Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-01-02
BALLONA HAkBOR.
How it is Being BevelOped-Eu-
ture Prospects.

How it is Being BevelOped-Fu
ture Prospects.
A representative OF the HERALI
yesterday met Mr.. d. Freeman, Presi
dent OF the Ballona Harbor Improve
ment Company, and the following in
formation relative to the harbor wal
obtained:
Reporter-How is your projected
harbor getting along?
The Balona Harbor is being pushed
towards completion as rapidly as pos
sible. Unavoidable and vexatious de
lays have prevented the company
from getting lumber and piles fol
their piers and steel for their great
creosoting works. We made con-
tract last July with the Golden State
Steel and Iron Works for the immense
steel retorts required for the creosoting
works. The contractors bound them
selves to have the retorts, boilers,
etc., made within ninety days. But
the block in railway traffic from the
East prevented them from getting the
steel until within Il very few days.
Piles for the piers that were bought
three mouths ago have not yet
been received, owing to the difficulty
of getting vessels. The Company have
had the "Brig Lucas" chartered for
some months to carry piles and lum-
Der for them, but on her last trip up
the coast she encountered very rough
weather, and was carried SO far out OF
her track that she WAS several week )
behind time in reaching Coos Bay,
where her cargo of piles had been await
ing her. This lack OF piles and steel
necessited an almost total suspension
OF the work, and the pile drivers were
shut down, and many men discharged.
The Lucas" is expected to arrive in a
very few DAYS when work will be
resumed and pushed rapidly forward.
Even in its present position the har-
Dor ut Ballona has done good deal for
the county. Several cargoes OF lum-
Der have been received and sold at q
price twenty per cent below Los
prices.
Reporter-Is there no difficulty in
landing lumber there?
None whatever. The company own
several large barges and lighters and
a good tug, and can discharge a cargo
OF lumber in good order and with dis
patch. The steamer that brought the
last cargo, about ten days ago, was
in less than three days.
Reporter-I understand. that your
creosoting works are for the purpose OF
preparing the piles to be used on the
pier against the teredo; what is the
extent and what the capacity of the
works now being built at Ballona?
The works W Il be, when completed.
the largest and mos extensive in the
United States. They will have ca
pacity three or four times greater
than any now built. The piles are
first dried as much as possible and
then put into an immense steel retort
six feet in diameter and eighty feet
long. Here they are subject TO a hot
air bath of great pressure until all
the moisture is Withdrawn. The
moisture is then drawn off and the
piles, while in this condition, are
charged W .th hot creosoie oil under a
pressure OF $50 pounds to the square
inch. Under this pressure fifty gal
Ions of oil is forced into each pile,
impregnating it so thoroughly with
the creosote that no teredo will touch
it. and the timber is preserved
so that it will last for many
wears. This is the only system
of protecting piles against the teredo
that has proved of any use. In 1882
the Harbor Commissioners of San
Francisco experimental with four
teen different processes for protecting
piles against the teredo. These meth
DDS were OF two classes: First, COW
ering the pile with some hard or i'm
penetrable coating; second, impreg-
mating with poisonous or objection.
able substance. Second piles pre-
pared ov each process were driven
and were examined from time to time
to see how they were withstanding the
attacks of the worm. Some were COW
cred with asbestos, felt, coal tar, bur-
laps impregnated with asphalt, sewer
pipe, cement, etc., and others we're
Injected with snlphate of zinc and a
solution OF chloride OF baryta. Two
wears after the piles were dri ven they
were examined by Col mel Meniell,
United States Engineer. IIe re-
ported ''none OF the processes showed
permanence, nor any better results
than the bark would have given, and
most of them were in worse condition
than the unprotected piles" The
Technical Society of the Pacific Coast
,,o,,t, Gail. .Ut is IN he rayra,taf