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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
TESTS OF METHODS OF PROTECTING WOODS AGAINST TERMITES OR 
WHITE ANTS. 
A PROGRESS REPORT. 
By THomAsS E. Snyper, Hntomologist, Forest Insect Investigations, Bureau of 
Entomology. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page. 
Tt TO GIEE EVO ME 2 5- grea 0s oot a Ee 1 | Treatments for wood products not to 
Description of experiments ------~-- 2 be set in contact with the ground 
Treatments for timber to be set in OLIN BWwets SuUMMTA GLO S= = ae eee 12 
CLOSURE Cy eee ey eee a eS 9 | Termite-resistant woods __--__----- 14 
Superficial treatments_____--_- § | Poisons for wood-pulp products_____ 15 
Impregnation treatments —__-_~-~ Oe |) OS UAT air yes ee eee ee eee 16 
Otherstneatments 222-22. oe. 12 | 
INTRODUCTION. 
Insects cause very large annual losses of forest products. A con- 
servative estimate of loss, placed at but 2 per cent of the value of 
the yearly cut of forest products,’ represents $45,000,000 annually. 
While much of the loss in both crude and finished forest products 
can be prevented by proper management, based on a knowledge of 
the life histories of the insects, nevertheless special preservative treat- 
ments are necessary to protect crude manufactured utilized products, 
such as lumber, dimension timbers (PI. I, fig. 1), telephone and tele- 
graph poles, mine props, and posts (PI. I, fig. 6) as well as the more 
finished products, namely, interior woodwork (PI. II, fig. 6), furni- 
ture (PI. I, fig. 3; Pl. II, fig. 5), cabinet woods (PI. I, figs. 1, 2), ete. 
Saving forest products will help save our national forests. The 
various degrees of skilled labor, treatment handling, and change in 
ownership consequent in the transformation of forest trees into prod- 
ucts greatly increases their value. Hence, wood preservation is of 
vital importance in the national program of forest conservation. 
Termites or “white ants” are the insects which are especially 
destructive to untreated wood in any form, in both this country and 
the Tropics. Indeed, a large market for both crude and finished 
1U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Yearbook 1922, page 172. 
71723°—24 
