File:1948. Walter J. Buckhorn shooting a line-gun to mark aerial spray block boundaries. Western spruce budworm control project. Kinzua, Oregon. (32091825723).jpg

Walter J. Buckhorn shooting a line-gun to mark aerial spray block boundaries. Western spruce budworm control project. Kinzua, Oregon.

Note: "W.J. Buckhorn of the Forest Insect Laboratory, Portland, Ore. is shown ... demonstrating a line-throwing gun which he developed for use in marking treetops to guide airplane pilots in spraying operations. Using an 1873 model Army Springfield, .45-.70 caliber; a foot long, six ounce brass projectile is fired from the sawed-off barrel over the top of the tree to be marked. Next the line is used to hoist a paint bomb made from a waxed paper ice cream container filled with paint in which a capped quarter stick of dynamite is placed. Electrically detonated, the bomb splatters paint over the treetop in a manner that is readily visible [from the air]." From: Journal of Forestry. 1949. Forestry News. 47(6):517

Photo by: Olsen Date: 1948

Credit: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection. Collection: Portland Station Collection; La Grande, Oregon. Image: PS-6012

To learn more about this photo collection see: Wickman, B.E., Torgersen, T.R. and Furniss, M.M. 2002. Photographic images and history of forest insect investigations on the Pacific Slope, 1903-1953. Part 2. Oregon and Washington. American Entomologist, 48(3), p. 178-185.

For more about Walter J. Buckhorn and this photo see: Furniss, M.M., 2000. Walter Julius Buckhorn (1899–1968)—Legendary Forest Entomologist, Not of the Classroom Kind. American Entomologist, 46(3), pp.133-140.

For further information about historical western spruce budworm activity and control projects see: Dolph, Robert E. 1980. Budworm activity in Oregon and Washington, 1947-1979. R6-FIDM-033-1980. Portland, OR: US Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Forest Insect and Disease Management. 54 p.

For related historical program information see: <a href="https://archive.org/details/AerialForestInsectAndDiseaseDetectionSurveysInORandWA19472016TheSurveyHighRes" rel="nofollow">archive.org/details/AerialForestInsectAndDiseaseDetection...</a> Johnson, J. 2016. Aerial forest insect and disease detection surveys in Oregon and Washington 1947-2016: The survey. Gen. Tech. Rep. R6-FHP-GTR-0302. Portland, OR: USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection. 280 p.

For additional historical forest entomology photos, stories, and resources see the Western Forest Insect Work Conference site: <a href="http://wfiwc.org/content/history-and-resources" rel="nofollow">wfiwc.org/content/history-and-resources</a>