while preventive approach. Cheinj.cal formulations and methods of applica- 

 tion for control of these insects should be investigated. 



NEED FOR RESEARCH ON PROBLEM:. OF DETERIO; NATION 



In the above discussions on various problems of deterioration, it has been 

 repeatedly pointed out that there is a great need for additional research. 



In the recent past, wood has been a very plentiful commodity of high quality. 

 Interest in the protection of wood products has therefore not been great. 

 Consequently, until recent years research on wood-destroying organisms has 

 been somevirhat limited and in many cases appears to have failed to keep 

 abreast of the need for the preservation and conservation of wood products 

 for the building industries, vfith the decrease in the timber supply, the 

 development of demand for innumei-able wood products, and the high cost of 

 such products due to increased cost of the raw material and its manufacture, 

 there has come a realization of the need for research designed to protect 

 this valuable resource. 



Advancements in the fields of chemistry and engineering have provided 

 promising materials for study. During .'/or Id ar II and since, there have 

 been revolutionarj'- developments in the chemical industry and in the pro- 

 duction of potent residual insecticides, such as DDT, EHC, chlordane, toxa- 

 phene, heptachlor, and others, which far exceed most of the older insecti- 

 cides in effectiveness* Considerable progress has also been made in the 

 development of new equipment, including numerous types of thermal fog gen- 

 erators, mist blowers^ and improved hydraulic sprayers, to be used in the 

 surface application of these insecticides. There have been also marked 

 improvements in methods and equipment for impregnating wood Tirith preserva- 

 tives. 



Outstanding though they are, these developments merely provide a tool for 

 the control of the various organisms destructive to vrood, E?ch insecticide 

 must be investigated thoroughly to determine the formulation most effective 

 and most practical in a particular situation. Each formulation must be 

 compared with standard treatments and evaluated on the basis of performance 

 and cost. 



A most important consideration, however, is the need for basic biological 

 studies of the destructive organisms involved. In the haste to obtain 

 results — a characteristic of much of our research in the past decade — there 

 has been a tendency to overlook the fact that development of effective con- 

 trol measures is dependent upon a knoi/ledge of the behavior of the organism 

 for which the control is directed. Thus, it appears that much of the re- 

 search of past years has follovred a hit or miss pattern. 



Fundamental research on the biology of the organisms, including life history, 

 habits, and the relationship to the environment, is essential in order that 

 control measures may be effective and economical. Among the insects, a 

 few species of our native termites and the powder-post beetles have been 

 most extensively studied. Little is known, howevar, about many species of 



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