268 TIMBER 



which goes by the name of the white ant and does a great 

 deal of damage in the tropics, both to live and dead timber, 

 though particularly the latter, in dwellings and furniture. 

 It is this insect which does the damage in what we usually 

 call "worm-eaten furniture," which in the temperate zone 

 does not usually occur until the wood becomes very old and 

 dry ; but only recently the author saw these pests in great 

 numbers destroying the framework of a piano, and that 

 not a very old one, in an English dwelling-house. 



They are almost impossible to exterminate, and varying 

 solutions have been tried on timber to stay their ravages 

 with but moderate success. 



The white ants of Northern Australia are larger and 

 more destructive than probably in any other part of the 

 world; even lead and zinc are not proof against them. 

 They attack growing timber as well as structural timber, 

 working through the heart of the trees from roots to 

 top ; the only kind which resists them is the cypress pine, 

 which, on this account, is generally used for building work 

 in these latitudes. The two eucalypti, bloodwood and paper 

 bark, withstand the white ant to some extent ; while seasoned 

 jarrah and sugar gum sleepers have been about a quarter 

 eaten away in a few months. The timbers which resist the 

 white ants fairly well in one locality are quickly destroyed 

 by those of another. Corbolineum and anti-termite have 

 been tried in Australia and do check their ravages for a 

 time, but they soon lose their efficacy in tropical climates. 



