the
first printer, seems to have appealed very
strongly to this gourmandizing insect.
The rarity Of the occurrence Of this
almost mythical creature in the United
States is evidenced in q reference to IL In
tbs Encyclopedia of Printing" which was
edited and printed by a man named RirSwat
in Philadelphia a half century ago. This
man, an evident authority on the subject Of
the ravages of bookworms in the past, is able
to produce no evidence of their ever having
operated in his own home city. He states.
quite proudly. that there is Ia a private
library in Philadelphia a volume perforated
by this insect. The very evidence Of such
a specimen in Philadelphia Of that time,
despite the fact that 1t was the home Of
the Oldest library in America, seerns to have
been regarded by Ringwalt as q thing !,
which considerable pride might be taken.
In the Library Of Congress, Mr.. Meyer
says, there is little difficulty from insect
pests. In the first place it is kept 20
scrupulously clean that there are no breeding
places for them. II is kept well aired and
the damp and musty conditions that favor
them are not allowed to develop. The build
ing Is constantly In the esfe OF specialists,
who eradicate every insect that appears
and destroy their breeding places.
But the wisdom of the bookmakers is,
after all. a most discouraging thing to these
ancient rsvagers Of books, for they put bug
poison into the glue which used TO be their
host alluring tidbits. and it is as unsafe
for the rsvenous worm to attack them 40
II is for a man with an unregenerate thirst
to firt with poison that is purveyed 10
the name Of the cup that was once wont 70
cheer. - -