Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 January 1917 — All Farm Timber Should Be Treated With Preservative [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

All Farm Timber Should Be Treated With Preservative

By GEO.M.HUNT

1 Chemist I tn Ferest Products.

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.

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

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 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—-

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

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

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-

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.

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

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

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

Method of Piling Posts to Season.

Seasoning Against a Stump.

Experimental Outfit Heated by Steam.

Creosote Heater for Brush Treating.