Chapter 72 enemy of the book

enemy of the book william bredes Silverfish Silverfish were once the books' most destructive enemies.I say "was" because luckily, During the last fifty years its ravages have been greatly curtailed in all civilized nations.this one Partly due to the increased respect for antiquities which has generally developed - much more due to the love of money motives, and thus enable owners of antiquarian books to value volumes that increase in value year after year— Also, to some extent, due to the reduced production of edible books. In the so-called Dark Ages of the Middle Ages, the main creators and custodians of books were monks in monasteries.

but they have nothing to fear from silverfish, because silverfish are notoriously gluttonous, but they don't like sheep. Vellum, and there was no paper at the time.As to whether they also attacked papyri in earlier times, the Egyptian I don't know about the paper that people use - maybe they will, because it's made of purely vegetable of raw material; and if so, it is probable that the silverfish of today are among us so Notorious are the direct descendants of those gluttonous ancestors who, in the time of Joseph's Pharaoh, Tortured the priests and destroyed their records and books of science.

In the days before letterpress printing was invented, the manuscript book was a rare and precious thing, so it was It is well preserved, but when printing was invented, paper and printed books flooded the world; when libraries As the numbers multiplied and the readers multiplied, common sense gave rise to contempt; The favorite place is forgotten, so it is often mentioned, but few people have seen it in person. The silverfish has become a legal resident of the library, and at the same time it has become a deadly enemy of book lovers. For this little vermin, curses have almost been used in various languages ​​​​of Europe, ancient and modern, just

It was the classical scholars of the past, who also hurled at him with their long poems and short lines.Bill Birdie, in a In 1683 he expressed his condemnation in a long Latin poem, and Barnell's lovely chants are even more is famous. However, as if a biography must be preceded by a portrait, the curious reader may wonder Know what the little creature that irritates us moderates so much looks like.Here, from the very beginning, there A very serious difficulty of variability exists, for these silverfish, if by their work Judging, they vary in shape and size almost as much as we witnesses.

Sylvester, in his "Law of Poetry," describes it in less witty terms as "a tiny creature that wriggles among the pages of erudition, and when discovered, becomes as rigid as a It's like a cloud of dust. " The earliest record is in R? Heji's "Micrographs", folio, 1665 Published in London.This work, published at the expense of the Royal Society of London, is the author's microscopic examination of The most interesting thing is that the author's observations are sometimes very correct and sometimes very absurd. His account of the Silverfish, which is quite long and detailed, is nevertheless absurd.he called

It is "a small white and silvery gnat or moth that I often find in piles of books and papers, Guess they must be the ones who chewed through the pages and covers.Its head is large and blunt, and its body It gradually shrinks from head to tail, and the smaller it shrinks, it looks almost like a carrot... There are two long horns in front of its head, Straight forward, gradually shrinking towards the tip, all ring-shaped, and the burrs are fluffy, quite like the kind called Horsetail moor reeds. ... There are also three pointed tails at the end of the tail. Only the horns are similar.The legs are scaly and hairy.The animal probably fed on the paper and covers of books, in which

There are many small round holes drilled in the paper, perhaps from those ancient papers that have to be washed and hammered repeatedly in the manufacturing process. A beneficial nutrient is obtained from the fibers of hemp and flax. "Really, when I think of how much sawdust or splinters this little creature (which is one of Time's teeth) I can't help feeling and admiring nature's cunning in disposing of the animal's interior. This firepower is continually replenished by the substances which are brought into its stomach, and by the A bellows to agitate." The illustrations or "imaginations" accompanying this description are also worth seeing.Definitely, R? Hokey

The Master, a Fellow of the Royal Society, paints here more or less a fantasy, apparently It is from his inner consciousness that this description and illustration are composed. (Original Note: Not necessarily! Several readers wrote to draw my attention, and what Hokey said was obviously about clothing Fish, although this thing is harmless, it can often be found in warm places in old houses, especially when there is little tide wet place.He mistook the thing for a silverfish. ) Entomologists have never even paid significant attention to the life history of this "little bug".Kilby's,

Of this he said: "The larva of Crambus Pinguinalis weaves its robes, And cover it up with your own excrement, the damage is not small.” He added, “I often see The larvae of a small moth lay ravaged among the damp piles of old books, making many Rare books in boldface, in the eyes of today's book lovers, are worth as much as gold, and are snatched by these vandals Gone" and so on. The description of Dollaston, already quoted, is also rather vague.In his pen, this thing in a song "A busy little bug" in one poem, and "a feeble little crawler of destruction" in another.Chinese

