Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1917 — Page 2

All Farm Timber Should Be Treated With Preservative

Where the farmer has not the means of treating his o wn material efficiently, he can arrange with other farmers to do the work co-operatively

THE amount of wood used on the farms of the country andexposed to decay Is very great. The Total Is difficult to estimate, but it undoubtedly amounts to feet. This wood is used in G various forms, such as fence posts, building foundations, windmill frames, shingles, telephone poles, silos, etc. For such uses durability is usually the chief requisite. . ™— Some woods resist decay more than others. A post of one kind -of -wood may last ten years or more, while one of another kind may last only two years under the same conditions. There is also a great difference in the durability of wood of tlie same species Under different conditions. In a very wet or a very dry situation a post will last longer than in a situation where the ground is simply damp. It will last better in a compact clayey soil than in a loose sandy soil. A warm, moist climate is more favorable to decay than a dry one, or one that has long, cold winters. . /

Naturally durable wood's ' are continually. growing scarcer and higher priced in most localities, and less durable woods must be used in their stead. Many of these woods in their natural condition will last only two or three years in situations favorable to decay. It will readily be seen, therefore, that any reasonably cheap method of increasing their life. will effect . a material saMngm the user, For a number of years, the forest service has been conducting experiments on the preservative treatment of fence posts, poles, and other forms of timber exposed to decay. These experiments . have been made in -cooperation with agricultural experiment stations, farmers, and various companies, -a nd also upon the national forests. They have proved conclusively that when a suitable preservative t reatigent is given the resistance of wood to decay can be very much increased. Decay is not due to the chemical action of the soil or to the fermentation of the sap, but is the result of the action of certain low forms of plant life called fungi. These consist, for the most part, of very fine threadlike filaments, collectively called mycelium, which penetrate the _wood in_ a.lL.directions. Certain substances in the wood constitute the food of the fungi. As these substances are dissolved the structure is broken down, until the wood reaches the condition commonly known as rotten. The mycelium usually grows out to the surface "to form compact masses called fruiting bodies. Since there are many kinds of fungi, there are many kinds of fruiting bodies? The various forms of “toadstools," “punks,” “bracksets.” or "dog ears,” which are so frequently found growing on trees and dead wood, are examples of these.

A Poor Way to Pile Posts for Seasoning—Too Close.

Their presence generally means that ' •locny-ims nT&de:’-CdpskleFable...progress in the wood. - ~ The feral* requirements for the growth of fungi are innistore, air, a favorable temperature, and food. A damp condition of the wood is probably tJ ie most farorable to decay. Wood can be either so wet or SQ drythat the fungi cannot live in It. When submerged in water it has been known <to last hundreds of years, and in perfectly dry situations It will often last indefinitely. Wood in contact with rtnmp gWinwl usually contain* ' The" right amount of moisture for rhe devetopment ofdecay. Also, wdiere timber is In contact with wood or other material, water frequently collects in the points and keeps the wood moist for long periods of time, thus favoring decay at these points. Familiar examples of this are decay in the tops of j»oßts in board fences, in the joints of various kinds of buildings, in porch columns. In sills resting on wood or Stone picrs. and in lumber piles. There are very few places where the fungus cannot get air enough for .its Bveds. When wood ia buried deep in

the ground; especially in Compact or clayey soil, it tends to become saturated withmoisture, so that decay is prevented; but within two or three feet of the surfa.ee of the ground there is usually enough air for the growth of the fungus. Conditions are most favorable, of course, just at the surface of the ground; and it will be noted that the point of greatest decay In a fence post is usually near the ground

Treating Plant Made From Two Oil Drums, Showing Method of Constructing False Bottom.

