New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-09-03
THE PRESERVATION OF WOOD.

In our first article we noticed the value
of the discovery Of Mr.. N. IL. Thomas, for
the preservation of wood, and disclosed the
basis of its claims to general favor. We
now specially invite the attention of rail-
road corporations to the expedieney of its
use for cross, ties, bridges, pilings, etc.
Only the other day the bridge at Biloxi,
on the Mobile and Texas railroad gave way
occasioning great loss to the company.
Subsequently, on the same road it was found
necessary TO replace The two year old pillars
of the bridge at Bay st. Louis by new ones
coppered, for which copper alone the amount
of $40, 900 to one house was paid, and this
exclusive of the outlay for the labor of put
ting it on. and the cost OF the new pillars, and
the placing of these in lieu of the old. And
now we observe that the company is incur
ring useless expense of tarring the bridge
at the Rigolets, when it is known that even
if the tar does not all effuse in the heat of
the sun, it neither expels the sap from the
timber nor coagulates the albumen, essen
tial requisites to permanent durability, but
actually contains an acid destructive to the
wood intended TO be preserved, for it is
known fact that this acid can only be ex-
PEELED by q very high distillation.
Suppose this company had used at the
outset positive preservative of wood at an
additional first cost of, say five dollars per
thousand feet for lumber, il is patent that
a great saving would have been the result.
What of its coppered piles at the bridge at
the Bay ST. Louis! Why, the experiment
has been elsewhere tried before, as has also
that of covering submerged piles with fat
headed iron nails, and these expedients
have been found to afford only most tenn
porary aid, as upon the slightest abrasion
OF cracking Of the metal, or the lOosening of
nail by its corrosion in salt water. or the
decay of the wood into which it is driven,
events liable 10 occur at any moment by
the violent action OF the waves or by float
ing logs or debris, those minute vet destruc-
tive agents OF salt water Immediately learn,
by intuition as it were, the glad ti3ings and
forthwith in true ant-like style, take up
their line of march toward the open portals,
and begin their ravaging feast.
From most able and interesting paper,
recently read at the Philosophical Society
of Glasgow by the learned Mr.. 0. u. Mohr,
we extract the following
There are two great destructive agents to
| timber used in marine structures. They are
the tere10 naUalis and the Lin3n0ria terebrdlts.
| The tereolO is long, worn-shaped creature,
| which perforates timber, generally IN the
| direction of the grain, but sometimes across
| the grain, with many windings. Some have
| been seen three, or even four feet long, and
| one inch in diameter. 1t grows very rapidly,
| and its ravages are often very terrible on
| ships. piles, etc. The intnOrio very much
resembles the wood louse, and is about one
sixth of an inch in length, 1t is gregarious.
| By boring in all directions it SO disintegrates
| the wood as to allow the sea to wash away
| its surface, and thus layer after layer OF the
| wood is riddled by the horer, and then
| abraded by the sea, until the whole piece OF
| timber attached is completely destroyed.
| The animal seems to effect its work by use
| of its mandibles, and it appears that 1t is
necessary that the hole should be filled
| with salt water. The distance bored is
from one to two inches long, and as the
hole increases in size, the animal leaves Its
old workings and begins new ones. Except
| green heart timber, it Immediately attacks
all kinds of wood put into the sea, whether
| at1oat Oh fixed, but more readily II
fixed. The boring is generally Inn
tied to that portion which is between
twO-thirds flood and the bed of the sea. The
rate at which the Hmnorio hores into the
wood Is said to be about one inch in year
but instances have occurred in which the
destruction has been much more rapid. Inc
reasons why green heart timber is exempt
from attack are because of its excessive
hardness, weighing about seyenty-nVt
pounds to the cubic foot, and because o.
the presence in it of large quantity OF es
sential oil.
This is a subject deeply interesting to oul
railroad managers. not only in the light O
pecuniary responsibility for damages tt
persons, and detention of freight, but on th'
higher ground of moral accountability to-
the public safety, for we insist that it Is
duty of these amenable carriers of preciou
human freight, to be increasingly on tn
alert, and to investigate everything tina
challenges the investigation of the practica
mind, and to adopt every positive improve
ment that is offered; and indeed thisis to1
tunately the lofty and liberal spirit whlcl
appears to animate, as a general thing, on
enterprising, progressive railroad men. Fe
not only is economy the question to be take
into consideration here, but it is to be re
membered that genuine preserver OF tim
Der is oftentimes an actual protective Q
life, for the traveller who is whirled alon
over bridges, who knows that the timber
may be rotted away beneath the water
earth when all above appears safe and soun
to the eye,,is not at all comfortable in tn
contemplation that he himself may shortl
be decayed food for salt water yerml
nor indeed are his fears baseless that he
his family are in danger, as the timbers pr'
monitorily creak, and the cars trembhngl
ascillate over the swaying road-bed, aboV
swift currents and deep rivers and bay
and along fearful morasses.
But few days since, the telegrap
brought us the distressing advice of tn
disastrous deaths of several railroad pa
} sengers who were precipltated over brldg
because although seemingly perfectly seeul
by the sound of the hammer, yet some
i the supporting piles were entirely decays
and this is an oft-repeated story. I'll
.. great destruction of life by railroads IN tn
country" says an observant writer,
rapidly becoming cause of nation
reproach, and large proportion OF Il
, accidents occurring are attributable to Il
, decay of the sleepers and the bridge