Amador ledger., 1909-04-02
WHY WOOD DECAYS,

| GlieS driven Dy Jne nut OWellorS OF
the Baltic centuries ago are as sound
to-day as when first placed. The
wooden collins in which the Egyptians
buried their dead are still preserved
IN perfect condition after thousands
of years of service.
The longevity of timber under these
two extremes of climate and m DISTURB
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 little organisms are SO
little that a 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
corporation with its cross tie bill
running 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
eff orts to learn the most economical
and most satisfactory method of pre-
serving wood against the luroads of
decay. In studying the means of pre-
venting decay wood-p preserving ex-
perts have learned many things about
the obnoxious fungi which sap the
life of timber.
i he 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
CT more OF these essential require
ments is lacking, they can not live,
and the decay of timber will not take
place. Wood constantly submerged
in water never rots, simply because
there is an insufficient supply of air.
This condition accounts tor the
soundness of the old Baltic piles.
On the other hand, il 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,
a large percentage of the climber
which is used is exposed to the
weather, and is subjected to decay
simply because it contains enough air
and enough water for the decompos-
ing organisms to get foothold. De-
cay is most serious where the atmos
phere is warm and damp. because
these conditions are most favorable
for its development. In the coal
mines of Pennsylvania tim Der 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
general 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.
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
ont water and is also powerful
antiseptIc.
The United States government con-
sideIs the Investigations of the pre-
servative treatment of tim Der of such
Importance that the business of one
group of men in the forest service is
given over entirely to the work of ex-
periments in cooperation with rail
road companies and individuals in
prolonging the life of railroad ties,
mine props, bridge tim bers, fence
posts and transmission poles. Advice
and practical assistance IS furnished
all who request this advice of the dis
trict forester at San FRANCHISE. The
lengthening of life of timber means
the saving of thousands of dollars
annually through doing away with
the heavy expense of labor and cost
of material for renewals.