The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1909-04-17
DoNALDsoNYILLE La, SATURDAY, April Il. 1909
Why Wood Decays.

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the Baltic centuries ago are as sound
today as when first placed. Tit
wooden eofins in which the Egyptian;
buried their dead are still preserved
in perfect condition after thousands o.
years of service.
| The longevity of timber under these
two extremes of climate and moisture
conditions has naturally made people
/ ask. what causes wood deeay:a The
answer is, fungi and taeteria, low
| forms of plant life which live in the
wood and draw their nouris shment
from it. The little organisms are so
minute that microscope is required
to see them, yet their work results in
the destruction of billions of feet OF
| timber each year, and the railroad
| corporate with its crosstie bill rum
ming up into seven figures and the
| farmer who spends a hundred or so
dollars year for fence posts are alike
drawing upon the knowledge Of ex-
perts in all parts of the world in
efforts to learn the most economical
and satisfactory method of preserving
wood against the inroads of decay.
In studying the means of pre-
venting decay, wood preserving ex
perts have learned many things about
the 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. Ii one or more of these essen
tial requirements is lacking, they c.a2
not live, and the decay Of timber will
not take place. Wood constantly sub
merged in water never rots, simply
because there is an insufficient supply
of air, This condition accounts for the
soundness of the old Baltic piles. On
the other hand, if wood can be kept
air. dry it 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.
There are great many cases, how
ever, where it is impossible TO keep
wood submerged in water, or in an
absolutely air-dry condition. In fact,
9 large percentage of the timber which
Is used is exposed to the weather, and
is subjected to decay simply because
it contains enough air and enough
water for the decomposing organisms
to get foothold. Decay is most Sc.
rious where the atmosphere is warm
and damp, because these conditions
are favorable for its development. In
the coal miEes of Pennsy lvanfa timber
decays in two or three years because
the temperature is warm and constant
and the air is damp. And in the
south, the warm, humid atmosphere
often causes the timber to rapidly de-
compose.
Decay may be prevented by two gen
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
most commonly used, as when wood is
treated with creosote, which fills up
the pores in the timber and keeps out
water and is also powerful antiseptic.
The United States government con-
siders the investig gations of the pre-
servative treatment of timber of such
that the business of one
branch of a bureau in the department
If agriculture, the s'office of wood pre-.
serv vation" in the Forest Service at
W ashington, is given over entirely to
he work of experiments in co opera
ion with railroad companies and in
lividuals in prolonging the life of
abroad ties, mine props, bridge
imbers, fence posts and transmission
poles. Advice and practical assist
snee is furnished all who request this
ADVICE of the forester. The lengthen-
ng of life of timber means the saving
If thousands of dollars annually
through doing away with the heavy
Expense of labor and cost of material
or renewals.
II