Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-07-24
DAILY HINTS ON
FARM TOPICS
Preservative Treatment For POST
and Poles.
BY K. A. Kirkpatrick

and Poles.
,, The decay Of wood tissues consist
In the destruction Of tissue by som,
low form of plant life. These des
troying organisms we call fungi
In some cases bacteria may also &C
complish this destruction. All thes,
forms Of life develop most rapid,
where starch or sugar Is present Il,
stands to reason therefore that wool
which Ia cut in the fall or winte,
and which contains vast amounts o
starch and sugar stored in the CELL
furnishes the finest conditions for tn,
Development Of these destroying
fungi. when that wood ID brought II
contact with soil or moisture.
II fence posts from decidous tree,
are to be used for construction work
about the farm, they should be cut
n early summer. peeled II possible
nd thoroughly seasoned. Season.
Ag should be accompl ished by dryina
lowly in the shade.
Woods which are soft and spongy
n character offer better opportunity
or the decay fungi to gain entrance
and begin their work These fungi
cannot live on conditions which are
fatal to low forms OF vegetable life,
Any antiseptic which can be forced
Into tho wood tissues to prevent the
entrance and growth OF these fungi
Will cause the soft spongy wood tc
last many years beyonds It's naturA.
life time under ordinary conditions
The ways Of preserving may be
classed as charming. painting, dipp.
Ing. and fmpregnatfng. Good results
have been gotten by chafring the
posts over an open fire. The wood
should first be thoroughly seasoned,
care being used not to let the wood
check or split from the heat. Too
ieep charring should always extend
one foot above and one foot below
The ground line.
Painting is sometimes resorted to,
but only when better methods are
lmpracticable, The paint is usually
applied with Z brush and the wood
should be thoroughly seasoned be.
ore the, paint 10 applied. Some OF
he substances which are used are
whttewash, petroleum tar, creosote.
:oal tar, and various patented pro.
iucts OF coal tar and petroleum tar.
Products OF the creosote type give
best results. Paint and whitewash
ire OF little antiseptic value. The
materials are best applied hot in two
" more coats. One barrel Of creo.
,ote ought to be sufficient to pain,
200 fence posts with three coats on
ne butts and two on the tops.
One fault Of the brush treatment
s that the preservative does moi
readily enter into the cracks and
,hecks. This defect Is overcome BY
tipping the posts In the preservAtive
Another advantage OF this method /,
I. he saving In labor. Dipping "a.
lures 2 larger quantity OF the pre-.
'ervative. In addition to the amount
consumed, there must be enough sur.
,lus in the barrel or tank to koep IL
illed to the proper depth. This usu-
ally prohibits the use OF any expen.
,ive preservative. Some farmers
have treated fence posts by dippina
The butt in thin cement mortar.
This Is not very satisfactory because
The protective covering Is easily
bYoken and the cement does not pre-
rent the ingoing Of moisture which
causes the wood to expand and fur
her cracks the cement covering.
The impregnating process consists
N soaking the post in soma one OF
'hese preservative materials. Both
lot and cold processes are employed.
n the cold process the fence post is
imply soaked in the preservative at
ordinary air temperature for about
/ ZEN hours. This is fairly satisfac-
:ory method for crude petroleum and
he creosote treatments, but for coal
ar which is ropy aid stringy, rattle
unsatisfactory results will be gotten.
In the hot bath treatment, ar
'angement 10 made whereby the pre-
lervative may be heated and the
fosts soaked in It, This is especial
y desirable in case Of treating with
.oal tar. In some cases the heating
q accomplished by running q coil OF
'team or hot water pipe from a tank
,eater into the tank which contains
he treating material. The steam or
rot water 10 turned on and the tenn
,erature IL kept at about the boiling
ieat, while the posts are being treat
ID. This will cause the material to
inter into the pores OF the wood to q
greater depth and gives better re-
; ults. instead Of using the tank
sleater, some farmers have found II
advisable to use direct heating by
iaving a U-shaped pipe at the bottom
II the treating tank. The fire Is
quilt at what would be tho bottom OF
he U. This causes circulation OF
he treating material and keeps II
continually heated. Such an ar
aangement does not cost a great deal
|. Ind on great many farms where
considerable fencing Is to be done,
would be desirable piece OF appar-
titus.
It should be remarked here that
any of these treatements will be OF
little value II the wood to be treated
Is not thoroughly seasoned. II mois-
fure Is in the cells OF the wood, the
treatment which 10 given will run on
IA water from a ducks back. No Inn
pregnation can be gotten in such
:ases and the treatment is scarcely
worth the trouble Of applying.
SALEM.
III