Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-30
STUDIES PRESERVING
METHOD FOR TIMBER
U. S. GOVERNMENT DESIRES
TO LESSEN COST
Decay of Wood Is Caused by Fungi
and Bacteria Which Live on
and Sap Life Of
h Lumber

SAN FRANCISCO, March 29.-Piles
driven by the hut dwellers of the Bal
tic centuries ago are as sound today
as when first placed. The wooden
collins in which the Egyptians buried
their dead are still preserved in ex-
cellent condition after thousands of
years of service.
The longevity of timber under these
two extremes of climate and moisture
conditions has naturally made people
ask, What causes wood decay? The
answer is, fungi and bacteria, low
forms of plant life which live in the
wood and draw their nourishment from
it. The organisms are so little that
a microscope is required to see them,
yet their work results in the destruc-
ton of billions of feet of timber each
year, and the railroad corporation
with it's cross-tie bill running up into
seven figures, and the farmer, who
spends a hundred or so dollars year
for fence posts, are drawing alike on
the knowledge of experts in all parts
of the world in efforts to learn the
most economical and most satisfactory
method of preserving wood against the
inroads of decay.
In studying the means of prevent
ing decay, wood-preserving experts
obnoxious fungi which sap the life of
timber.
The small organisms can grow either
in light or in total darkness; but all
of them require requisite amounts OF
air, food, moisture and heat If one or
more of these essential requirements is
lacking they cannot live, and the de-
cay, of timber will not take place.
Wood constantly submerged in water
cir nlxr there
insufficient supply of air. This condi-
ton accounts for the soundness of the
old Baltic piles. On the other hand,
if wood can be kept air-dry 1t Will not
decay because .there will then be too
little moisture. The timber used by
the Egyptians will last indefinitely so
long as it is bone-dry.
Difficult to Meet Requirements
There are a great many cases, how
ever, where it is impossible to keep
wood submerged in water, or in an
absolutely air-dry condition. In fact,
a large percentage of the timber Whlcn
is used is exposed to the weather ana
is subject to decay simply because it
contains enough air and enough water
for the decomposing organisms to get
a foothold.
Decay is most serious where the at
mosphere is warm and damp, because
,thes conditions are most favorable
for its development. In the coal mines
of PENNSYLVANIA timber decays in two
or three years because the tempera-
ture is warm and constant and the
air is damp. And in the south, the
warm, humid atmosphere often causes
the timber to decompose rapidly.
Decay may be prevented by two gem
eral methods: by treating the wood
with antiseptics, thus poisoning the
food supply of the organisms which
cause decay; and by treating it with
oils which render it waterproof. A
combination of these two methods is
used most commonly, as when wood
is treated with creosote, which fills up
the pores in the timber and keeps
out water, and is also powerful anti
septic.
The United States government con-
siders the Investigations of the pre-
servative treatment of timber of such
Importance that the business of one
group of men in the forest reserve is
given over entirely to the work of ex-
periments in cooperation with rail-
road companies and individuals in pro-
longing the life of railroad ties, mine
props. bridge timbers, fence posts and
transmission poles. Advice and prac-
tical assistance is furnished all who
request this advice of the district for
ester at San Francisco. The lengthen-
ing of life of timbers means the saw
ing of thousands of dollars annually
by doing away with the heavy expense
of labor and cost of material for re-
neWalS