line. Above the ground line moistureconditions are usually unfavorable, and below the ground line the air supply is less favorable for the development of decay. In loose or sandy sods, however, which under good drainage contain more air than compact soils, decay may extend to the bottom of the post? ' . Wood-destroying fungi cannot grow at very high or very low temperatures; but There are few; if any, climates in which the temperature during at least part of 1 the year is not favorable to their growth. The tvood itself supplies the fourth requirement of the fungi, which is food. In order to prevent decay, it is necessary to deprive the fungus of one or more of These four requirements. It is out of the question in ordinary situations to deprive it of air and warmth; and though moisture can sometimes be eliminated to a certain extent, this cannot be done when thewood is exposed to the weather. In general, therefore, the most effective method of preventing decay is to poison the food supply, and upon this principle is based the use of most suecessfut wood preservatives. ’ • Prolonging the Life of Posts Without

the Use of Preservatives. Posts which are to be set without preservative treatment should always be peeled. The presence of loose bark allows moisture to collect, and thus makes conditions favorable for decay. It also harbors wood-boring ° insects, which, by boring tunnels, may both seriously weaken the post and make conditions more favorable for rapid decay by affording easy access to fungi. The general impression, has been that seasoning wood—makes—it moredurable. In a number of experiments made by the forest service on "Wes and ties, however, green wood has TeeriTouriiTTis - durable’ as seasoned wood.' It is questionable, therefore, if it pavs to season posts simply to increase their durability. If Ihft- posts are to be used in moist locations, the seasoned wood can quickly take up moisture and in a comparatively short -time reach the condition of green wood. In any case, the seasoned -pests wrrt~in~ igaonfr^pprovimatehr the same condition as unseasoned posts under the Same conditions. In order to be of any value seasoning" must be properly done, and the posts must riot be held so long that prii yt,egins hefore — they are set. Posts should- never be left close-piled for any length of time. In some case's#* charring lias appeared to give good results; in others however, it has failed to give any appreciable protection, and it cannot be retied upon. ''Piling stones around the base of the ppst has sometimes been resorted to, This .tends to keep back the weeds arid allow the air to circulate freely around the post. In some climates, however, where the ground is wet during a considerable portion of the year,

THE EVENING REPUBLICAN, RENSSELAER, INI>.

the use of stones in this way has seemeil to favor decay rather than "retard it, because the post is allowed to dry out partially between wet spells. It would be better to keep it constantly wet. In dry, sandy regions posts are sometimes very badly’ cut by drifting sand being blown against the wood. This effect is sometimes called “burning.” Tiling stones around such posts would, no doubt, be effective in preventing the sand-cutting. It is doubtful, however, if results obtained by the use of stones ior the sole purpose of preventing decay will justify the labor involved. Setting posts In concrete may have a beneficial effect in some cases. If moisture should reach the post, however,- it may be held there by she concrete and cause decay to proceed more rapidly. This is an expensive method of setting posts and cannot be depended upon to prevent decay. Prolonging the Life of Posts by_Means “T"oE There are five chief requirements for a preservative for general use. It should be reasonably cheap, should penetrate wood readily, should not be corrosive to metal, should not evaporate or wash out of the wood easily, and should be poisonous to fungi. For special purposes there are, of course, additional requirements?. -Coal-tar creosote,- which Is a brown-ish-black heavy oil, practically insoluble in water, is in general use for preservingfcnceposth and other farm timbers. Satisfactory penetrations of many species of wood can be secured wHIi Tt and excellent results have ben obtained by’ its use. It 4« considered one of the most efficient preservatives against "decay Sb far developed for farm timbers exposed to the weather. It may also be used for inside work wherever its color, odor,, and other properties are not objec-_ tionable. Coal-tar creosotes vary considerably in quality; but satisfactory results may be obtained from any good grade, provided_a_sufficient amount is put into the wood and a good penetration—-

Method of Piling Posts to Season.

secured. Creosotes containing a high percentage of oils which boil at a low temperature are not suitable, for use on the farm as those which contain a lower percentage of these oils, because a considerable portion may evaporate and be lost during treatment . In soine cases as much as onefifth of the oil used has been lost in this way. This loss of oil by evaporation may be largely offset,- however,- by the lower price at which the low-boil-ing creosotes may usually be obtained. Tar is not a good preservative Tor farm use; and, in general, good results have not been obtained with if when, applied by methods that are practicjlble on the farm. Its chief defect is that it does not penetrate the wood readily. Coql-tar and water-gas tar are also much less poisonous to the organisms which cause decay than is coal-tar creosote. .

