New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-05-15
PRESERVATION OF WOOD.

men has long been turned 10 Tue necessi'y
of inventing some means to protect SUBJ
merged wood from the destructive effects
of mold. rot and the teredo worm. And
| in place like New Orleans, with its miles
of wharves resting on piles driven into the
moist earth, and subject to alterations of
air and water, the subject is naturally one
of great magnitude and public interest.
In some parts of the city wood is extern
sively used for paving, chiefly on account
of its present cheapness. But the action
of the humidity and dryness incident to
this soil and climate have generally proved
very destructive, and thus occasioned
necessity for frequent renewal Of timber
so exposed. We hear it remarked, there
fore, that eventually wood costs more than
brick, iron or stone.
We have been shown some publications
upon this subject, in which we fiud valu-
able suggestions. John Bethel, of EGG
land, in 1888, invented process Of forcing
liquid coal tar into the pores Of the wood
by mechanical pressure. Wood treated
by this process and exposed to decaying
influences has already lasted twenty-five
years and upward, and still shows no
signs of decay having commenced. The
Bethel process, however, is expensive and
difficult of application, and can be only
used for coarse, outdoor work, such as
bridge timber, piers, railroad ties, etc.
Mr.. Robbins, an American inventor,
however, profting by the invention of
Bethel, and convinced from the testi-
mony of scientific and practical men as
to the efficacy of creosote Of coal tar,
(carbolic acidD for preserving wood, in
vented in 1865, the method of applying
the creosote, which is still known as the
"Robbin's Process" The oil is infused
in a state of vapor. But this process, al
though an improvement upon the Bethel
method of compression, only partially
filled the pores of the wood, and hence
did not fully answer the requirements.
There are, however, fatteriug testimonials
from practical railroad men who have used
and seen the good effects of h-the above
inventions. Following out the main idea,
however, but employing different means
in the application. Professor Charles A.
Seeley, of New York city, celebrated
chemist, has recently brought out an in
vention which seems to meet every diff
Guilty. He proceeded upon the following
hypothesis, and the result appears to vim
dictate the correctness of his theory.
In the preservation of wood. which is eX-
posed. certain conditions are necessary:
l. The sap must be removed and the albu-
men of any other substance ca pable of act
ing as a ferment coagulated.
2. The pores of the wood must be so filed
with the preservative substance that no
water or air can enter them.
g. No substance will effectually prevent |
the entrance of water and air, which is it.
self soluble in water or has such an attrac.
ton for mois ture as 10 be readily Eiscible |
with it.
The Seely process consists in subjecting
the wood to be saturated to temperature
Of about two hundred and sixty degrees,
while in a bath of creosote oil, for sufi-
Gent time to expel all the moisture, and to
coagulate the albuminous matters Of the |
wood. When the pores are thus freed
from the water and contain only steam, a |
cold bath is substituted, so as to reduce |
the temperature from two hundred and |
sixty to sixty.fve or seventy degrees, by
means of which change the steam in the |
pores of the wood is condensed, and
vacuum formed into which the oil is forced |
by atmospheric pressure.
The sap can be most thoroughly re-
moved by means of heat, and the applica-
ion of heat through the medium of a
liquid is preferable because while it is not
80 excessive (being about 260 degrees) as
% injure the ibres OF the wood, it is suffi-
,ient to vapOrize the water and coagulate
he albumen of the sap, and thus the cause
IF the decay is destroyed.
The action OF carbolic and cresylic
acids in conjunction with dead oil in pre-
venting all kinds of decomposition is well
understood by those who have noted the
effect.
Numerous certificates are given by
chemists, railroad engineers, and others,
to the efficacy and durability Of wood pre-
pared by the Seely process. 1t can be
easily and cheaply applied, and will more
han we'll pay for the trouble and ex-
pense. New Orleans, with its soil satu-
rated with surface water, is specially in
need of some invention Of the kind, and |
we hope those interested in constructing |
Improvements, public or private, whether
posts for garden fences, piles for levees,
sleepers for railways, or any. other de-
of wooden fixtures intended to
be submerged, will look into the matter
and avail themselves of the advantages
afforded by the experience of those who
have made the subject study for years
and tested the efficacy Of the invention in
various ways.
OUR NEW ADJUTANT GENERAL.
The announcement in yesterdays Re-
PUBLICAN that Governor Warmoth had