CARPENTERS AND WOOD- WORKERS 119 



Whether the fungus had prepared the wood for 

 the beetle, or vice versa, is an open question. 



Fir wood that has been turned into rafters often 

 contains the larvae of Hylotrwpes bajulus ; and as the 

 perfect beetle that makes its exit therefrom is 

 about three-quarters of an inch long, it will be 

 understood that considerable damage is done. 

 Not only is the grub gifted with good cutting tools, 

 but the beetle in making its escape from the scene 

 of its larval industry is able to cut through obstacles. 

 Sometimes the rafters are in a roof which is 

 covered with sheet lead, but if this lead is across 

 the path of the beetle that is eager to make its 

 first acquaintance with light and air the lead must 

 be perforated by the beetle's jaws. 



The Rev. W. Kirby mentions that he received 

 from Sir Joseph Banks a piece of sheet lead that 

 had been so drilled. The piece was only eight 

 inches long by four broad, but in that small area 

 there were no fewer than twelve oval holes, of 

 which the longer diameter was a quarter of an 

 inch. In most cases bad plumber's work would 

 be set down as the cause of such a roof leaking, no 

 one thinking of ascribing such work to a beetle. 

 The Timberman {Acanthocinus cedilis) in a similar 

 way is destructive to pit-props in coal-mines. 

 Rhagium inquisitor bores under the bark of willow 

 and ash, and Rhagium bifasciatum burrows in the 

 wood of pine-trees. 



A species of Histeridcs, found on the Amazons, 

 is described by Bates, not so much as a carpenter, 



