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.”
In the above Account of their first coming, Esquire _Pitfield_ and Mr.
_White_, a Chymist, Men of great Probity and Curiosity, agreed.
And as the Sap of Deal is one of their beloved Foods, this probably
might be the first way they were brought. How they are still brought, I
shall speak to more fully hereafter, in my Instructions to avoid them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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