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Doc. 205.] 19
SWEDENBORG’S TRAVELS IN 1733.
between the piles and the laths should be filled with animal
hair. 6. Others advise that the piles should be frequently
scraped, so that the first elements of the worms or their
glutinous eggs might not adhere to them; and 7. That after
the piles have been well dried, they be covered first with
pitch and afterwards with a mixture containing arsenic.
N.B.: I was told to-day by a Jew that a remedy against
this evil had at last been discovered, which consists in a mix
ture or an ointment composed of powdered sulphur, pitch,
white lead, and mercury ; upon the application of which they
all make their escape provided this be true.
As for myself, I cannot see a better remedy for this evil
than, first, that the piles used in propping up the dikes
should be thoroughly charred, and indeed so that their surface
be burnt to charcoal to about one-fourth of an inch ; for then
it is impossible for the worms to find any place to make their
abode: because there is nothing to furnish nutriment to them,
there being no wood anywhere within their reach ; so that
for want of food and nourishment their sustenance and life
will fail. Secondly, the burning of the pile, by which it may
be reduced to charcoal to the depth of one-fourth of an
inch, will be thoroughly attained by a strong and swift flame,
which can be rendered swifter if the pile be first covered with
pitch, and then held over the flaming fire. Thirdly, if after
wards you choose to cover the burnt part with pitch, you will
perhaps thereby prevent an egg, out of which a worm might
be developed, from being carried into a crack. Fourthly, the
success of this proposal is based on this, that the whole woody
material is converted into charcoal, and that nothing of the
sap and the oil remains which might afford nutriment ; for it
has been observed that the worms thrive better in pine than
in oak wood, because it contains a greater quantity of oil ; if
therefore a dead residuum and charcoal only remain, they
cannot obtain the means of life, and make their way into
the interior. This is proved also by experience. To es
cape this evil the Portuguese char that part of the outer
surface of their ships which is to be immersed in water; and
their ships are thus saved from this danger and preserved
from harm. I already remarked that the piles were to be
―――
2*
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