The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-10-16
SELECTING DURABLE BUILD
ING TIMBER.

r.
for fence-posts or for stills to a build
ing is exceedingly scarce. And YET
there are so many varieties of dura
bic timber that, ifoak of any klnc
can not he obtained, some other kline
of timber may be had which vii
be found quite as durable al oak
REDEEM, if seasoned before the tim
Der is employed for tence-postS, will
q last quite as long as oak. When
red.elm is employed as stills for a
building, as the newly-hewed sticks
are liable to warp and spring, the
timber should be hewed, framed,
put in its place, and protected from
the sun all in one day, # prac ticable.
In case red-elm timber can not be
secured in frame soon after it is
sawed or hewed out, every stick
should be placed on level founda
ton, so that stones or other heavy
timber may be laid aboveit to hold
it straight. Red.beech- is another
kind Of durable timber which will
serve satisfactorily for stills of build
ings, or Tor posts or beams, where
the timber is liable to be exposed to
dampnesS or the influences of wet
and heat Red.beech will be found an
excellent substitute for oak. AS this
kind of timber readily grows where
G We find oak forests, 1t may be sawed
into all kinds of timber for building.
1t will make joists, studs, and excel
lent foor-boards, provided they are
"stuck up" straightly soon after the
logs are sawed, so that the pieces
may have an opportunity to season
straight without being warped by
the sun. Butternut is another timber
that is often more durable than oak,
even when employed for fence-posts.
Butternut is usually a soft wood,
often softer than white therefore
this kind of timber may be employ
ed for roofboards, flooring for casing
and window-sills or for making doors.
Yet, az butternut timper s 80 liable
to warp and spring when the pieces
are seasoning, it is always important
that this kind of lumber should be
stuck up while the timber is green,
that 1t may be straight after the tim
Der is well seasoned. The grain is
so beautiful that parlor finished
with butternut lumber often looks
richer than if wainscoted with the
best OF black-walnut. Many a man
has purchased black-walnut at an ex-
orbitant price for making hand-rail
aud bani>ters for his stairs, or for
other work in his house, when there
were large butternut-trees on his own
land which would have furnished ten
times more lumber than be required,
and that, too, Of superior beauty.
A common error is frequently COM
United in selecting durable building
timber for dwelling houses and out
buildings, and then choosing perisha
bic timber for sleepers and cross-sills,
though the main-siils may have been
procured Of the best quality at a
large expense. We frequently see
whlte.oak, or red elm stills and sleepers
Of sugar-maple, which will decay as
soon as Eastwood or buttonwood.
VIII the ends of sleepers Are receiv-
ed in gains cut IN the stills, the very
eLds are more liable to decay than any
par', especial y if water is allowed to find
its way down IN the joints For this
reason 1t is always quite as important Ia
select durable timber lor joists and sleep
ers as for fills. But when the stills are
resting on high wall, where tho timber
will not be exposed To- the alternate infn
ences Of moisture and dryness, almost any
kind Of wood may be employed and So
long as water cun be KEEP from the sur
face, from cracks, ana from mort'ses il
will remain quite sound. Eastwood
81 Eifa .bl.. II, ma, ulp and nj her kinds nj