Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-02-18
TIMBER SEASONING.
Bureau of Forestry Experiments
With Telegraph Poles.

With Telegraph Poles.
The bureau of forestry at its new ex-
pertinent stations in Wisconsin and
Michigan will make seasoning 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 in water
seems to affect the rate of seasoning
has often been noticed. Rafting is said
by many lumbermen to improve TIM
Der, and logs which have lain for a
long time in swamps are in some places
eagerly sought for their superiority Tor
certain uses. But just why this should
be true and what practical use can be
made Of the fact in 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 evaporates
and are deposited on the cell walls. AS
seasoning begins on the outside these
deposits must act as clogs, which yirtu-
ally bottle up to a certain degree the
water in the interior 1t is possible
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 Its
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. H.
in addition, the durability Of the poles
can be increased in this way the saving
both to users Of poles and to the cause
of forest preservation will be enor-
nous, for every year added to the serv'
ice of poles cuts off proportionate de
mand upon the forests for their re-
newal.
In these new tests the poles will be
submerged in 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 Oh
skids about two feet above the GROUND
and left to dry. They will touch eacf
other, but will be laid only one layel
deep. At the expiration of every thir
ty days each pole will be weighed anC
also measured to ascertain any shrink
age Of its circumference. Unsoake(
poles have furnished a circumference
shrinkage of one-sixteenth to one
eighth inch in thirty days and Of one
fourth inch in six months.
An important matter in seasoning Il
the loss in weight. Past experiment
with white cedar poles have shown
loss in weight of about One-third afte
sixty days of drying. In the case o
chestnut poles the same length OF tim
showed 10 per cent loss. These pole
are long and very heavy, and such
large weight reduction means a decic
ed saving in freight charges and ID
creased ease in handling. But this
vantage, though important, is small
comparison with the gain in lengthene
service. Further, with greater resist
ance to decay it will be possible
lower the present butt diameter II
quirement, which is now based on th
certainty that rot will soon weake
the power Of the pole to withstan
strain at the surface Of the ground. A
together, if the soaking process fulfill
what it seems to promise, it will hav
a notable bearing on one Of the larg
branches of timber consumption, as
moments thought Of the number
poles in use in the entire country WI
show.-Milwaukee Wisconsin.