Knight, in his work on bookbinding, says its real name should be "Aglos-ra Pinguinalio" and Madame Geddie in her parable with "Hypothe emus erudituo" The name. FT Father Hafiger, in Helliver's church library, had an incident with silverfish many years ago have had much trouble saying that they are a dead bug with a "hard shell, brown-black" and another The species is "white all over with brown spots on the head". Holm's "Explanation and Inquiry" in 1870 mentioned "Anobium Puniceum" did considerable damage to the Arabic manuscripts that Burckhardt brought back from Cairo,

These manuscripts are now in the University of Cambridge Library.Other writers say: "Anobium Pertinax" or "Acarus erudituo" is their correct scientific name. From personal experience, I have not seen many specimens; however, from what the librarian told me Then, based on inferences to judge, I think the following should be the truth of this issue: There are several species of book-eating caterpillars and maggot-like larvae.Those with feet are a kind of moth larvae; those without feet are in fact degenerate feet, but maggot-like larvae that will become beetles in the future. insect. It is not known whether any species of caterpillars or larvae are able to reproduce from generation to generation with only books for food, but we already know that there are several species of wood-boring insects, and others that feed on vegetation waste food bugs, they eat paper, and are especially attracted at first to the wood of the cover, which, It's what the bookbinders of yesteryear used for covers.For this problem, some rural librarians Reluctant to open the windows of the library lest the enemy should fly in from the neighboring woods and fly over the books egg.It is true that anyone who has seen little holes in a hazel tree, and pieces of wood pierced by dry man, he would recognize similar shapes in the holes drilled by these insect enemies:— One, the Anobium class.There are several species of this beetle: "A. Cru-ditus", "A.Pertitax", and A.Paniceum". In the larval state, they are shaped like maggots, as in Commonly expressed in dried fruit; at this stage, the various larvae are difficult to distinguish.they are old and dry Dry wood as food, often ravages bookcases and bookshelves.They also eat the wooden covers of ancient books, so they Going all the way into the book, it can go through a long round hole, and sometimes it goes in an oblique direction, and the hole it goes through will be smooth. is elliptical. They would go on like this through many volumes, and Pekinate, the famous typologist I once discovered that there are 27 books with a straight hole pierced by a small bug. This is really gluttonous. It's a miracle in the world, but I can't believe the story.After a considerable time, the young The worm makes a cocoon and becomes a little brown beetle. Second, the Oecophora class.This larva is the same size as Anobium, but because of its feet, They can be separated at the first sight.It is a small caterpillar with six legs in its chest and eight sucker-like protuberances on its body. From things, like silkworms.It later becomes a chrysalis and then reaches its full form as a tiny brown moth.One that eats books is Oecophora Ps—eudospretella.it likes moist and warm Warm, addicted to eating any fiber material.This caterpillar is completely different from those belonging to the garden class, except that it has feet, Similar in appearance and size to Anobium.It was about half an inch long, with a horned head and strong gums. It doesn't dislike very much ink for printing and ink for writing, though I suspect that if it doesn't dislike very much Strong, the ink is not very good for its health, for I found the holes worn where the words were, Its length does not seem to provide enough food for the larvae to develop and change.However, the ink on it Although they are not suitable, I still find that many larvae continue to survive, in silence and darkness, complete Their task is to eat them day and night, and leave them in the book for a longer or longer time according to their physical strength. short hole. In December, 1879, Mr. Powdersail, a well-known bookbinder in Northampton My family, very kindly mailed me a fat little bookworm, which was packed by one of his workers Found in an ancient book ordered.It seems to be very comfortable on the road and very flexible when it is released.I put it in a little box, kept it warm and quiet, and gave it some of Caxton's Bordeaux A scrap of paper, and a page from an ancient book printed in the seventeenth century. It ate a small piece of the page, but I don't know if it was because of too much fresh air, and I still wasn't used to it. This kind of freedom, or because of the change of food, it gradually weakened, and finally in three weeks died after the period.I'm very sad to lose it as I'm trying to name it in perfect condition. Mr. Watson of the Entomology Department of the British Museum, who kindly examined it after its death, thought that It is Oeco-phora Pseudospretella. In July 188, Dr. Garnett of the British Museum gave me two bookworms, which were from the new It was recently found in a commentary on an ancient Hebrew classic sent by the Codex.They apparently vibrated during the trip What's more, one came to me as a critical condition, and after a few days it went after its deceased kind.another It seemed to be going strong, and having lived with me for almost eighteen months, I took care of it to the best of my