8 INSECT INJURIES TO FOEEST PKODUCTS. 



Utilized Pkodijcts. 



Damage and loss from insect injuries to timber and other woodwork 

 in structures of various kinds, to telephone and telegraph poles, posts, 

 railroad ties, mine props, etc., can be prevented to a large extent 

 through the adoption of the proper methods of management or of 

 treating the material with preservatives before and after it is utilized. 



TIMBERS AND WOODWOBK IN STBTJCTUBES. 



Injuries to timbers and woodwork in dwellings, outbuildings, 

 bridges, etc., by powder-post insects can be prevented as follows : 



(1) Use nothing but heartwood for the concealed parts most liable 

 to damage. 



(2) If it is necessary to use all or part sap wood material, attack 

 can be prevented by treating the sap portions with kerosene, coal tar, 

 creosote, or linseed oil. Facilities for future treatment can be pro- 

 vided wherever the rough or finished woodwork is exposed, as in 

 outbuildings, bridges, etc., if care is taken to expose the sapwood 

 portions. 



(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 badjy damaged parts and soak- 

 ing the remainder with kerosene, fiunigating 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, summer 

 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 



[Clr. 128] 



