This does not respond to your conservation question, but there are other things to consider with tree saplings inside a museum. More years ago than I care to count, when I was an anthro student, I created a California native wikiup inside a museum, using local willow saplings, tule reed mats, and twisted tule fibre rope to tie the sapling frame cross-pieces and tie the mats to the frame. This was strictly a low budget adventure, including canoeing (modern canoe, not a tule reed raft) among the tule reeds to cut and load tules for the mats. I was not a museology student yet, so was oblivious to the bug realities, and had a lot of fun preparing this. However, when the museum closed for the holidays the heat was left on, and when I returned in January the wikiup lay on the floor like so much kindling. The willow poles and the reeds shrank as they dried, and everything slipped out of the ties. I cringe to think what was scurrying around looking for food as the juicy willows became desiccated! I had dried the reeds outside before making the mats, but the cool outdoor temperature helped to preserve them, not dry them. Really, I've learned a LOT since then! Micki Ryan Museum & Archival Services -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Dirk Van Tuerenhout Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 12:22 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: And now for something completely different: tree saplings inside museums We are currently working on a touch cart that would serve our Hall of the Americas. One of the areas we cover in this hall is the Southeast and the design of this touch cart would include a 4 foot replica of a Caddo "beehive style" house. For this we are considering using tree saplings to be bent into the right shape. My question is: how does one treat the wood to prevent any insect infestation? I would prefer to stay away from using chemicals for obvious reasons. Any thoughts? Many thanks and best wishes, Dirk Van Tuerenhout Houston Museum of Natural Science ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).