250 A NEW KIND OF CANAL. [Feb. 



of creosote. It is essential that the sleepers be thoroughly dried, 

 and that they immediately pass from the drying stove to the 

 injecting cylinder, as only in such circumstances can the liquid 

 enter the wood vessels of the most refractory oak. The drying in 

 the atmosphere should not be too long prolonged ; and the use 

 of the stove appears to remove the last traces of moisture. Wlien 

 too many logs are placed in the cylinder, the creosoting becomes 

 unequal. The work has been done more satisfactorily by the 

 company on its own account than when it was formerly given out 

 to contractors. 



In view of an increased use of various woods, more timber- 

 preserving experiments on different varieties appear called for, — 

 specially in relation to fences, wooden houses, and the like. In 

 respect of freedom from lightning-stroke to which wire fences are 

 so liable, creosoted wood fences claim attention from agriculturists 

 and foresters. Messrs. Armstrong, Addison, & Co. give more than 

 one instance where cattle and horses killed by lightning were 

 found \v\n" close to wire fences. 



A NEW KIND OF CANAL. 



IF the railway companies persevere in the imposition of higher 

 rates of carriage, landowners here may see it needful to adopt 

 those new triangular wooden canals now used in Colorado and 

 its neighbouring territories for the transport of timber logs. They 

 afford a depth of three feet of water, and guards are placed every 

 two miles or so to prevent blocks. In one such canal, extending 

 for about fifty miles, the way has hardly been seriously blocked 

 during the three years it has been in operation. 



M. HiVET has been appointed to the Chair of Sylviculture in the 

 Agronomic Institute at Paris. 



