The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-04-19
MISREPRESENTATION
NOW BIG BUSINESS
Government Expert Says Life
of Timber May Be Drawn
Out Indefinitely
SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL

WASHINGTON, April 1s.-"Timber
thoroughly treated with proper pre- |
servatives will last almost indefinitely
says a government expert who is. an
authority on wood preservation. En-
gineers have known for years that
this is Eue," he continued. but up 10
the present time. at least in America,
complicated and expensive plants have
been necessary for the work and wood
preservation has often been too eX-
pensiye an operation TO allow treated
timber TO come into general use"
Methods in wood preservation have
undergone a marked change in the last
few years, however, and the work
which a few years ago was limited to
a few experiments carried on in scat
tered parts of the United States has
grown with such rapidity that wood
preservation has become a business
which figures most prominently in the
industrial life Of this country
RAILROADS TREAT TIES
Each year railroads are treating an
increasing portion of their cross ties
miners their mine props. farmers their
fence posts, and the men Of many other
industries are bringing preservatives
into play to close the pores and prepare
the timber they use TO resist the fungi
which cause decay.
The work points the way to one of
the chief means. of the conservation Of
the nations forest resources, for as the
length Of the life Of timber is increased
the drain upon the forests is lessened,
and more wood made available for use
In nearly all localities IN the Rocky
mountain and Pacific states is found an
abundant supply Of certain kinds of
timber which have only a slight COM
mercial Importance. Engelmann spruce,
lodgepole and other kinds of pine, as
pen and cottonwood are only a partial
list of the kinds of wood which are
strong enough and abundant enough
to win high value for construction pur-
poses, were it not for one single defect
which has prevented their general
adoption. When exposed TO the soil
and weather they decay so rapidly that
they have 10 be renewed too often TO
justify their use.
DEAD TIMBER USEFUL
Dead timber of lodgepole pine and
other species also is found in large
tracts, but is sharply Disseminated
against by all constructing engineers
and contractors. AS a matter of fact,
the dead timber. provided 1t is sound
is just as good as green timber of the
same species; and indeed, in some ways,
is even more valuable. For 1t is we'll
known that thoroughly seasoned tim
Der 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 thoroughly seasoned
that is TO say, it is stronger, more dur
able and lighter. And SO not only are
the freight rates considerably reduced,
but a better grade of timber is secured
Even in a thoroughly seasoned con-
! dition, lodge pole pine, Engelmann
spruce and the other species mentioned
above, are By no means durable woods
when compared with Douglas fir. ore
! gon cedar and the other kinds of wood
which are used so extensively in con-
struction work. Before they can sue
cessfully compete with such timbers.
depite their lower price. they must be
made to last longer under unfavorable
conditions.
MAY cheaper PLANTS
After several years study the United
! States forest service has proved that
! in many cases complicated and ex-
pensive plants are not necessary for
/ proper treatment of many kinds of
timber, and that many of the timbers
which decay most rapidly in the nat
ural state are among the easiest and
cheapest to treat. Many of the species
mentioned above offer little resistance
to the entrance of the preservative.
| The principle OF the method is to
/ immense the thoroughly seasoned wood
in hot bath of the liquid. leave it
| for few hours, and then either plunge
| it into a cold bath of preservative
] or else run out the hot liquid from
the treating tank, and I'LL it up again
| with LIQUID of lower temperature.
| This requires only the simplest kind
Of machinery, and the cost of opera
ton 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 prac-
ticabiIity of the process has been con-
/ clusively proved. more or less diff
/ Guilty has been encountered in Undue
I Ing others TO adopt the process on a
commercial scale. II order to demon
strate beyond any doubt that the pro-
!, cess is adapted TO commercial treat
4 ments the service has arranged to
J erect small treating plants. semicom-
/ rnercial IN size, in several of the ma
+. tional forests. Tests will be made on
local timbers and careful record KEPT
Of the cost The treated timber will
then be placed in permanent position
where it's future durability can be
compared with untreated timber OF the
same or other kinds
THREE PLANTS PLANNED
Three such plants will be eSectec
this spring. and it is expected thai
they will be in successful operation BY
early summer According to the pres
ent plan one plant will be erected a.
some locality on or near the Black hills