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was said that the timber used at these places had not been properly 
creosoted, it might fairly be concluded, that if the process, even when 
conducted in the patentee’s own works, to the satisfaction of careful 
inspectors, was so difficult and uncertain in its results, its general 
applicability would be greatly injured. All newly creosoted timber, 
whether it was well or ill done, presented the same appearance ex- 
ternally ; and it was only by weight that the completeness of the 
saturation could be judged of ; and if careful weighing before and 
after the timber had been creosoted was not to be held as an ample 
and satisfactory test that the process had been properly conducted, 
it seemed hopeless to expect that perfect satisfaction could be at- 
tained. But it was so far fortunate for Mr Bethell’s system, that it 
was not needful in the cases to which allusion had been made to call 
in question the extent of saturation which his process secured when 
properly executed. The timber at Scrabster and Invergordon, and 
he believed at the other places named, was undoubtedly thoroughly 
and properly saturated, and the author said that the explanation 
of the failure was to be found in the fact, that the Limnoria 'per- 
forated timber which had been thoroughly creosoted and black- 
ened — a fact which at once disproved the assumption, hitherto 
so generally made, that the poisonous nature of the creosote would 
prevent the insect from attacking it. As the Pholas perforated 
stone to procure shelter, the Limnoria might excavate timber for 
the same purpose, and obtain its food from the minute animal- 
culse with which the water of the ocean was charged. Dr Cold- 
stream, in his elaborate paper on the Limnoria in the “ Edinburgh 
New Philosophical Journal” for April 1834, had concluded that the 
Limnoria led on the timber, and not on animal substances ; but even if 
this were so, there seemed no reason to conclude that creosoted tim- 
ber could not be eaten by insects, on account of the poisonous nature 
of the preparation employed. The author stated, that it had been 
ascertained that there were insects that lived and fattened on food 
that was to man a deadly poison. In the “ British Medical Journal” 
for April 1862, there was an interesting notice on the subject. Mr 
Attfield had there shown that substances which are intensely poison- 
ous to the higher animals do not affect Acari , which he found not 
only readily ate, but actually fattened on, strychnine, morphine, and 
other deadly poisons. But the author stated that the specimens 
which he laid before the Society proved conclusively that creosote 
