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Show Upholstered Furniture Requires Care 'ill J u- ? yJT 'r -qS?v -i Using Air Piessure to Apply an Aqueous Fluoride Solution to Moth-Proof Wool Tapestry. Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) WNU Service. it Furniture upholstered In wool or mo- , hair Is attractive, and many people " buy It for their homes. Unless proper precautions are taken, however, Injury In-jury by moths is apt to occur. The bureau of entomolgy of the United States Department of Agriculture be--.. lleves that there Is no reason why woolen covers cannot be maintained In good condition Indefinitely If certain cer-tain control measures are used. The adult Insect, or clothes moth, which may be seen flying about It practically any season of the year In heated houses, does not eat the fabrics. fab-rics. It Is seeking a good place to lay Its eggs, so that when the larva or worm hatches It will have Its favorite food right at hand. The larvae eat the fabric on the surface of the furniture furni-ture and also get under the cover and eat the wool threads that go through to the back. Many manufacturers now treat fabrics fab-rics to be used for furniture covers to make them resistant to moth attack. at-tack. Another precaution taken by the manufacturer Is to place a layer of cotton batting between the padding and the cover of the piece of furniture. furni-ture. It Is essential that this layer of cotton batting should be continuous, without breaks through which the moths can work their way to the under un-der side of the fabric. Fumigation at the warehouse or by the furniture dealer Is also used to assure freedom from Infestation In the piece when It Is delivered to the purchaser. In buying upholstered furniture, the choice of leather, silk, cotton, linen, or rayon covers eliminates the moth problem prob-lem from the start. Feather cushions are not Immune to moth damage, but are rarely disturbed. If mohair or wool covers are selected. It Is well to Inquire whether they have been treat ed with a moth proofing solution, and how the padding underneath them Is protected. Fumigation might also be Insisted upon. However, paradichlorobenzene erys- tals, properly used, are safe and fairly fair-ly effective for home treatment if the piece of furniture to be fumigated can be tightly wrapped in blankets for a day or two. Directions for the use of this substance are given In Farmers' Bulletin 1655-F on the control of moths In upholstered furniture. It may be obtained free from the United States Department of Agriculture. The bulletin bul-letin also mentions a number of mothproofing moth-proofing solutions 'which can be applied ap-plied without Injury to furniture coverings. |