Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-02-03
TIMBER SEASONING.
sureau OF Forestry Experiment.
With TeIexrlp nh Poles

bureau of Forestry Experiments
With Telegraph Poles.
The bureau OF forestry at its new ex-
pertinent stations I'm Wisconsin and
Michigan will make scasof n,g tests of
cedar and tamarack telephone and tele-
graph poles which have been submerg-
ed in water for varying lengths of
time. This is an entirely new line of
experiment. That immersion i'm water
seems to affect the rate OF seasoning
has often been noticed. Rafting is said
by many lumbermen TO improve tim
ber and logs which have lain for a
long time in swamps are in some places
eagerly sought for their superiority for
cert"in uses. But Just WY this should
be true and what practical use can be
made of the fact i'm seasoning general
ly are matters which have never been
thoroughly ascertained.
1t is known that the sap of green
wood contains certain soluble sub
stances-albumen, starch, sugars, tan
min, etc.-which undoubtedly are
leached out OF timber immersed In wa
ter TO a greater or less extent. In ordi-
nary seasoning these substances are
left behind as the water eyaporates
and are deposited on the cell walls. AS
seasoning begins on the outside these
deposits must act as clogs, which virtu-
ally bottle up to certain degree the
water in the interior. 1t rs possib
also that chemical or physical changes
I'm the wood cells are produced by soak
ing.
Timber seasoning is at best tedious
and slow work. 1t can be done fairly
well in ten or twelve months, but thor
ough seasoning requires from eighteen
to twenty-four months, the time vary
Ing with the different kinds OF wood
If the bureau OF forestry realizes It's
expectations from these new expert
ments the time required for seasoning
poles Will be reduced one-third and
possibly much more. This would prove
an exceedingly valuable economy. II.
In addition, the durability OF ,ae poles
can be increased in this way the saving,
both to users OF poles and to the cause
OF forest preservation will be encr-
nous, for every year added TO the serv-
Ice OF poles cuts or proportionate de-
mand upon the forests for their re-
newal.
In these new tests the poles will be
submerged I'm water for different peri
DDS from one week up TO decide what
length of time will give the best re-
suits. They will then be placed on
skids about two feet above the ground
and left to dry. They will touch each
other, but will be laid only one layer
deep. At the expiration Of every tbir-
ty days each pole will be weighed and
also measured to ascertain any shrink
age OF it's circumference. Unsoaked
poles have furnished n circumference
shrinkage OF 0ne-sixteenth to one
eighth inch In thirty days and OF one
fourth inch I'm six months.
An important matter I'm seasoning is
the loss in weight Past experiments
with white cedar poles have shown
loss I'm weight OF about one-tbird after
sixty days of drying. In the case of
chestnut poles the same length of time
showed 10 per cent loss. These poles
are long and very heavy, and such
large weight reduction means a decid-
ed saving in freight charges and in
creased ease in handling. But this ad-
vantage, though important, is small in
comparison with the gain in heightened
service. Further, with greater resist
ance to decay it will be possible to
lower the present butt diameter re-
quirement, which is now based on the
certainty that rot will soon weaken
the power of the pole to withstand
strain at the surface of the ground. AL
together, If the soaking process fulfills
what 1t seems to promise, it will have
notable bearing on one Of the large
branches OF timber consumption, as n
moments thought OF the number of
poles In use in the entire country will
show.-Milwaukee Wisconsin.