I
Dissolve:—
| Gilder’s glue | 100 |
| Water | 200 |
Add to this:—
| Bleached shellac | 2 |
| Alcohol | 10 |
II
Dissolve together:—
| Dextrine | 50 |
| Water | 50 |
Unite the two solutions thus formed; pass them through a cloth, so as to fall into a flat mould. When dry, use by dissolving in hot water.
American glaze for postage-stamps:—
| Dextrine | 2 |
| Vinegar | 1 |
| Water | 5 |
| Alcohol | 1 |
Stamps are, however, very often surreptitiously removed by means of moisture. The following recipe renders this difficult. It consists of two preparations, one of which is applied to the stamp and one to the letter. It is particularly needed in America, where, according to a statement in a newspaper, nearly one-third of all the postage-stamps are removed from letters, cleaned, and used over again.
I. For the Letter.
| Chromic acid | 2.5 | gr. |
| Caustic potash | 15.0 | ″ |
| Water | 15.0 | ″ |
| Sulphuric acid | 0.5 | ″ |
| Sulphuric copper-oxide of ammonia | 30.0 | ″ |
| Fine paper | 4.0 | ″ |
II. On the Stamp.
| Sturgeon’s bladder in water | 7.0 | gr. |
| Vinegar | 1.0 | ″ |
The chromic acid forms with the glue a substance insoluble in water, which causes the stamp not to yield to moisture. The two should be kept in two cups, and the letter first smeared with one and the stamp with the other. I have read of a physician who, finding that his postage-stamps were often stolen, adopted the precaution of giving their backs an application of croton-oil, or some similar powerful “anti-thief-matic,” the result of which was great temporary illness in his landlady and her family. For this recipe the reader must apply to a chemist!
Eder’s Gum for Photographs.—Dissolve oxyhydrate of ammonia in vinous acid, to one part of which add twenty of starch-paste.
Cement for Leather or Paper in Binding Books, &c.—Take 1 kilogramme of wheat-flour, and make it to a paste with 20 grammes of finely powdered alum. Boil this till a spoon will stand uptight in it. Cover the cardboard or cover with this, lay the leather or muslin upon it, and then with a roller press one upon the other. Leather should first be damped. Care must be taken that the paste be not too moist; secondly, that it is laid on very evenly and thinly.
Engravings or texts which have had a piece torn out can be restored as follows:—
Obtain a photograph from a perfect copy on corresponding paper, then with gum set it in, so as to supply the deficiency.
As the ravages of the Book-worm form an important item in mending books, and as there is always some interest for collectors regarding this much talked of and rarely seen insect, I take the liberty of reproducing from the American Science of March 24, 1893, an article on the subject. An appropriate motto for it might be:—
“Come hither, boy; we’ll hunt to-day
The book-worm, ravening beast of prey.”
The Ravages of Book-Worms
At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, held February 9, 1893, Dr. Samuel A. Green, after showing two volumes that had been completely riddled by the ravages of insects, as well as some specimens of the animals in various stages, made the following remarks:—
For a long period of years I have been looking for living specimens of the so-called “book-worm,” of which traces are occasionally found in old volumes; and I was expecting to find an invertebrate animal of the class of annelids. In this library at the present time there are books perforated with clean-cut holes opening into sinuous cavities, which usually run up the back of the volumes, and sometimes perforate the leather covers and the body of the book; but I have never detected the live culprit that does the mischief. For the most part the injury is confined to such as are bound in leather, and the ravages of the insect appear to depend on its hunger. The external orifices look like so many shot-holes, but the channels are anything but straight. From a long examination of the subject I am inclined to think that all the damage was done before the library came to this site in the spring of 1833. At all events, there is no reason to suppose that any of the mischief has been caused during the last fifty years. Perhaps the furnace-heat dries up the moisture which is a requisite condition for the life and propagation of the little animal.
Nearly two years ago I received a parcel of books from Florida, of which some were infested with vermin, and more or less perforated in the manner I have described. It occurred to me that they would make a good breeding farm and experiment station for learning the habits of the insect; and I accordingly sent several of the volumes to my friend Mr. Samuel Garman, who is connected with the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, for his care and observation. From him I learn that the principal offender is an animal known popularly as the Buffalo Bug, though he is helped in his work by kindred spirits, not allied to him according to the rules of natural history. Mr. Garman’s letter gives the result of his labours so fully as to leave nothing to be desired, and is as follows:—
“Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., February 7, 1893.
