ey would be destroyed. The walls and roof of the room on the interior
should also be swept annually to dislodge any pupae that might be
hibernating in the cracks and crevices. With these precautions, there
should not be many of the pests left within the building, though it is a
hard matter when a house once gets badly infested to dislodge them
entirely. There are so many hiding places about a plain shingle roof that
it is next to impossible not to have some of these insects permanently
lodged in the meat house. But with a good, hard floor, frequent sweeping
and the use of plenty of black pepper on the meat, the number of the
Dermestes should be reduced to the minimum.

BACON KEEPS NOWHERE SO WELL

as in the house where it is smoked, and if the bugs do not get too
numerous it is decidedly better to allow it to remain hanging there. Bacon
needs air and a cool, dry, dark room for keeping well in summer. The least
degree of dampness is detrimental, causing the bacon to mold. It has been
noticed, however, that moldy bacon is seldom infested with the skipper.
Hence some people, to keep away the skippers, hang their bacon in a cellar
where there is dampness, preferring to have it moldy rather than
"skippery." Some housekeepers preserve hams in close boxes or barrels, in
a cool, dark room, and succeed well. Others pack in shelled oats or bran,
or wrap in old newspapers and lay away on shelves or in boxes. Inclosing
in cloth sacks and painting the cloth is also practiced. All these plans
are more or less successful, but oblige the housekeeper to be constantly
on the watch to prevent mice and ants from getting to the bacon. But if
anyone should prefer

TO EXCLUDE THE BUGS ENTIRELY

from his meat the following contrivance is offered as a cheap and entirely
satisfactory arrangement: After the meat is thoroughly smoked, hang all of
it close together, or at least all the hams, in the center of the house,
and inclose it on all sides with a light frame over which is stretched
thin cotton cloth, taking care that there shall be no openings in the
cloth or frame through which the bugs might crawl. There let it hang all
summer. This contrivance will prevent the bug from getting at the meat to
deposit its eggs, and the thin, open fabric of the cloth will at the same
time admit plenty of air. The bottom or one side of the frame should be
fixed upon hinges, for convenience in getting at the bacon as wanted. As
the bacon bug comes out i