28 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



iit or above the snow line on mountains, or in tlie far north. It 

 requires about 600 years for such a tree to reach a Jianieter of one 

 foot. 



The cellular structure of the La Brae redwood is very siniihir to tli;it 

 of the modern tree, but the cells of the former are much smaller. Tlio 

 Micomiianying drawing shows the two woods side by side. The right 

 half is redwood from the region north of San Francisco; the left 

 half is the redwood from La Brae. The cells of the latter are about 

 une-tcnth the size of the modern wood. Their actual size may be 

 judged from the fact that several million of them could be i)ackcd in 

 the space of a cubic inch. 



The drawing shows a radial section — cut from the heart toward the 

 bark. Though the ancient wood is amber-colored, the thin- shaving 

 shown in the drawing is so transparent that objects may be seen 

 through it. as if it were glass; yet the minute pits or holes in the 

 i-ells, through which the sap circulated when the tree was living, are 

 ulcar-cut and distinct. Compare the delicate texture of the La Brae 

 wood with that of redwood, as the illustration shows them side by side. 

 Redwood is exceedingly fine gi'ained, yet when it is compared with 

 the ancient specimen, it looks like carpet alongside of lace. 



The wood is not petrified, as Arizona's prehistoric logs are; nor 

 carbonized, as most woods are which are found in lignite beds; but it 

 is as fresh and natural as if it had grown a few years ago. It is a 

 sample of perfect wood preservation. The cells, when highly magnified 

 and seen in cross section, show that a slight compression has taken 

 place, which is not surprising in view of their being weighted down 

 by tons of asphaltum for half a million years. The effect of the com- 

 j)ression is seen in the slightly rhombic instead of squarish contour 

 of the cells in cross section. However, the resin cells, bordered pits, 

 and even the tori (little trap doors which opened and closed the 

 perforations of the cell walls) are perfectly preserved. 



Chemical forces have not been wholly idle during the vast ages 

 during which the sequoia log lay in the bottom of the asphaltum pit. 

 This work was done inside the cavities of the "food" cells — those in 

 which the tree's surplus of food was stored. Their contents have 

 been chemically changed, as is evident in a considerable density and 

 darkness of color in the contained material. Change is apparent 

 also in the failure of the wood to respond to chemical tests to which 

 the modern sequoia wood responded readily. The test for tannin is 

 one. 



Globules of resin are visible in the vertical wood parenchyma or 

 resin cells. This proves the wonderfully enduring properties of this 

 resin. It has been soaked in asphaltum during hundreds of thousands 

 of years, and remains unchanged, or only slightly changed. 



The wood seems to have about the hardness of California redwood 

 of the present time. In that remote period sequoia grew 400 miles 

 farther south than any grows now. Its presense in southern Cali- 

 fornia, which is now a region of little rain, is proof of profounil 

 climatic changes since then, because sequoias belong in a damp, cool 

 climate, wholly different from the present climate of .southern Cali- 

 fornia. 



The most ints-resting feature of all remains for nicntuin. It is 

 i-onnected with the wood's preservation. Of cdiu-M', timlier that is 

 sluit away from air cannot decay, and the most remarkable thing is 

 not the fact that the wood was preserved, but in what the microscope 

 reveals inside the cells. The tree was apparently alj-eady dead, and 

 decay had attacked it before it was buried in the asphaltum. The 

 evidences of this are the threads of fungus visible within the cells. 

 Fungus is the agent, the cause, of wood decay. The microscoiie re- 

 veals these minute threads, which are as small as spider webs. They 

 are seen in the position in which they penetrated wall after wall of 

 the cells, working their insinuating way through . the w-ood. Their 

 activities came to an abrupt end. This may be presumed to have hap- 

 pened when the log sank in the tar-like substance and took its place 

 among the skeletons in the bone pit where modern explorers have 

 unearthed them. 



During the unmeasured ages which have passed since then, the 

 delicate fungus threads have been preserved so perfectly that they 

 seem to have ceased their activities only an hour ago. During that 

 time stupendous changes have occurred on the face of the earth. Tee 



from the north descended thousands of miles, "grinding like the 

 mills of Ciod, " crushing mountains into fragments, filling valleys,, 

 thanging the courses of rivers, making and destroying lakes, shearing 

 the summits from peaks, and excavating to the foundation rocks of 

 the continent. Whole races of animals have been swept away. Forests 

 were destroyed, and have crept back inch by inch during unrecorded 

 time. Climates have changed and seasons have shifted. Following 

 all this came the transformations due to man's presence since history 

 began. Yet, untouched by any change during that vast time, the 

 delicate threads of fungus — so delicate that a breath would break 

 them — have lain at rest, among the fibers of the wood which was 

 equally well preserved, to be brought to light again after five hundred 

 thousand years, to give man a glimpse into nature's laboratory, and 

 a hint of the matchless perfection of her work. 



Further Evidence Wanted 



It is claimed for Dr. Jfartin Kleinstueck of Germany that he 

 has discovered a method of coloring wood in a few hours while 

 the tree is still growing. The process is not minutely described; 

 but the explanation offered is that a dye is fed to the tree's 

 roots and is carried to all parts of the trunk, limbs and even the 

 leaves in a single day, and that the color so imported is perma- 

 nent. 



In the absence of further piroof that this can be done it is 

 well to be slow about believing it. There is nothing new in the 

 mere fact that coloring matter can be introduced through the 

 roots of certain plants, and that the flowers, leaves and other 

 fibres will change color. Florists have long turned the trick to 

 their profit; but in their case the stem and foliage so colored are 

 living tissue. Sap circulates through all parts and carries the dye 

 with it. 



The coloring of the wood of a tree is a different proposition. 

 It might work so far as the leaves and sapwood are concerned, 

 though even that is doubtful in case of a large tree. It is not 

 explained in what ijianner and through what channels the coloring 

 matter is to reach the heartwood. That part of the trunk is dead 

 to all intents and purposes. Sap does not circulate through it. 

 The water contained in the fibers is practically stagnant. What 

 movement it has is exceedingly slow and irregular. It is not 

 apparent, therefore, how dyes entering through the tree's roots 

 can find their way to the heartwood in the short space of one day 

 or even of hundreds of days. Of course if it has been done, the 

 fact can be accepted and theories must yield; but until it has 

 been demonstrated it is safe to remain a disbeliever. 



The claim does not stop with the living tree, but it is asserted 

 that coloring matter may be injected into logs and will penetrate 

 to every part in a few days. Another doubt is due here. Shavings 

 and thin jiieccs of wood may be so colored; but difficulties in- 

 crease in geometrical ratio as the pieces increase in size, and 

 when they attain log dimensions it is practically impossible to 

 force the liquid to the center within a brief period, unless a 

 method has been discovered greatly superior to anything yet put 

 in practice by timber treating engineers. Their great problem is 

 to secure penetrations for the fluids intended to preserve wood. 

 Umlcr pressure of a hundred pounds per square inch of surface 

 a In;; as small as a railroad tie will not receive oil to its center, 

 umler ordinary conditions of treatment. A pressure of a hundred 

 pounds per inch, during four or five hours, may give a penetration 

 of less than one inch. Much depends on the woods. Some are 

 more easily penertated than others. 



Dr. Kleinstueck promises to write a book on the subject of 

 coloring woods by his process. If he has accomplished what is 

 claimed he has something valuable, but it is as well to wait a 

 while before becoming excited. 



The well balanced business man is the one who keeps the right 

 proportion of horse sense and science in his working mixture. 



We profess to learn by mistakes, but it is the other fellow's 

 mistake we prefer to learn by while it is our own that would really 

 teach us the most. 