Crude oil is not sufficiently poisonous for a wood preservative. If the wood can be thoroughly saturated, with it.water may be kept out and decay prevented; but it is very difficult," if not ■impossible, to get enough oil into most woods by processes which are practicable on the farm. For treating by the brush method crude unsatisfactory. ; - Good results cannot, in general, be expected from, paint, linseed oil, or white wash when used on fence posts

Seasoning Against a Stump.

or other timbers in contact with the ground. They do not penetrate the wood deeplyv and the only way they can prevent decay is by preventing the entrance of fungi or moisture into the wood. Furt hern lore, the wood is seldom painted on all sides; so it is usually possible for Tungus to enter, through an . unpainted part. Whenever the painted film cracks or peels off, decay can also enter. It is quite common to see wood decaying beneath a coat of paint If the wood were saturated with linseed oil it

might prevent defay by keeping put the water; but this would be difficult to accomplish as well as being too expensive. - - —s Posts have sometimes been dipped in thin cement and allowed to dry. leaving a coat of cement over the surface of the wood." Such a coating will not keep out water and is easily cracked hr broken off. Good results canmft be expected from this treatment. (July sound wood is fit for treatment. If decay has made a start, it is not always entirely stopped by the treatment,-but may continue beneath the treated wood until the interior of the post is destroyed. The first thing to consider, then, is the selection and preparation of the timber. All timber should be peeled and thoroughly -seasoned before the preservative is applied. In peeling posts of pine, cedar, and other coniferous

By GEO.M.HUNT

1 Chemist I tn Ferest Products.

Experimental Outfit Heated by Steam.

woods, care should be taken to remove the thin inner bark from the part of the post that is to be treated. Even small patches of this bark often prevent penetration by the preservative. In order to obtain the best absorption and penetration of preservative the posts must be seasoned. The water .and sap must come out of the wood to .make room for'the preservative to go in. Furthermore, W’ood treated green is likely to check open after-treatment.zexposiTig- untreated wood. wood which has been wet by recent rains is not in good condition to treat. _ 4 The best place for rapid seasoning isan exposed location on high-ground. On damp or low ground or near a stream seasoning win take place much mdre _ sTdwly, and the wood will never get quite so dry. If properly piled in a good location, posts will usually season sufficiently fbpHiattment in from 60 to 90 days of good seasoning weather. In exceptional cases they have been known to season in - a month. from its appearance whether timber is sufficiently seasoned or not. By weighing a few representative posts at regular intervals it is possible to determine the degree of seasoning very closely. When an ordinary sized post properly piled for seasoning does not lose more than a pound or two in weight during a'week of good seasoning leather it may be considered dry enough to treat.

Some woods, such as oak and chestnut, check very badly when dried too rapidly. It is well,,if possible, to cut and peel such timber in the fall or winter? so that by the time warm weather corileS it will be partially sea-

Creosote Heater for Brush Treating.

soned. Woods like pines, firs, etc., are usually notOffected so seriously as the oaks by rapid seasoning. The posts should be open piled, so that the air will circulate freely around each one. The bottom of the pile should be raised 6 inches or a foot from tiie ground. -If the ground is dry, the posts can be seasoned .where they are cut by laying them upon rocks or brush, or keeping them off the ground in any other way. Posts should never be piled in close piles or allowed to lie on the ground; for under - conditions they will' frequently start to decay before they -are -seasoned.