ability; Put it in a small box, choose three kinds of old paper for it to eat, and rarely disturb it.it obviously doesn't want to live like this Living in confinement, eating very little, doing little activities, and even after death, his appearance changed very little. This Greek bookworm, with a belly full of Hebrew classics, is in many ways bigger than any bookworm I have ever seen. Not the same.It was longer, thinner, and appeared more refined than any of its British counterparts.it is transparent, Like a thin piece of ivory, there is a black line on the body, which I guess is probably its intestines.it's very slow slowly lost its life, much to the grief of its caretaker, who had been prepared to observe it for a long time final state of development.The difficulty in rearing the larvae of these silverfish may be due to their physical structure. build state.In their natural state, they can stretch their bodies against the edge of the hole and use their His teeth pressed against the stack of papers in front of him to bite.But once this bondage is released, and this is what they normal life, even if food is piled up around them, they can't eat it, because they don't have feet to support, and the efficacy of nature is lost. The British Museum has a large collection of ancient books, but their library is rarely plagued by silverfish.Ley Sir, Director of the Printing Department, wrote to me in this way: "During my tenure, I've seen two or three, but they've been debilitated creatures. I One, I remember, was sent to the Museum in the custody of Mr. Adam Dett, who said it was Amobium Pertinax, but what happened afterwards is no longer known". Reader, never had the chance No one who has inspected ancient libraries can imagine the dreadful damage which such a pest may cause. I have before me a great old folio, printed on fine unbleached paper, Thick as strong ammunition paper, printed in 1477 by Peter Schöffer in Mainz, Germany of.Unfortunately, about five Ten years ago, someone thought it was worth a new cover, so this time in the hands of the bookbinder Another serious damage.Because of this, the condition of the original cover board is no longer known. But the damage done to the pages can be accurately described. Although the book has been ravaged before and after the book.On the first page, there are two hundred and twelve clear Holes vary in size from the eye of a small needle to the size of a thick knitting needle, That is to say, from one sixteenth of an inch to twenty-third of an inch.most of these holes All of them form large or small right angles with the cover, and only a few of them form moth grooves along the paper surface, only affecting the Ring three or four pages.The different capabilities of these small pests can be seen in the following cases: The first page two hundred and twelve holes Fifty-seven holes on page eleven Page 21 Forty-eight Holes Thirty-first page thirty-one holes Page 41 Eighteen Holes Fifty-first page six holes Page 61 Four Holes Seventy-first page two holes Page 81 Two Holes page eighty-seven a hole Page 90 None The ninety pages were of thick paper, about an inch thick in all.The book has two hundred and fifty pages in total. Turning the book to the end, we found that there are eighty-one holes in the last page. caused by greedy bookworms. The situation is this: Eighty-one holes on the last page Penultimate eleventh page forty holes Countdown Sixty-sixth Page One Hole Sixty-ninth page from the bottom None If you pay attention to these small holes, they are rapid at the beginning, and then disappear more and more slowly. shape, it really surprises you.You follow the same hole page by page until its diameter is at a certain page suddenly cut in half, after careful inspection, you will find that on the next page, if you continue Where there should be a hole, the paper is a little eroded.In the book I am now referring to, the situation It's almost like a race walk.In the first ten pages the weaker worms are left behind; On the second ten pages, there were still forty-eight participants, but on the third ten pages, only thirty people remained. One, on the fourth page there are only eighteen.On page 51, only the There are six worms.Before the sixty-first page, it was two strong gluttons who did not give in to each other. Each of them drilled a fairly large hole, one of which was girdle-shaped.to seventy one page, their tense rivalry remains the same, and so does page 81, where, on page 81, The round one gave up, and the round one ate three more pages and left on the fourth.so this The following pages are all complete, until there is a wormhole on the sixty-ninth page from the bottom.From After this, they gradually increase until the end of the volume. I use this book as an example because it happens to be on hand, but many bookworms eat holes, longer than any in the book; I have seen several holes through two or three books, from the to the bottom.The hole in Schaefer's book, presumably the work of Anofium Pertinax, because It only attacks from the front and back, and the middle of the book is complete.The original cover of this book must have been made of real wood, The attack of the bookworm must start there, through behind the front and back planks, and then into the book. I still remember the first time I visited the Baudrian Library in Oxford, in 1858, Bunter Dr. Nair was the curator at the time.He was very kind and gave me all the facilities to study the collection. A very rich version of "Caxton", as that's exactly what I was visiting for.when i flipped through a pack of bold While reading fragments of the word version, which had been sitting in a drawer for a long time, I found a tiny maggot Like a larva, I picked it up and threw it on the ground without thinking, and trampled it with my feet.Not long after, I discovered One was a fat shiny thing about three minutes long, so I carefully kept it in In a cardboard box, prepare to observe its living habits and development.I saw Dr. Bontel approaching. and I beckoned him to come and see my hunt.However, when I just put this twisted little thing on When it was placed on the leather-bound desk, the big nail of the doctor's thumb landed on it, and there was a wisp of wet hair on the desk. The traces have become the grave of all my hopes, and this famous typist, with his finger on his sleeve, Wipe it and say, "Oh yes! They are blackheads sometimes".it's worth it Things to keep an eye out for—New data from the entomologist; for my little thing's head is hard and white and hairy Liang, I have never heard of a silverfish with a black head.Perhaps the bulk of the bold letters at the Baudrian Library The version has some relationship with this exotic product.However, the one I saw was Anobium. I was mercilessly laughed at for the ridiculous idea of ​​hiding a paper-eating worm in a cardboard box middle.Oh, the critics!You don't know this bookworm is a lazy, shy fellow, Once "banned", it will take a day or two before the appetite can be restored.What's more, it is quite self-respecting, it Never eat the shiny, poor-quality copy paper that imprisoned it. As for Caxton's "Life of Our Lady," which I have already mentioned, there is not only There are countless small holes, and there are several large moth grooves under the pages of the book.This is a rare phenomenon, perhaps Is: the larvae of Der-mestes Vulpinus, a garden beetle, because this guy Is very voracious and will eat any dry woody waste. As I have already mentioned, there are fewer and fewer edible books.Modern paper uses complex materials One of the results of the mixture is that the bookworm doesn't want to touch her anymore.Its instinct restrained it from eating the clay, Bleach, gypsum, sulphates, those substances used to mix fibers, so that the ancient literature The chapters of wisdom, and the race against modern waste in time, have greatly taken advantage of it, because today Despite the general attention paid to ancient books in Japan, silverfish have indeed encountered hard times, the kind that survive as they do. The necessary total neglect of ancient books is seldom encountered again, and it is for this reason that I think it should be It's time for some patient entomologists to do some research on the life history of small creatures before the time is gone. Study it like Sir John Rubbock studied ants. I have in front of me a few zero pages from a certain book, our very economical first printer kax Mr. Ton used them for recycling and glued them together to make cardboard.I don't know if it's because of the old paste Temptation, or for other reasons, the way bookworms eat here is not like the usual It has been drilled into the center of the book, but in a flat way, eating many deep grooves along the pages, but it has always been Never go beyond the bounds of the cover.And these few fragmentary pages are only so grooved and intertwined that if one were to take rise up, and it will be broken into pieces. This is of course very bad, but we should still be very grateful that in this temperate climate, we Not yet as much an enemy as is found in very hot regions, and in one night the whole library, Including books, bookshelves, tables and chairs, will be destroyed by countless ant colonies. Our brethren in America, who are fortunate in many things, in this one Seems extraordinarily lucky—their collections were never raided by silverfish—at least, American writers so they say.Of course, all their old books in bold type were bought in Europe, costing them a lot money, which they took good care of; but they also had thousands of seventeenth-century books, written in Roman typographically printed in America on authentic and beautiful paper, and those bookworms, at least in our country So, if the paper is of good quality, they will never stop eating it because of the different fonts. Perhaps because of this, the custodians of our ancient library have very different views on bookworms than we do. Not the same, and this view is reflected in the American Printing Dictionary edited by Reinwalt (Fala Delphia City Publishing), it is even more interesting to read.According to Reinwalt, silverfish are in their It was a stranger, many of them unaware of its existence, so the slightest trace of its ravages are regarded as rare occurrences.After citing Deboutin's work, Reinwalt relied on his own Imagine a little rendering, and then say: "Paper-eating moths are said to have been brought to England by Dutch pigskin bindings." His epilogue, for anyone who has ever seen hundreds of books devastated by silverfish, is truly I feel innocent and cute. "At the present time," he said, apparently quoting it as a rare occurrence "In the private library of a certain family in Philadelphia, there is a copy that was bitten by this insect. Hole Book". O lucky citizens of Philadelphia!You have the oldest library in America, but In order to visit the only small silverfish-bitten hole in the whole city, I had to ask a private bibliophile ask!