Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-03-31
SIMPLE REASON
WHY WOOD DECAYS
ALL DUE TO THE OPERATION
OF FUNGI AND
BACTERIA.
SUBMERGED OR BONE DRY TIM
5ERs FREE FROM
ALL DECAY.

washington, March 25.-PileS
driven by the hut dwellers of the
Baltic centuries ago are as sound TO-
day as when first placed The
wooden collins in which the Egyp-
uans buried their dead are still pre-
served in perfect condition after
thousands of years of service.
The longevity of timber under these
TWO extremes of climate and mois-
ture 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 1t. The organisms are so little
that q microscope is required to see
them, yet their work results in the
destruction of billions of feet of tim
Der each year and the railroad cor
poration with its cross tie bill run
ming up into seven figures and the
farmer who spends hundred or so
dollars year for fence posts are
alike drawing upon the knowledge of
experts in all parts Of the world in
efforts TO learn the most economical
and most satisfactory method of pre-
serving 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 ali, socG, m@isture and
| heat II one or more of these essen
| tial requirements is lacking, they
can not live and the decay cf timber
will not take place. Wood constantly
submerged in water never rots, sim
ply because there is an insufficient
supply of air, This condition ac-
counts fol- 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 II is bone-dry.
There are a great many cases, how
ever where 1t is impossible to keep
wood submerged in water, or In an alb
solutely air-dry condition In fact, a
large percentage of the timber which
is used Is exposed to the weather,
| and is subjected to decay simply be-
cause ii contains enough air and
ganisms to get a foothold. Decay is
most serious where the atmosphere
| is warm and damp, because these con-
| dltions are most favorable for its de-
| Pennsylvania 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 decompose.
Decay may be prevented by two
general methods, by treating the
wood with antiseptics. thus poisoning
the food supply OF the organisms
which cause decay and by treating 1t
with oils which render II waterproof
A combination of these two methods
is most community used, as when wood
Is treated with creosote which fills up
the pores in the timber and keeps
out water and Is also a powerful anti
septic.
The United States government con.
siders the Investigations of the pre-
sentative treatment of timber OF such
Importance that the business OF one
branch of a bureau in the department
OF agriculture--the Office of ", ID
preservation In the forest service at
Washington. is given over entirely
to the work OF experiments In COOP
Grafton with railroad ties, mine props,
bridge timbers, fence posts and trans
mission poles. Advice and practical
assistance is furnished all who re-
quest this advice of the forester. The
lengthening OF life Of timber means
the saving of thousands Of dollars an
nually through doing away with the
heavy expense of labor and cost of