FOR EARLY’SPRING PASTURES

Rye Is Excellent as Green Manure and -Thrives oh Acid Soils Where Wheat- Is Failure. Rye will thrive on acid or poor soils where wheat will not" grow well and may be planted on any soil later than wheat. It makes ond of the earliest spring pastures and is excellent as a green manure, o , These characteristics make rye an important factor in farm economy, even in sections where its yield of grain is not as profitable as thatuf, wheat

MING TODAY’S BOYS AND DIDIS

Wise Folk Know All Rules Are Meant to Be Broken. WHEN TODOITIS QUESTION Fixed Regularity in tne Daily Routine Is With Very Young__ Allowed the Older Ones. By SIDONIE M. GRUENBERG. WISE folks know that all rules are meant to be broken, but it is not safe tp let the children find s lt out too soon. It happens that some grow up without ever finding out, and a hard time of it they have ever after. We'can understand the astonishment” of Aunt Jo, who dropped in unexpectedly one evening and found eight-year-old Marion sitting up and reading, and the hour long after the usual bedtime. “Why, I thought your children never stayed up after seven o’clock-was-her way of showing that she knew that rules were rules. That had been the ruie_;__that was still _the rule for the younger ’’ children. “But now,” explained the mother, “Marion stays up a half hour- later onSaturday nights, because she can sleep later, on Sunday. and because father comes home later on Saturday.” These were very good reasons for staying - up later;--but to some people there never seems- to be a good reason for breaking a rule, and that is really what bothers them—the difficulty of using discretion. Aunt Jo was one of those people, and she was one of a very large company. With very young children it Is essential to have a fixed regularity in .the daily routine, if it can possibly be carried out. This is necessary, because it is the only way of getting children Into the habit of disposing-of the daily necessities In a routinoway. In the matter <rf eating, anddressing, in putting away tops and clothes, in table manners and in the details of courteous conduct, the routine must be observed, with never an

exception. It is apparently the onlyway of making Sure of the habits. You know the saying about being offered an inch and taking a yard. Well, that seems to be particularly true of children on the way to learning-the. rules of life’s game. A change from the ordinary means a license to ignore The” rule. During this period, therefore, every departure from the routine involves a serious setback. When habits are being acquired, no exception should lie permitted. But after habits have been formed they must not be allowed to interfere with common sense or with our happiness. A friendjuit shopping with her little girl met me ona crowded street' on a warm day. After talking of nothing in particular for a few moments she told me half-apologetlcally that they were about to get some ice cream soda, and asked whether I would join them. She explained her hesitation by saying: “I did not thintc you vfould approve of children drinking ice cream soda.” And, of course, I do not —as a steady diet. There are no doubt many children who consume too’ much of the colored and sweetened juices that are sold under various fancy names. And there is no doubt that children should learn to quench their thirst with water. It is also true that if you give them a chance ’they will nag apd nag until you yield the nickel or dime that

Perfectly Legitimate to Satisfy the Taste for the Cold and Sweet Confections.

the soda water man wants. But for all that it is perfectly legitimate to satisfy the taste: for the cold and the • sweet ami the- flavored con fee Lions— On occasions;-and. in moderation. It is a bad rule .to. indulge the soda water habit; but it's also a bad rule to be absolutedn-our approvals or disapto a child, either, “You may always have what you’wish,” or, “You may never have what you wish." It is this always-or-never attitude, this Inflex!-: hility of judgment—that, antagonizes and estranges the growing child and, makes us old before our time. And it is quite unnecessary, for it is possible t 6 give the growing child a wholesome routine mitigated by more and more variety. It is possible for children to leurn that there are justifiable exceptions to the usual,way of doing things. Childrei\Jpve novelty so much, in general, that they are quite eager for everything that Is out of the ordinary. Sometimes, however, they quickly become attached to the coinfort of fixed routine. This seems to have been the ease with Alfred wheq his.' mother wanted him te go to sleep in - a dis-

