The northern galaxy. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1844-1848, 1846-09-22
DURABILITY OF TIMBER IN IS
WET STATE

OF the durability Of timber in wet SAFE.
the piles of the bridge built by the Emperor
Trajsn across the Danube are one exam pie.
One Of these piles taken up and found 10
be petrifed To the depth of three-quarers Of
| an inch but the rest Of the wood was little
different from its ordinary sta,e, though il
has heeu driven more Than sixteen centuries.
The piles under the London bridge have
beeu driven abont 600 years, and from Mr..
Bann's observations in l746, it did not ap-
pear that they were materially decayed. Nv
1910 they we're sufficiently sound TO SUI port
the massive snpeFstrHerHre; they are chiefly
of elm.
In digging away the foundation Of old S.
voy Palace London, hich was bnih GO years
ago. the WhoIe of rho piles, consisting OF oak,
elm, bearh, aud cAe~npt we're found in a
state OF perfect souRdncss. az ake WAS the
plankins " hich covered a e pile head.
This paragraph is taken from an English
paper. The cedar swamPs of Cape May
afford even more remarkable procfs ef the
durability Of timber in a Wet STATE.
On the north side Of Maurice River Greek,
The mendows and cedar swamps as far mp ~
the fast land. are filed with buried ecdars In
an unknown depth. IN 1914 or rs an at
tempt was made 10 sink well curb ncar
Dennis Creek Landing. but after encounter
ing mneh difficulty in cutting through anum-
Der OF logs. the "orkmcn were at last COM
PEELED to give up the attempt, by sRGing "a
the depth Of 20 feet compact mass OF cedar
logs.
IL is a constant bush ess near penni, Greek
10 mine cedar shingles This is done hv
probing the soft mud Of the swamps With
poles for the purpose Of discovering buried
,f,nr la,. L.. tha
mud is cleared of. the log cut mp in proper
lengths with a lrrg one handled saw. and
these lengths split up into shingles and r,r-
ried out Of tho swamp ready for sale. This
kind of work gives constant employment TO
large number Of hands. The trees found are
from four to FIVE feet in diameter; they lie in
every possible position. and some OF ih,m
scrm to have been buried for many centuries.
Thus amps Of trees which have grown ro a
great age, aud which have been decayins
century, are found standing in the place III
whirh they grew. while the trunks Of very
aged ccdars are lying horizontally under The
roots One Of these instances is TINS describe
TO us. in "a manuscript from DIR. Bers,ly, Of
Dennis Greek VIM has himself mined many
Thousand cedar shingles, and is now engaged
in the business.
i have in my mind Il cedar some two and
half feet over. under large cedar srrniP,
six feet IN diameter, Upon ooun'ing the an
nnal grnwIhs of the stump. ] found there
we've thirty OF them in an inch; so that there
were 1880 in the three feet from the centre rO
the outside the ee. The stump aust
u US have been 10 0 years in growing. To
al appt arance q tree TO which it belonged
has been dead for centuries. for alter a stamp
in these meadows decays down 10 the wei.
there IS no more decay-none at lea'' that
is percepiible. Now we have 1880 years for
the srowIh Of the stump, and 500 for Us de-
cay. aud 500 for the growth Of ihe tree under
il. for this must have grown aud fallen before
the tree to which the stump belonged sprnuted
We are Thus carried back for the term Of per-
haps 1000 years. of which 1900 are determin-
ed, beyond question, by The growth oil the
trees
The better opinion is that these trees have
gradually sunk through the so:t and Of the
swamps, after having attained their gis~ih
and fallen. Many. however, have deeayed in
their erect POSITION. for The swamps are ini'
Of stumps standing they grew.
Within short distance OF the mouth Of
Dennis Creek, and about three miles from
any growing timber. ran he seen at low wa
Ter in the bed Of the stream, numerous cedar
and piue sfnmPs. abuuf six feet below tho
surface Of the meadow, with the bayk still ad-
hearing TO some. when the mud is removed.
As one passes up the creek a few miles The
srumps approach the surface, and near the
edge Of the live swamps they become vesy
numerous.-[TTenron Gazette.