& MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
In the slash and longleaf pine belt of the South, fires burning 
turpentine faces are dir ect ly responsible for the attack of Buprestis 
apricans Hbst., the tur pentine borer. 
Burning the woods is often suggested as an insect control measure. 
At present, the information available is not sufficient to warrant such 
recommendations (see Beal, 25, and Craighead and St. George, 7/8). 
EFFECT OF FOREST SLASH CN INSECTS 
Extensive areas of slash, particularly of stumps, cull logs, and large 
branches, resulting from logging operations and road or telephone- 
line construction, offer material for rapid reproduction of many in- 
sects. Most of the insects breeding in this material are harmless 
species, though occasionally some species of Zps or Dendroctonus be- 
come abundant and often the green trees left on the area are attacked 
and killed by the influx of bark beetles attracted by the slash. (On 
this subject see also discussion under Control of Forest Insects, p. 14. 
and the reports in 1927 by the United States Bureau of Entomology 
(415) and by Patterson (345). 
EFFECT OF INSECTS ON THE FORMATION OF ANNUAL RINGS 
Defolating insects greatly modify the growth of the annual rings, 
both in size and structure. Ordinarily great reliance is placed on the 
determination of the age of a tree by “counting its annual rings at 
the stump. Recent studies have shown that these rings by no means 
always givea reliable determination. Defoliation by insects, drought, 
or fire may result in the loss of from 1 to 5 rings on the lower part 
of the stem, and this may occur several times during the lfe of a 
tree. In the southern pineries, where fires are frequent, and in the 
northern coniferous regions, where defoliation occurs periodically, 
any sudden variation in the size of rings must be viewed with suspicion. 
In trees 100 years or more of age it is not uncommon to find from 5 
to even 10 rings missing at the stump. For more information on this 
subject the reader is referred to Craighead (772, 713, 114). 
INSECTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS 
All kinds of forest products, from the time the tree is felled and 
for many years after the wood is in use, are subject to destruction by 
insects. Insects also cause injuries in the living tree which show up 
as defects in the lumber, thus greatly reducing its value. Green 
sawlogs and storm-felled ‘timber, green-sawn and seasoned lumber, 
rustic construction, poles, posts, cross ties, mine props, and all manner 
of finished products from flooring to furniture are subject to attack. 
The losses in finished products are particularly heavy in that the 
cost of manufacture and replacement must be taken into consideration, 
The avoidance of such damage demands constant thought and adjust- 
ment of routine practices by “the logger, lumberman, and builder. A 
tie-up of the green logs in the woods or drive may result in heavy 
damage by ambrosia beetles and borers, and defects in: the green logs 
require special methods of sawing to obtain maximum utilization. 
The farmer or builder must properly creosote certain timbers that are 
