’Twas owing to his Skill that he had thus preserv’d himself to so great an Age; and ’tis my Opinion, he had attain’d to a greater knowledge of the physical Use of the Vegetables of that Country, than any illiterate Person ever had done before him.
Believing some of the Materials not to be had in Europe, I procured of him a quantity, and soon after returned to England.
On my arrival at London in August 1727, I made some Liquor to compare with his, (which I found exactly the same) whereupon I set about destroying of Buggs, and found to my Satisfaction, that wherever I apply’d it, it brought out and kill’d ’em all. At length I advertis’d, had great business, and pleased every body, then apprehending no return of the Vermin. But yet, to my surprize, tho’ I had kill’d all the old ones, young ones sometimes, in some places, would appear.
To my Liquor’s being then so strong and oleous, that I durst not venture to liquor the Furniture for fear of damaging it, I at first attributed the coming of those young Buggs.
Whereupon I studied to find an Allay for that Quality; which at length, after many Experiments, and with much difficulty, I found out, and to such a perfection, that I can and do with safety liquor the richest of Furniture, as well as the Wood-work of Beds; and tho’ the staining Quality be taken off, the valuable attractive and destructive parts of the Composition still retain their full Virtue.
Having gain’d this great Point, I then went on briskly, and destroyed Buggs and Nits in all Beds and Furniture wherever I came: But yet Young Ones from behind Wainscot and out of Walls would sometimes afterwards appear, get to the Beds for better quarters and food, and become troublesome.
This much perplex’d me; but these unforeseen and then unknown Difficulties, which might have discouraged a less enterprizing Genius, prompted me the more to find the Cause and Means to overcome them; which I conjectur’d might best be done, by finding their Nature and Method of Breeding, Feeding, &c.
In order to it, I enquir’d of many Booksellers, if any Book concerning them had ever been published; but finding none, I then made it my business to discourse as many learned, curious, and antient Men as I possibly could, concerning them; but all that ever I could gather from either, was the following Account, how and when they were first known to be brought and to breed in England.
Viz. “That soon after the Fire of London, in some of the new-built Houses they were observ’d to appear, and were never noted to have been seen in the old, tho’ they were then so few, as to be little taken notice of; yet as they were only seen in Firr-Timber, ’twas conjectur’d they were then first brought to England in them; of which most of the new Houses were partly built, instead of the good Oak destroy’d in the old.”