Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-03-03
Suggestions About Green and Sea-
o..-, soned Timber.

and dry timber all their lives, and
who cut. handle, and burn wood,
more or less, nearly every day of the
year, have no adequate conception
of the great weight of green tlmbe-,
nor of the large percentage OF water
in both green timber ana unseAson-
ed fireWood. And even teamsteTs'
who have carted or sleighed hum
.dreds of cords of both green and sea-
soned firewood' and timber are sell
dom aware that from one-fouIth to
,one-haIf the weight of a green tee
is water, which will evaporate a few
months after the timber has been
sawed out or split into billets for fuel
or staves,. or. for other purposes. u
Maple, beech, hickory, tough oak,
and many other kinds of green TIM
ber will weigh from fifty to sixty
pounds per cubic foot. If the tim
ber. Is of second growth and of fine
grain, a,cubfc foot will always weigh
more than. sixty pounds so that, as
a rule, it will be safe to compute the
weight; Of most kinds of green tim
Der at fifty pounds per cubic foot. AS
there are one hundred and twenty
eight cubic feet in one cord, it follows
that a solid cord would weigh six
thousand four hundred pounds, or
more than three tons. BY deducting
about one fifth this weight for the in
tiers tices between the sticks, we have
five thousand one hundred and twen-
ty pounds as q cord Of green wood,
cut four feet long, and piled four feet
high, and eight feet long.
The practical considerations brou't
to light in this computation may be
advantageous to every person who
handles or burns wood Nearly one
| l,2 % a11
consists of water. Therefore, he who
handles and hauls twenty cords of
green wood must necessarily handle,
and compels his heavily-loaded team
to draw, more, than one ton, and Oft
en- one and half tons, of water for
every cord Fof wood. These facts
suggest the eminent Importance of
splitting firewood into small billets,
and allowing it to season several
months before it is earted or sleigh
eds @ The Il facts disclosed show
show how much more expensive
and unsatisfactory it is in every re-
spect to employ green wood for fuel
than that which was cut and split
out soon after the trees were felled so
that the larger proportion of water
could have time to eVaporate. 1t is
said that "a pint is a pound, the
there, be only one ton of water in a
cord of green wood, two thousand
pints-or. pounds-wilI make two
hundred and fifty gallons, or about
four h9gsheads of water, all to be
discharged into the fire. OF course,
one barrel of water in the wood that
is being burned in a stove will con-
vey away in a latent and useless
state just as much, heat as would be
absorbed by a barrel of water when
lsprinkled ON the fire. ExefY one III;
derstands how a leaky Kettle puts
out the fire, even when the best dry
wood Oiss furnished for fuel, as the
heat generated by the burning wood
will be carried away in the vapor, in
stead of being impaired to the oven
or to the objects in the room. TAX
ing another practical view of this
matter, it will be safe to calculate
that two and a half cordsot sound
dry wood will furnish quite as much
heat as four cords of the same. kind
of fuel, burned beforeft has had OPP
portunity to become seasoned
through and through.
~ Th ese considerations reveal the
startling facts that the family which
consumes twenty-four cords of green
wood in one year might save the
price OF nine or more cOruS Oy put
ting their green wood beneath shell
ter for, six months previous to using
it for fuel. Almost any school-boy,
according to- his computation, may
figure out the number of dollars that
may be saved in only one year by
burning dry wood pinstead of green.
Besides all pecuniary considers tions,
there will be the advantages Incl
dent to having fuel that will impart
q desirable amount of heat, when
heat is needed most, without any
loss or perplexity from poor fire.
Intelligent teamsters may take q
useful hint when, they have green
lumber to cart or sleigh any consid-
cradle distance, and stick it up for q
few months, so that the team may
haul a ton more Of timber, instead O
a ton of water. Many kinds of green
lumber, If stuck up in an airy place
for six months, will dry out forty
and even fifty per cent. in the gros.
weight. . -. -
| A g.,