The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-09-30
PRESERVING TIMBER.
Preservative Treatment of Woods for
Farm Uses Should Receive Careful
Consideration.

II is estimated that several billion feet
of wood is used on the farms of the
United States in positions that expose it
to decay. This includes wood used for
fence posts, building foundations, wind
mill frames. shingles, telephone poles. ST.
los, etc. The supply of naturally dur
able woods for such purposes is rapidly
growing less in many portions of the
country. and shorter lived woods must
be used in their place. Any reasonably
cheap method of increasing the life of
such woods will effect enormous savings
to the farmers of the country. Several
methods applicable to farm use have
been tested by the forest service of the
! department in a series of experiments on
the preservative treatment of fence posts,
poles and other forms of timber exposed
to decay The result of these expert
ments. published in farmers bulletin 744
''The Preservative Treatment of Farm
| Timbers," show that when suitable pre-
servative is given the natural resistance
of wood to decay can be very much in
creased.
The action of successful preventative
can be readily understood if it is borne in
ton of certain low forms of plant life
called fungi Certain substances in the
wood constitute their food. As these are
dissolved. the wood structure is broken
down until it becomes rotten. The pre-
vention of this condition lies in depriv-
ing the fungi of any one OF their require
ments for growth-moisture, air. fa
vorable temperature and food. In gen.
eral. the most effective method is to
poison the food supply. This rather
than the exclusion of moisture. is the
principle underlying the use of the most
successful preservatives.
OF all the various preservatives tested,
coal tar ereosote-a brownish- black
heavy oil-has given the best results.
Satisfactory results may be obtained
from any good grade, provided suffi
Gent amount of preservative is put into
the wood and good penetration is Sc
cured. The most thorough method of sp- |
plication that is practicable on the farm
is the open tank process. In this treat |
ment the posts are heated for one or |
more hours in the pTeservative oil at |
temperature of from $50 to 300 degrees /
Fahrenheit. They are Their quickly trans (
ferred to another tank of the creosote oil I
having a temperature of about 100 de- 1
grees Fahrenheit, and are left there for
an hour or more. In the hot bath the |
air and moisture in the wood expand and I
are partially driven OUT When the
wood is plunged into the cool oil the air
and moisture in il contract and draw the
oil into the wood Except in the case of
a few very easily treated woods, there
is little absorption Of oil by the wood
during the hot bath. Instead of a sep
arate tank being used for the cool bath,
the heating OF the oil in the hot bath
may be stopped and the wood and the
oil allowed to cool together. This accom-
plishes the same purpose as the cool
bath. but a longer time is required be-
,ause the hot oil cools very slowly. This
method can sometimes be used 10
BY heating for two or three
hours early in the morning or in thel
evening and allowing the posts to cool
III day or all night. This vii make it