Staves and Heads of Barrels containing Alcoholic Liquids
These are liable to attack by ambrosia beetles ([Figs. 22], a, and [23], a), which are attracted by the moist condition and possibly by the peculiar odor of the wood, resembling that of dying sapwood of trees and logs, which is their normal breeding place.
There are many examples on record of serious losses of liquors from leakage caused by the beetles boring through the staves and heads of the barrels and casks in cellars and storerooms.
The condition, in addition to the moisture of the wood, which is favorable for the presence of the beetles, is proximity to their breeding places, such as the trunks and stumps of recently felled or dying oak, maple, and other hardwood or deciduous trees; lumber yards, sawmills, freshly-cut cordwood, from living or dead trees, and forests of hardwood timber. Under such conditions the beetles occur in great numbers, and if the storerooms and cellars in which the barrels are kept stored are damp, poorly ventilated, and readily accessible to them, serious injury is almost certain to follow.