The newspaper., 1908-06-26

One of the significant signs of the
times is the awakening of the Amer
lean people to the dangerous destruc-
tfon of their forest wealth, and the
necessity of wise use of what re-
mains of 1t. Undoubtedly. in the fu-
ture the nation must utilize its forest
crop less wastefully. both in the woods
and in the mill, and must make provi-
sion for future crops: but that is not
the only way to prolong the timber
supply. IL the service of the wood
which is used can be heightened. It
will largely decrease the amount OF
timber that must he cut.
And this can be done by treating
the wood with chemicals which will
poison the low forms of plant life
which attack 1t and cause 1t TO decay.
The growth of timber is slow. and
when the dearth OF 1t becomes press
ing. new crop cannot be grown
quickly enough TO prevent a time of
severe shortage. Preservative treat
ment of timber has the advantage, as
remedy. that it can be applied i'm
mediately. Its importance is. there
fore. attracting increasing attention.
Many chemicals have been used for
the preservation of timber, among
them blue .vitriol. corrosive sublimate
and chloride of zinc. The most effec-
tive preservative is the substance
called "creosote OIL" or "creosote. '
On account of the similarity of the
names. many people suppose this to
be the creosote obtained from wood.
such as can be obtained. refined for
medicinal purposes. at the drug stores.
But the two are quite different, and
should not be confused. The creo.
sote used in wood preservation is OBJ.
tained from coa.. by most interest.
ing process.
Nearly every city now uses gas for
light and fuel, and many people know
that this Illuminating gas is often
made from coal. But the many things
besides gas which are obtained in
this process are not SO well known. II
is one of these other products from
which is obtained the creosote oil used
for wood preservation.
10 understand how all these things
are produced. 1t is necessary to know
something which the chemists can tell
us. Coal. they say. is composed part
~ OF the substance called carbon, part
ly of compounds of this carbon with the
gas hydrogen. which they have named
Hydrocarbons" When the coal is
heated sufficiently. away from air, the
hydrocarbons are driven off in the
form of gas. Illuminating gas is made
b. subjecting coal of the proper kind
to this process. which Is known as
dry dis.illation." The coal Is nut
into a long. fire-clay oven, or "retort,' u
shaped much like giant model of the
little cakes which the bakers call
lady fingers" the -retorts being
about 13 feet long, two feet wide and
16 inches deep. A number of these
retorts are built side by side. in three
rows, one above the other, the ends OF
the retorts being supported in a
brick wall which also extends around
the ends Of the rows and over the top
and thus entirely incloses the re
tC-ts.
The retorts are partly filled with
coal, after which they are sealed. SC
that no air can get into them. They
are then heated to a temperature oi
about 2.100 degrees Fahrenheit. Un
der this intense heat almost all the
hydrocarbons OF the coal pass of. leav
ing behind only the fixed" carbon
which comes out of the retort as coke
Many of the lighter compounds dis
titled of by the heat will remain ir