Approximately one-half of the incense cedar trees, as they stand in the woods, are defective. A fungus (_Dædalia vorax_) attacks them in the heartwood and excavates pits throughout the length of the trunks. The galleries resemble the work of ants, and as ants often take possession of them and probably enlarge them, it is quite generally believed that the pits are due to ants. The excavations are frequently filled with dry, brown dust, sometimes packed very hard and tight. The cedar thus affected resembles “pecky cypress,” and it is believed that the same species of fungus, or a closely related species, is responsible for the injury to both cypress in the South and incense cedar on the Pacific coast. It is not generally regarded by users of cedar posts that the honey-combed condition of the wood lessens the service which the post will give, unless by weakening it and causing it to break, or by rendering it less able to hold the staples of wire fences, or nails of plank and picket fences. Post makers often prefer fire-killed timber. If a tree is found with the sapwood consumed, as is not unusual, it is nearly always free from fungous attack. The reason it stands through the fire which burns the sapwood off, is that the heart is sound--if it were not sound, the whole tree would be consumed. The wood of the incense cedar is serviceable for many purposes. The rejection of the sapwood by so many users is the most discouraging feature. The heart, when free from fungus, is a fine, attractive material that does not suffer in comparison with the other cedars, though it may not equal some of them for particular purposes. Tests show it fit for lead pencils, and recent purchases of large quantities have been made by pencil makers. Clothes chests and wardrobes are manufactured from this wood on the assumption that the odor will keep moths out of furs and other clothing stored within. It has been used for cigar boxes, but has not in all instances proven satisfactory. The odor of the wood is objected to by some smokers. Another objection and a somewhat peculiar one, has been filed against incense cedar as a cigar box material. It is claimed that the boxes are attacked voraciously by rats which gnaw the wood, to which they are doubtless attracted by the odor. Sawmills turn out incense cedar lumber which is worked into frames for doors and windows, and doors are made of it, and also interior finish. Shipments of inch boards are sold in New York and Boston, and exports go to London, Paris, and Berlin. The long period during which incense cedar has been used and wasted, has reduced the supply in most regions, but there is yet much in the forest. It is never lumbered separately, but only in connection with pine and fir; but post makers have always gone about picking trees of this species and passing by the associated species.