82 SOME INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FORESTS. 



(2) Prevent the introduction into the lumber yards or store- 

 houses of any infested material, remembering that the insect may be 

 thus distributed to or from all parts of the world. 



(3) Adopt a system of classification of all dry or seasoned hard- 

 wood stock which will provide for (a) the separation of the pure 

 heartwood material from the pure and part sapwood material; (h) 

 classification of all kinds of wood most liable to attack, such as hick- 

 ory, ash, oak; (c) the successive utilization or sale of the older ma- 

 terial (remembering that material one year old or over is far more 

 liable to injury) ; (d) j^roviding against the accumulation of refuse 

 material in which the insects could breed; and (e) treating the best 

 material with linseed oil or kerosene to prevent attack. 



Finished seasoned products. — Damage to finished handles, oars, 

 spokes, rims, hubs, wheels, and other unpainted wagon, carriage, 

 machinery, and implement stock in factories, wholesale and retail 

 storehouses, and army and navy stores can be prevented by the adop- 

 tion of the same general rules as those given under rough products. 

 In addition, damage can be controlled and prevented in the following 

 manner : 



Sort out and (a) destroy all articles showing the slightest evidence 

 of powder-post injury, or (h) treat with kerosene oil such infested 

 and slightly injured articles as may be tested for required strength 

 and found to be of sufficient value for retention, placing the same 

 in quarantine for a sufficient time to determine whether the treat- 

 ment is successful. 



Damage by powder-post insects to many kinds of articles can be pre- 

 vented and at the same time the material otherwise benefited by treat- 

 ing the sapwood with linseed oil or kerosene, either by immersing it in 

 the oil or by applying the oil with a brush, the application to be made 

 as soon as possible after the articles are finished from recently sea- 

 soned, uninjured stock. 



Past and Present Conditions of Powder-Post Injury. 



Up to 190G there were a great many reports of extensive losses of 

 valuable material from the ravages of powder-post beetles which 

 were seriously affecting all industries involved in the manufacture, 

 sale, and utilization of the classes of hardwood products affected by 

 them. In response to these reports and accompanying appeals to the 

 Department of Agriculture for information on causes and remedies, 

 the problem was thoroughly investigated and specific advice and in- 

 structions relating to practical methods of control and prevention 

 have been widely disseminated, both through publications of the 

 Department and special correspondence. 



Reports of present conditions from our principal correspondents, 

 together with the less frequent requests for advice, indicate that 



