The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-13
PRESERVING WOOD FOR ROADS.
Report of Committee of Which Mr.
Symons Was Chairman.

President w. e. Symons of the Southern
and Southwestern Railway Club, who is
superintendent of motive power for the
Plant System, was chairman of commit
tee that submitted the following interest
ing report upon the preservation of wood
at the meeting held day before yesterday
in Atlanta:
The report opened with the statement
that it is we'll known that well seasoned
timber of whatever kind is but slightly
liable to decay and it's longevity is con
troned by its immunity from contact with
iron and moisture. 1t told of specimens
of wood found in the ancient temples of
Egypt where it was used as bowels in
connection with stonework more than A.,
600 years ago.
Timber submerged in water will keep
indefinitely. London bridge piles taken
from the Thames river, which had been
submerged 500 years, were found to be in
an excellent state of preservation. An
other illustration was offered A few
years ago the piles of the old Trojan
bridge across the Danube, erected in A.
D. 105. were examined and found to be
still well preserved after their bath of
/, 795 years.
But there is yet to be discovered a wood
which subjected TO heat. air and moisture
will withstand decay. Different processes
of treating timber with an idea of adding
to its longevity have been in use from the
earliest times. Centuries ago wood was
treated with various compositions for the
purpose of preserving it. The main point
in treating wood so as TO prevent decay is
to keep the albumen in the wood from de-
composing. Two general methods of treat
ment are in use. One is to saturate the
wood-a process which has been known for
more than 100 years. The second method
is to force an antiseDtc into the fiber of
the timber under pressure. There are
about five processes which have been used
to a considerable extent These processes
use suIphate of copper, bichoride of mer-
curry chloride of zinc, creosote with dead
oil of coal tar and earbolineum avinarius.
Creosote is decidedly the best process for
preserving wood, but the cost is excess
sive. The process includes boiling the tir1
Der in dead oil and then injecting dead
oil. This treatment requires from twelve
to fourteen hours for each charge. The
temperature of the mixture in which the
wood is boiled being from $40 TO $50 de-
grees Fahrenheit and the pressure TO
which it is subjected being 200 to 30
pounds per square inch. The chloride OF
zinc process is the most widely used.
The Southern Pacific estimated that in
1897 il cost the company 90 cents per Gu
bic foot to treat their timber with chic
ride of zinc without giving ii a second
coat of gelatin and timing.
The carbolineum avinarius or zinc creo-
sote process is of German origin and has
been used in this country since 1885. The
mixture is the best of zinc chloride and
zinc creosote. The process is very sim
pIe. the mixture being placed in a large
vat and heated to go degrees Fahrenheit,
-. 4ha timber is immersed and kept
~. W f-r r. sfter
which it is dried aud then may be sGr-T'>
iected to a second immersion This mix
lure can be bought for SO cents per gall
len. \ yellow pine car sill, containing IL
square feet, can be treated for 30 cents.
The cost of treating all the exposed sur
face of the car is about %.4l