“Dr. Samuel A. Green, Boston, Mass.
“Sir,—The infested books sent for examination to this Museum, through the kindness of Mr. George E. Littlefield, were received July 15, 1891. They were inspected, and, containing individuals of a couple of species of living insects, were at once enclosed in glass for further developments. A year afterward live specimens of both kinds were still at work. Besides those that reached us alive, a third species had left traces of former presence in a number of empty egg-cases.
“Five of the volumes were bound in cloth. On these the principal damage appeared at the edges, which were eaten away and disfigured by large burrows extending inward. Two volumes were bound in leather. The edges of these were not so much disturbed; but numerous perforations, somewhat like shot-holes externally, passed through the leather, enlarging and ramifying in the interior. As if made by smaller insects, the sides of these holes were neater and cleaner cuttings than those in the burrows on the edges of the other volumes.
“The insects were all identified as well known enemies of libraries, cabinets, and wardrobes. One of them is a species of what are commonly designated ‘fish bugs,’ ‘silver fish,’ ‘bristle tails,’ &c. By entomologists they are called Lepisma; the species in hand is probably Lepisma saccharina. It is a small, elongate, silvery, very active creature, frequently discovered under objects, or between the leaves of books, whence it escapes by its extraordinary quickness of movement. Paste and the sizing or enamel of some kinds of paper are very attractive to it. In some cases it eats off the entire surface of the sheet, including the ink, without making perforations; in others the leaves are completely destroyed. The last specimen of this insect in these books was killed February 5, 1893, which proves the species to be sufficiently at home in this latitude.
“The second of the three is one of the ‘Buffalo Bugs.’ or ‘Carpet Bugs,’ so called; not really bugs, but beetles. The species before us is the Anthrenus varius of scientists, very common in Boston and Cambridge, as in other portions of the temperate regions and the tropics. Very likely the ‘shot-holes’ in the leather-bound volumes are of its making, though it may have been aided in the deeper and larger chambers by one or both of the others. The damage done by this insect in the house, museum, and library is too well known to call for further comment. Living individuals were taken from the books nearly a year after they were isolated.
“The third species had disappeared before the arrival of the books, leaving only its burrows, excrement, and empty egg-cases, which, however, leave no doubt of the identity of the animal with one of the cockroaches, possibly the species Blatta Australasiæ. The cases agree in size with those of Blatta Americana, but have thirteen impressions on each side, as if the number of eggs were twenty-six. The ravages of the cockroaches are greatest in the tropics, but some of the species range through the temperate zones and even northward. An extract from Westwood and Drury will serve to indicate the character of their work:—
“‘They devour all kinds of victuals, dressed and undressed, and damage all sorts of clothing, leather, books, paper, &c., which, if they do not destroy, at least they soil, as they frequently deposit a drop of their excrement where they settle. They swarm by myriads in old houses, making every part filthy beyond description. They have also the power of making a noise like a sharp knocking with the knuckle upon the wainscotting, Blatta gigantea being thence known to the West Indies by the name of drummer; and this they keep up, replying to each other, throughout the night. Moreover, they attack sleeping persons, and will even eat the extremities of the dead.’
“This quotation makes it appear that authors as well as books are endangered by this outlaw. With energies exclusively turned against properly selected examples of both, what a world of good it might do mankind! The discrimination lacking, the insect must be treated as a common enemy. As a bane for ‘silver fish’ and cockroaches, pyrethrum insect powder is said to be effectual. For a number of years I have used, on lepisma and roach, a mixture containing phosphorus, ‘The Infallible Water Bug and Roach Exterminator,’ made by Barnard & Co., 7 Temple Place, Boston, and, without other interest in advertising the compound, have found it entirely satisfactory in its effects. Bisulphide carbon, evaporated in closed boxes or cases containing the infested articles, is used to do away with the ‘Buffalo Bugs.’—Very respectfully yours,
“Samuel Garman.”
I can remember that many years ago there was to be seen in the bookshop of John Penington, Philadelphia, a book-worm preserved in spirits in a vial. The manner in which this species of teredo penetrates wood and leather as well as paper is not the least curious of its habits.
The great amount of injury inflicted by boring-insects in books, wood, and all weak substances is sufficient reason for giving so much space to this subject. From a ship to a manuscript, nothing is safe from them.