THE BORER

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3667, 19 July 1927, Page 3

THE BORER

The activities of the borer were much discussed in the Christchurch Supreme Court the other day during the hearing of a case concerning an old house. Why white pine should be particularly susceptible io the borer could not be explained. Some books were consulted, but the only theory offered was that white pine had some constituent palatable to the insect. Another builder remarked that much of the white pine supplied now was below the standard of the same class of timber supplied in the old days, due to the forests being worked out. The general opinion was that a good house, even with the borer, had a life history of 60 years, although the coming of the borer entailed greater care if the house were to finish that span. It was also said —in the box —that borer was almost to be expected in a house after 30 years’ service. This led to a remark.from Mr. Justice Adams: “It would not be expected in the place I come from —which is Dunedin!” No great faith was expressed in many suggested remedies. One witness said that to get rid of the borer from a house at a certain stage, so many boards would have to be taken off that the place would be “stripped to a skeleton.” Houses on piles, the builders emphasised, were much less susceptible both to borer and dry rot. The latter defect, the builders explained, is due to the absence of ventilation, and it was claimed that the best timber would rot within five years where such ventilation was absent. Plastered houses were considered as being no less susceptible to borer than other structures. The only difference.. was that the collections of dust did not find their way into the rooms, but one builder said he knew a house where the borer dust was lJin. thick above the ceiling. Much amusement was caused during the case by the tendency of the inexpert to confuse borer with dry rot.