ferent rodrn one evening, as she erpected company’ and wished hftn to be. farther from the noise. Alfred stuck to ruftH and - traditions. lie had always that bed. and he would not change now. He. was promised'that he would be taken back to liis own bed during the night, and would not be disturbed; but he held out against the irregularity of the proceeding—it was an unheard of thing to go to sleep In one place and wake up somewhere else. But father called attention to the fact that people.go to sleep in a railway car in one city and wake up In another city many miles away, That was interesting; and Alfred fell Into the game of playing that he was to take a journey from a distant city, and was. to wake uy in bls’ own "Bed Tn the niorning. This worked .very well as a trick; but if that were repeated too frequently it would soon break up any of order —or, rather, the new way might gradually replace the old order. A That is indeed the danger In making exceptions; but we must not be deterred by the danger. We must vary the routine as- need arises. _thus teach the children that a rule~ls not something absolute, but a convenience. We must teach them, also, to be the

He Had Always Slept in That Bed and He Would Not Change Now.

masters of their habits, and not the slaves. Children must retain as long as possible that peculiar power of youth—-the ability to change from one set of habits to another. With advancing years and judgment, this means the ability to use discretion without rejecting the benefits of regularity. ——-

REALIZED HIS GOOD LUCK

Old Man Probably Had Never Considered His Position in Just That Light Before.. ~ A Massachusetts man who recently returned from an automobile trip through northern New England had a small mishap on the way home that ..J2bliged....him to do some tinkering on. the car. As the breakdown occurred in a pleasant bit of woods, the family found amusement in strolling about the neighborhood while the head of the family made the repairs. ' ■ He had been at work only a few minutes when an old man strolled up with his hands behind his back and prepared-to-wftteh--theq>Fogress of .the. work.. He asked no questions and offered no continents, but his face wore a friendly smile. After a. time, having apparently grown tired of standing, he found a seat on a rock the side of the-road and continued to watch.

"Live round l!lre?” asked the car owner at last. “Ye-up. Lived here all my life; born here,. Im fact.” —— “Farmer, I suppose?” “No, not now. I used to be, but I gave it up.” "Well, you don’t seem to be very busy. You have plenty of time on your hands, haven't you?’*’ “Ye-up; lots of it.” “What do you do now, if I may ask?” “Don’t do nothing. Hain’t done nothing for nearly ten years.” “So? Why, you’re in luck 1 If I did nothing for half that length of time I should be in the poorhouse.” The <sld man’s face beamed with a glad surprise, and then, as one who knows his rare good fortune and values it at its just worth, he cried delightedly: “That’s where I bqt”— Youth’s Companion.

Economy.

In the third-class compartment of the city train the conversation turned on the important subject of economy. Various views were expressed? Then a small man in one corner said, slowly: “A friend o’ mine—leastways, 'e’r more of an acquaintance like —’e ain’t spent a ’a’penny in five years.” “Rot! What are you givin’ us?” and similar remarks greeted this statement. . _ “Fact I” said the spiall one, briefly, as iieTit his pipe. “But 'e’ll be out of jail next week I”—London Tit-Bits.

By the Skin of His Teeth.

"I had the narrowest kind of an es“capeTrom getting into terrible trouble last night.” confessed old Festus Pester. “The family that moved in next door to us yesterday have a hound dog which yapped and yammered all night tong. When I could endure no more of it I arose, and threw ashoeai him. Thank heaven, I missed him, for this morning 1 learned that the head of the family is second" cousin to a policeman.—Kansas City Star.

Some Names.

A Philippine secret society is named Kataastaasan Kagalanggailaijg Kafipunan’l The Kataastaasan Kagalanggalang Katipunan has headquarters at Manila. Originally it was called the Kataastaasan Kagalanggalassan Katipunan, but for easier pronunciation it was changed to Kataastaasan Kaga-< langgalang Katlpunan.—Boston Giobaj