Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1908-04-11
LIFE OF TID1BER
GIN Be INCREASED
Government Experts Tell of Meth
DDS for the Preservation OF
Timber.


ed to the soil and weather they decay
so rapidly that they have to be renew
ed too often to justify their use. Dead
timber of lodgepole pine and other spe-
cies also is found in large tracts, but
is sharply Disseminated against by
all constructing engineers and contract
ors. AS matter of fact the dead tim
Der, provided it is sound, is just as
good as green timber of the same spe-
cies; and indeed, in some ways,is even
more valuable For it is we'll known
that thoroughly seasoned timber is both
stronger and more durable than the same
timber when green. Timber which was
killed by fire or insects, and which is
still in a sound condition, differs from
green timber chiefly in being thorough
ly seasoned, that is to say it is strong
err, more durable and lighter. And so
not only are the freight rates consider
ably reduced, but better grade of TIM
Der is secured. Even in thoroughly
seasoned condition. lodgepole pine, En-
gelmann spruce. and the other species
mentioned above, are by no means dur
able woods when compared with Doug
las fir, Oregon cedar, and other kinds
of wood which are used so extensively
in construction work. And before they
can successfully compete with such tim
bers, in spite of their lower price, they
must be made to last longer under I'M
favorable conditions. Afer several
years study. the United States Forest
Service has proved that in many cases
the complicated and expensive plants
are not necessary for the proper treat
ment of many kinds of timber; and that
many of the timbers which decay
most rapidly in the natural state, are
among the easiest ard cheapest to treat.
Many of the species mentioned
above offer little resistance to the en-
trance of the preventative. The prin-
ciple of the method is to immense the
thoroughly seasoned wood in a hot
bath of the liquid. leave it in for a
few hours, and then either plunge it
into cold bath of a preventative, or
else run out the hot liquid from the
treating tank, and fill it up again with
the liquid of a lower temperature.
This requires only he simplest kind
of machinery, and the cost of opera
tion is so slight that even cheap tim
bers like fence posts and shingles can
be treated by the average farmer of
small means.
Although the Forest Service, by ex-
tensive experiments in all portions of
the country, considers that the practi-
cability of the process has been con-
clusively proven. more or less difficulty
has been encountered in inducing 9TH
ers to adopt the process on a CONNER
cial scale. In order to demonstrate
beyond any doubt that the process is
adapted to commercial treatments, the
Service has arranged to erect small
treating plants. semi-commercial in
size. on several of the national for
ests. Tests will be made on the local
timbers, and careful record kept of the
cost of the work. The treated timber
will then be put in permanent position,
where its future durability can be COM
pared with untreated timber of the
same or other kinds.
EThree such plants will be erected
this spring, and it is expected that
they will be in successful operation
by early summer. According to the
present plans one plant will be erected
at some locality on or near the Black
Hills national forest, South Dakota,
another on the Holy Cross national
forest in Colorado, and the third or
the Henrys Lake national forest, near
st. Anthony. Idaho.
The Investigations in wood preser.
walton by the use of creosote, which is
nothing more than the dead oil of Goa
tar and zinc chloride, is considered OF
such Importance by the government
that one branch of bureau in the De-