84 SOME INSECTS INJITRIOTTS TO FORESTS. 



(3) If the untreated timbers and woodwork in old buildings show 

 evidence of attack, the affected portions should be given a liberal 

 application of kerosene. 



Damage by white ants, or termites, can often be prevented in the 

 following ways: 



(1) By the use of nothing but sound wood for underpinning and 

 foundation timbers and the removal of decaying timbers from old 

 structures. 



(2) By preventing moist conditions of the wood in any part of the 

 structure and especially that in foundation timbers. 



(3) By the treatment of timbers necessarily exposed to moist con- 

 ditions with creosote, zinc chlorid, corrosive sublimate, etc. 



(4) If the timbers become infested, further progress of insect dam- 

 age can be prevented by removing the badly damaged parts and soak- 

 ing the remainder with kerosene, fumigating with bisulphid of 

 carbon, and by removing any adjacent decaying or other wood in 

 which the insects have been breeding or may breed, such as logs, 

 stumps, etc. 



Log cabins and rustic work. — Damage by bark and wood boring 

 insects to the unbarked logs and poles used in rustic cabins, sunmier 

 houses, fences, etc., can be largely prevented by cutting the material 

 in October and November and utilizing it at once, or by piling it off 

 the ground or under cover in such a manner as to offer the best facil- 

 ities for the rapid and thorough drying of the inner bark before the 

 middle of March or the 1st of April following. If these necessary 

 precautions are not taken, and there is evidence that insects are at 

 work in the bark and wood, the damage can be checked by injecting 

 bisulphid of carbon through natural or artificial openings in the 

 affected bark, and immediately stopping these and other openings 

 with putty or a similar substance. 



Poles, posts, piles, ties, mine props, and similar products. — Insect 

 damage to poles, posts, and similar products can be prevented to a 

 greater or less extent by the preservative treatments which have been 

 tested and recommended by the Forest Service for the prevention of 

 decay. These should be applied before the material is utilized for 

 the purposes intended, or, if it be attacked after it has been utilized, 

 further damage can be checked to a certain extent by the use of the 

 same substances. 



It is often of prime importance to prevent injury from wood-boring 

 insects, for the reason that such injuries contribute to more rapid 

 decay. Therefore anything that will prevent insect injury, either 

 before or after the utilization of such products, will contribute to 

 the prevention of premature deterioration and decay. 



