FOREIGN BORERS.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 February 1926, Page 4

FOREIGN BORERS.

AMERICAN TIMBER IN BAD CONDITION. MATTER. BEING INQUIRED INTO. That one length of timber should be imported into New Zealand in had condition is not particularly remarkable or sufficient perhaps to call for general remark, but just recently timber millers. merchants and others interested in timbers have been paving attention to some of the American timbers, at least one of which does not always come into the country in anything like first-rate condition (says the Wellington ‘‘Post.”) A few days ago several specimens of western reel cedar badly riddled with borer were shown to a reporter; one was machined weatherhoarding (the machining apparently being done in America), the others rough-machined han ding. The borer was deli nicely very bad, some tunnels small, others larger, but whether the insects were still alive could not lie ascertained by a surface (and untrained) inspection. One of the samples, which, it was stated, was taken from a house now being erected in Wellington under Government supervision, was submitted to the Forestry authorities, who are inquiring into the matter. Other bad samples have bee., sent by builders or others to the office of the Dominion Federated Sawmillers’ Association, which proposes to submit samples to the Government Entomologist for his expert examination. "PROOF AOANST BORER.”

"This is the much-vnunled timber which is now flooding tlk? market in such quantities, and which municipal and Government authorities are accepting for weatherboards when they absolutely prohibit the use of sap riniti,” remarked the secretary of the association (Mr A. Seed) to a reporter, "it has hitherto been reputed to be of a very great lasting value, and to bo proof against borer attack, yet here it is being imported into New Zealand already riddled, and probably infested with grubs and eggs, possibly of a new species of borer. "Building regulations require that timber which is to be used for external work or in exposed positions shall be of heart quality. Tu the case of Now Zealand woods this quality is procurable. for millers separate heart from sap. and quote these classes separalely on their price lists, but with imported timbers, oven in the highest grades, a certain percentage of sap is allowed. In the ease of Douglas fir (Oregon), lor instance clear and better—which is a high grading—may contain sap to the extent of one-quarter the width and throe-quarters of the thickness, or its equivalent.. Such timber would not he classed as ‘heart’ in New Zealand.

"When rimu or totara is specified in a building heart timber only is accepted by the authorities, but if Oregon or cellar K to he used the builder does not dream of stipulating that all heart timber should he used. RISK OF NEW PESTS.

“There is another very grave danger, if timber is allowed to come into New Zealand with the barer in it. of introducing new pests to the Dominion. There are in America several species of borer which attack living forests, and are to-day causing very real concern. The probability is lhal if these pens were brought into New /calami in one timber or another they would first confine their attentions to exotics, and that might mean that New Zealand's several afforestation companies would lie well up against it in a few years. The insect might or might not attack New Zealand forests, hut they are known to occur in epidemic form in America, and to devastate large areas of forests in remarkably shorttime.”

One. of these borers which attacks the living tree, said Mr Seed, was the dendroedoims beetle, which had heeir discovered in fruit ease parts recently imported by Nelson fruit powers. The timber was hemlock, from Canada and the United States, and was freely riddled. The ordinary wood borer carried the rather imposing name of nnobinni (lomestienm, and was found all over the world. It follows the human being like tlm flea, and the liou.se fly; it is found wherever humans congregate. NO DUTY ON SUCH TIMBERS. Such timbers as ho had mentioned, and also American and Japanese oak", were allowed into Now Zealand dutv free. It was well known that the oak not only frequently came in borer infested, hut it was particularly prone to take the ordinary white pine borer when used in Now Zealand. Oak was really a luxury timber, and as such was entitled to hoar a higher duty than Building timber, instead of being allowed in free.

“NO TIMBER FREE.” REPLY TO MR A. SEED. WELLINGTON, Feb. 10. “No timber is free from borer,” stated Mr 0. B. Reid, manager of the Tirownleo Timber Company, in reply to a recent statement by Mr A. Seed, secretary of the Dominion Federation of Sawmillers. He did not even except jnrrah or kauri, which he declared was just as liable to the borer as any other kind of wood. Red cedar had not been on the market for long, but in handling something like 500,000 feet, not more than LOO feet had been attacked by tire borer. He did not think there was any timber in the world more free from borer than red cedar.

Referring to a. consignment of heart of rinm, received from a North fsland mil! last month, Mr Reid said that three truckloads came to hand. Approximately one '.truckload was condemned. The company naturally objected, blit the millers replied that the fault lay with the company rather than with them, for the timber was sawn and stacked, “block stacked,” with no air spaces between the boards, nltout the middle of Dec-emer, and was not taken over in Wellington until late in January. In that time the borer, which apparently is busiest- from November to January, had set to work. Had the timber been “fillet stacked,” air currents could hare played between the hoards, and possibly no such damage could have tieen done. Heart of rinm was not bad timber, and it would be unjust to condemn all heart of rimu because of this experience.

Cedar was as good as any timber in New Zealand for certain work, such as weather hoarding and joinery. “To a certain extent,” said Mr Reid, “an answer to tbo question of whether red cedar was good timber or had lias been given by the Government. for the Government have approved of its use. To what degree this timlier is being used rests largely with the Valuation Department, for the fact is that the Department Joes readily allow the use of red cedar. Tt is hardlv likely that the Department would advise the advance of large sums of money upon houses in which inferior timber was being used.

"The question of duty on timber is much more complicated. There is plenty of low grade timber in New Zealand, and any timber that is going to be brought into this Dominion from a foreign country to take the place of that low grade timber should he heavily taxed; but as New Zealand millers are unable to supply heart titnboi to fulfil the Government specifications, then to impose a heavy duty upon timber which supplies the general need is simply placing it in the hands of a feu sawmillers.”