Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1907-10-17
COURT IS OFFENDED SCORCHED TIMBER.

- AAAO AVAOAlA
IS NOT NECESSARILY LOST OR
VALUELESS when STANDING
II Cut Shortly After 1t Is Burnt, Tim.
Der Has Not Lost ANY of its Value.
IT 1t Cannot be Cut Imme diateIy,
Strip Off the Bark, and the Timber
will Last Inde finiteIy.
Because timber is dead is not a
reason why 1t is not good material
for the manufacture of lumber. Meth
er Is 1t always good when it is dead.
But manufacturers need not be afraid
of it, for it is very easy to determine
its value, which depends more or less
on how long it has been dead, and
the manner in which it was killed
There are three classes of dead tim
ber: Fire killed timber, timber kill
ed by insects and timber killed by
such other causes as drying out or
lightning. Some of the insects that
attack trees do SO before the timber
is dead, and some only attack it af-
ter 1t has been killed. For that rea-
son timber which has been killed by
fire, for instance, should be cut as
soon thereafter as possible If it is to
| hnC 4
time there is no reason why it should
not make as good lumber as before it
is killed. Some timber, which has
been dead for fifty years makes as
good lumber as green timber, pro-
vided 1t has not been attacked by in
sects, and has not decayed. BY far
the largest amount of dead timber in
the forests of the country has been
killed by fire. Insect-killed timber,
though widely scattered, is usually
restricted to small areas. Dead tim
ber of the third class is found mainly
In single trees or small groups.
The principal defect in fire-killed
timber is check. This appears soon
after the death of the tree, but does
not increase greatly. Timber above
nine thousand feet in elevation is
not affected by decay for many years.
Such timber has been used for the
manufacture of good lumber fifty
years after it was killed, and i'm
mense amounts of timber used thirty
years after being killed in this man.
ner have been found entirely free
from decay. If fire-killed timber is
stripped Of it's bark soon after burn
ing, decay is not likely to set in, but
If the bark remains, the sap wood
near the surface decays quickly. The
fir timber of the west will last al
most Indefinitely after being fire.
killed, and even when fiat on the
ground decays but slowly. Yellow
pine decays more rapidly, because it
is found in low attitudes, but because
of it's open stand it is rarely killed by
fire.
1t is the popular opinion that dead
timber is very much weaker than
timber which has been sawed green
and allowed to season, but this is not
the case, and neither is it true that
the timber which has been dead a
number of years is weaker than green
timber, and that the longer it stands
the weaker it becomes. BY actual
tests it has been proven that sound
timber which has been dead for some
time is almost as strong as seasoned
green timber, and much stronger than
green timber before it is seasoned
Seasoning adds to the strength of
timber, and tests of dead timber and
seasoned green timber which has
been brought to the same condition
of seasoning, show that dead white
fir is about nine-tenths as strong as
green white fir that has been season.
ed, and about twice as strong as
green timber freshly cut.
The principal defect of dead tim
Der is check, but that does not unfit
it for use as timbers, telephone poles,
railroad ties and fence posts. Be-
cause of the frequent cross checks it
can not be well used for inch lumber,
but it makes fairly good dimension
stock. For the manufacture of boxes
and crates, dead timber is perfectly
adaptable, for it is odorless and is
well seasoned. Dead timber is in
perfect condition for treatment with
preservatives, for the moisture has
evaporated from the wood, and there
is no watery sap to prevent the en-
trance of the preservative. Very lit
tie lumber of value can be obtained
from insect-killed timber. About the
only part that can be used is near
the heart, as the insects rarely en-
ter beyond the sap wood, but if it is
not used soon after being killed in
this manner, the decay which sets
in soon strikes in toward the center