Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1875 — To Protect Furs from Moths. [ARTICLE]

To Protect Furs from Moths.

The common practice is to put away furs in something perfectly tight, and to put into the fur all sorts of strong-scent-ed articles, such as camphor gum, tobacco, cedar, and even some using turpentine. All these have the effect to dry up and injure the fur, and is not the least protection from moths, as the furs are put into perfectly tight packages that no moth or miller could enter. Ladies are surprised upon taking out their furs in the fall to find that they are injured by the moths after all this care. The simple answer is that the embryo moth was in the furs when they were put away. The deposit of the miller is so small that it is not noticed, and the worm grows very rapidly and does the mischief, the camphor and cedar having no effect on* it. The moth miller has access to the furs before they are put away, and while it dislikes the smell of caifiphor and cedar this is not applied to the fur until the miller has had access to it. Furs should be thoroughly whipped with a small, smooth, round stick to get out all dust and the small deposit of the miller before putting away, and then put into something that is so tight that a very small miller cannot crawl into. A linen pillow-case is a good thing to, slip the box into. As it is possible that the furs may not have been whipped perfectly clean when put away, it is desirable to take them out, say in June, and whip them again, when if there are any moths in them they will be in the form of worms, and may easily be whipped out. Never hang furs out to air, but put them back in the boxes as soon as they are whipped. If in whipping furs the fur is found to be loose, it is evident that there are moths in them, and they should be whipped until the fur will not fly.— Household.