Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-08-10
DURABLE TIMBER.
Some Current Bsllsis Have No Foundation.
FEELING end Seasoning.

Generally logs of young trees. contain
ting larger proportion OF sapwood $50 to
80 per cent, furnish less durable wood
than logs OF older trees. This is because
OF the prepOnderance of sapwOod. which
Is often overlooked, especially in the use
OF posts. piles and poles. for which young
wood is most frequently employed. Wood
OF very old, .'Over-ripe'.. timber. it has
often been claimed. Is less durable than
young timber. 1t is questionable wheth-
er this claim can be substantiated, and
even the railway companies of this coun-
try are beginning to waive the point OF
age as well as the size of tree in the Sc
lection OF ties.
Well grown, thrifty timber is generally
believed to furnish the most durable
wood, but in pine and other conifers the,
slow grown timber is preferred. So far.
this preference seems to be mostly mat
ter of prejudice, for even in the market
the slower grown oak Is often preferred.
and certainly the rapidly grown white
pine heartwood, contrary to the general
belief, makes sidewalk of great dura-
bility. The common belief that the tim
Der from the swamp is less durable than
that from high ground seems, like many
other tenets on this subject without
founda ton.
The following list of trees comprises
most of those of common occurrence, ar
ranged more or less according to their
relative durability:
In the east the more durable trees are
of the conifers: Red and white cedar;
arborvitae bald cypress; tamarack; long
leaf, Cuban. lobloly. shortleaf. pitch.
white pine; hemlock; red pine; jack pine;
spruce.
Broad-Leafed: Live oak: Usage or
ange: red mulberry: black locust; catal-
pa: the white oaks, including white, post,
bur, COW, overcup; black walnut; chest
nut: sweet (red) gum; tulip tree yellow
poplar.)
Less durable trees are: Elm; ash: red
oak; Eastwood.
Trees not durable are: Hickory; ma
pie: beech: blue beech: birch.
Winter Telling is generally preferable to
summer Telling. because both fungi and
insects are then inactive. and the timber
may be handled more at leisure, both in
the woods and during shipment and con-
version, and, if worked up at once. has
chance to season to quite an extent be-
fore warm weather awakens its many
enemies Where logging and milling is
carried ON in a large way, and the log is
cut into boards and these put through
the dry kiln before the fungi and Beetles
have a chance to attack them. the prod
uct of summer Telling is as good as that
of any winter-feled timber.
Where logging is done in a small way.
the cutting of timber in summer usually
involves loss. and commonly leads to in
ferior product.
Peeling standing timber and allowing it
to season on the stump is often recon-
country. Girdling timber to partly sea-
son it is done for cypress. but with indif-
ferent success.
To cut down trees and allow them to
leaf out before cutting into logs is often
recommended. and it is claimed that this
will lead to complete removal of the
sap and stored reserve food (starch) and
thereby increase durability. 1t is not
practiced in this country.
If timber is to remain in the log las ex-
port timber. etc) peel. cover the ends
with cheap paint, and always place on
skids. Work up any kind of timber as
soon as possible.
Never leave any wood. not even cord
wood. piled on the ground; raise it on
crosspieces and IL it is valuable material
(coOperage. wagon, or other stock) pile
with care, give to all parts of the pile {,
chance for circulation of air, and if pos
sible cover the pile to shut out the direct
sun. Thick materials must have thick
crosspieces and all sawed material given
to warping Sycamore, gum, oak. etc.
must he piled with special care: the cross
pieces must be ample in thickness as well
as in number and must be regularly
placed
In ordinary yard seasoning lone yeal
for every inch in thickness is an old
rule Inch stuff of hard woods can be
seasoned well by air-drying six months
and then placing them in dry kiln or hol
room Conifers of all kinds can be dried
very well by placing in dry kiln fresh
from the saw Dry-kiln seasoning disin-
fects lumber and thereby does much to
increase dura bility.
Immersion in water for safe storage OF
wood is an old custom: it also improves
the sapwood, since it allows the nitroge-
nous materials and part of the carbohy-
drates to be removed by fermentation
without admitting the real woOd-destroy-
ing fungi.-U. S. Department of Agrieul-