AN ENEMY OF MUSEUMS.

Northern Advocate, 7 May 1914, Page 9

AN ENEMY OF MUSEUMS.

THE BORER BEETLE

In museums, where any of the exhibits are made of wood, the ravages of the grub of the borer beetle are a thorn in the side of those responsible for the preservation of the exhibits. In the Auckland Art Gallery and Museum are many wooden Maori curios, in a few of which may be detected signs of the quondam'activities of this pest. But those who take an interest in the collections need have no fear that the many valuable wooden relics of the Maori race will be allowed to deteriorate, as every precaution is taken to combat the borer.

The borer beetle, a small brown insect, is a proline layer of eggs. These its deposits on wood, practically of any kind, wherever it can find a crack or Other convenient receptacle. In course of time these eggs, if left undisturbed, hatch out into minute grubs, which immediately start burrowing into the wood. So rapidly do they bore their little tunnels that it is not long before the. wood becomes honeycombed with them. A piece of wood so infested, if pressed between the fingers, will crumble into powder. After many months of this existence in the heart of the wood the grub changes to a chrysalis, which in turn hatches into the beetle. And then ihe cycle starts again. . Mr T. F. Cheesemari, curator d£ the museum, detailed to a "Herald" representative the means adopted to destroy the borer in the numerous wooden curios in the museum. Each wooden article, >if/ of convenient size, is soaked in a solution composed of corrosive sublimate,. carbolic acid, and methylated spirits. ; This treatment kills 'any borer grubs that may/already be •in,the wood, but, further than this, it poisons the,wood and renders it immune from all further attacks insect. Any articles, therefore, m the museum in which signs of the borer grub may be noticed have been so treated before their reception at the museum, and there need be no fear .that they will deteriorate any further. Another method of exterminating the borer, apparently only temporary in its effect, is to the article in kero-

s6no>^ the wood may thus be thoroughly freed from the pest, precautions are taken to prevent the advent of the borer beetle. Perfectly clean airtight cases ,will keep out the beetle, but should by any chance the grub obtain a hold and start boring the effects' will be noticed by the curator and his assistants. A small heap of fine wooden dust is a sure indication that the borer is busy,, and the work of sterilisation is repeated. In the case of larger objects perpetual spraying with the solution, taking care to impregnate every interstice, is carried out with success. "To purchase immunity from the ravages of the borer," said Mr Cheeseman, "means the expenditure of unremitting care."

Mr Cheeseman instanced several examples of sources of infection. At one time, he said, a collection of minerals was lying in a packing-case at the museum. The borer made .its appearance in the exhibits, and he was at a loss to understand where it had come from until he discovered that the pack-ing-case was infected. The immediate burning of the case as firewood and the treatment of the infected objects put an end to' the threatened epidemic. At another time it was discovered that a stairway in the museum was infected, so new stairs were at once put in. A continuous watch is kept for- the appearance of the borer, and by dealing .with it at once its ravages are effectually checked. '