TIMBER PRESERVATION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 58, 3 April 1946, Page 2

TIMBER PRESERVATION

CONTROL OF PARASITES LANTERN LECTURE DELIVERED An interesting lantern lecture deal ing with the subject of timber preservation and parasite control, was given by Mr McDougall of Wellington in the County Chambers on Thursday night. Mr H. Warren was chairman. The reason for the lecture was the growing need for the complete understanding by the public of the rapidly increasing menace that borer and other timber parasites present. Tracing the life history of the borer and similar pafsites, including native and Australian Termite, aided by many excellent photographs pro jected on to a screen, Mr McDougall held the attention of his audience throughout. Many of the photographs showed plainly the extent of the damage that these parasites could cause, in many instances both hearts and sap timbers being affected. One series of pictures showed a house only eleven years old completely destroved by termite. The extent of ravage by borer was also graphically illustrated, serving to drive home to the audience the fact that unless home and property owners took a greater interest in the investment represented by their property, the time was not far distant when the menace of timber parasites would become uncontrollable.

Stating that in his opinion the best time to take action against borer infestation was before the infestation started, Mr McDougall, in answer to a question, described at length the methods employed when carrying out such preservative treatment. Asked how long the treatment would remain effective he replied that as the oldest house treated was only 10 years he could say with certainty that the treatment would last ten years, though chemists, and others associated with the experiments on the development of a satisfactory poison, claimed that the poison crystals remained indefinitely. When asked why borer and other pests had spread so widely, the lecturer replied that climatic conditions had a great deal to do with it, though much was due to the carelessness of people who were in charge of property, whether their own or someone else’s. To say that every house had borer and that therefore it was not worth while'doing anything about it, was as good as saying that as all milk had bacteria harmful to man why bother about pasterisation! At the conclusion of the evening members of the audience warmly thanked the lecturer for his very informative address.