MISCELLANEOUS.
Insecto.—The beetles have been so crushed that it is not easy to say absolutely what they are. But we think there can be very little doubt that they are Anobium domesticum, a wood-boring beetle very common in old houses. The boring is, of course, the work of the larvæ, which are believed to take often three years to come to perfection and change into the pupæ—the little round holes being the open ends of their galleries. Canon Fowler says, “They may, to a great extent, be got rid of by the application of benzine, with which a small quantity of carbolic acid has been mixed;” if they have bored into furniture which is delicately polished, “the benzine had better be applied alone. Unpolished furniture would be best freed from the pest by immersion in boiling water, if the articles are not too unwieldy to admit of such treatment. Moderately strong carbolic acid will at once destroy both grubs, eggs, and perfect insects, but the furniture to which it is applied will require re-polishing.” As the query is as to the destruction of floor-boards, we should think the carbolic acid would not be difficult.
An Impoverished One.—We know of nothing to remove the black marks, unless French chalk may answer the purpose. Scrape a little on them at the back and try.
Dolly.—The smoking of your lamp may be prevented by a little more effort at thorough cleanliness. Take out the wick, soak it in vinegar, dry it well, and cut it exactly straight. Wash the lamp in soda-water, and when you fill it with oil, put a few little pieces of camphor in the latter, as this will improve the light. To whiten the dirty-looking boards, use newly-slaked lime—one part—and three parts of white sand. Another method is to apply moistened fuller’s earth thickly over the stains, and, after about twenty-four hours, rub it in gently, and then clear it off. A third plan is to lay chloride of lime on the boards, damp it frequently, and then wash them well with soda-water.
Birdy.—We quite sympathise with you in the feeling of indignation aroused at seeing the quantity of little skylarks that cover the counters of poulterers in London. Much is said, and great efforts are made, with reference to the slaughter of birds for bonnet decoration. But women’s vanity is not alone to be censured for the destruction of birds with beautiful plumage. The larks and thrushes and other singing birds find a market to supply the tables of men’s clubs. It was calculated some time ago that upwards of 40,000 skylarks were sent up from the country every day during the season, and before long, at this rate, the little bird which called forth the genius of Shelley, Wordsworth, and others of our poets, and inspired such exquisite odes, will become a rare specimen amongst our native songsters. The law should be a stringent one against the destruction of any songster.
M. G. G.—Return the withdrawal order to the Head Office in London if you wish it to be cancelled. Address the letter “Savings Bank, G. P. O., London,” unstamped, saying you wish it to be cancelled. Many thanks to the Parochial Nurse.
Harmony.—We should think that a daily paper would be the best for your advertisement. That is where people usually look, we believe. Very few take an exclusively musical journal unless extremely interested in the subject.
J. Nelson.—We see no reason why you should not give your clergyman a parting present, though it is difficult to say what it should be, unless we knew to what part of the world he was going. Something simple and useful is generally the best. Hairbrushes in a case, a box of nice soap, some handkerchiefs, an old-fashioned housewife well filled, half-a-dozen bedroom towels marked in embroidery; all of these would be useful. But you could ask some intimate friend to tell you exactly what he needed, and you might get a good suggestion in that way.
Curious.—The observation you have made respecting the retreat of the glacier at Grindelwald is quite correct. Some years ago the distance to be ascended to reach it was not nearly so great as it now is. But this is not an isolated case. The gradual retreat of the glacier is general, and in proportion the higher limit of vegetation is coming down. The rhododendron, which formerly ranged up to 2,350 metres some twenty years ago, now reaches only to 2,000. M. Martin ascribes this change to the fact that there is less snow, and less protection against the cold in winter, and less moisture during the heat of summer. The vines do not grow as high as formerly. The mountaineers do not reside at such altitudes as they once did.
A. R.—The stork is a fatal enemy to snakes, and indeed so are all the birds of the marshes, for they check their prodigious multiplication. It is true that snakes may be perhaps a little repulsive in appearance, but they perform great services in the economy of nature, for they make incessant war on the worms and insects which abound in the slimy mud of the swamps in which they generally make their abode. The storks always make their nests on roofs and chimneys.
F. Q. M. J. E.—When a widow marries again, she certainly requires wedding-cards, and she would put the name she bore during her first marriage on her cards, and not her maiden name, unless under peculiar and exceptional circumstances.