es, walls, or floors. A good deal can be done to
keep "worms" away by using such substances as camphor or naphthaline
in the bookcase. Bookworms do not attack modern books very much;
probably they dislike the alum put in the paste and the mill-boards
made of old tarred rope.

In old books, especially such as come from Italy, it is often found
that the ravages of the bookworms are almost entirely confined to the
glue on the backs of the books, and it generally seems that the glue
and paste attract them. Probably if corrosive sublimate were put in
the glue and paste used it would stop their attacks. Alum is said to
be a preventive, but I have known bookworms to eat their way through
leather pasted on with paste containing alum, when, in recovering, the
old wooden boards containing bookworms have been utilised in error.

When on shaking the boards of an old book dust flies out, or when
little heaps of dust are found on the shelf on which an old book has
been standing, it may be considered likely that there are bookworms
present. It is easy to kill any that may be hatched, by putting the
book in an air-tight box surrounded with cotton wool soaked in ether;
but that will not kill the eggs, and the treatment must be repeated
from time to time at intervals of a few weeks.

Any book that is found to contain bookworms should be isolated and at
once treated. Tins may be put inside the boards to prevent the "worms"
eating into the leaves.

Speaking of bookworms, Jules Cousin says:--

"One of the simplest means to be employed (to get rid of bookworms) is
to place behind the books, especially in the place where the insects
show their presence most, pieces of linen soaked with essence of
turpentine, camphor, or an infusion of tobacco, and to renew them when
the smell goes off. A little fine pepper might also be scattered on
the shelf, the penetrating smell of which would produce the same
effect."

Possibly Keating's Insect Powder would answer as well or better than
pepper.

RATS AND MICE

Rats and mice will gnaw the backs of books to get at the glue, so,
means should be taken to get rid of these vermin if they should
appear. Mice especially will nibble vellum binding or the edges of
vellum books that have become greasy with much handling.

COCKROACHES

Cockroaches are very troublesome in libraries, eating the bindings.
Keating's Insect Powder will keep them a