Bagnall. — Kdhihatea as a Building Timber. 579 



The use of unseasoned timber for building purposes is one 

 of the most fruitful sources of decay. This is especially the 

 case where kahikatea is used. It should be thoroughly dry 

 before being used, and protected from dampness after the 

 building is erected. The logs should not be alloAved to lie long 

 after being felled before they are sawn, and when sawn the 

 timber should be carefully stacked and filletted for drying. To 

 allow the logs to lie in the bush for any length of time, or the 

 boards to be stacked close together in a heap, is certain, to my 

 mind, to develope those germs which afterwards bring forth fruit 

 in premature decay, or the successful attack of the larvse of a 

 small boring beetle. 



It is in the liability to attack from this pest that the chief 

 objection to kahikatea lies. I have had but few opportunities of 

 noticing the habits of these insects, or of arriving at satisfactory 

 conclusions as to the circumstances which favour their attack. 

 I consider, however, the heart less liable to attack than the sap, 

 and some pieces seem much more enticing than others of the 

 same class. I noticed in an old building at Shortland, which 

 was being pulled down last week, that one stud was completely 

 destroyed, while only a few of the others had been touched. 

 The weatherboards were quite sound and good, although the 

 house was one of the oldest, and had but little care. Dampness 

 and seclusion, if not necessary, are certainly favourable con- 

 ditions for their operations. 



The plan of building so general here is well calculated to 

 assist these insects in their work. There is the strictest seclu- 

 sion in the space between the weather-boards and the lining, 

 while the latter is papered over, thus affording the utmost 

 security to carry on the work of destruction. I prefer, where 

 kahikatea is used for lining, that dressed timber should be 

 employed ; paper being unnecessary, the lining will not be 

 so readily attacked. In Canterbury and Otago, where kahikatea 

 is more used than in any other part of New Zealand, the dressed 

 half-inch lining is sold in large quantities ; while in Queensland, 

 which now buys a large quantity of kahikatea, the wooden 

 houses are generally built with single walls, the weather-boards 

 being of the kind known as "rustic," and dressed and beaded 

 on the inside. The frame-work is also dressed, and the parti- 

 tions are of inch boards, planed, tongued and grooved, and 

 beaded on both sides. This is done so that no harbour will be 

 afforded for the white ant, and other noxious insects which 

 abound there. I think a building so constructed would enjoy 

 perfect immunity from the attack of what I may here call the 

 kahikatea beetle ; but as our climate necessitates houses with 

 double walls, the obligation is laid upon us of discovering some 

 simple yet certain remedy for this evil. I shall be glad of 

 assistance from gentlemen of scientific and practical skill in this 



