682 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



ash, white elm, hard maple, red maple, yellow birch, basswood, iron- 

 wood, blue beech, hickory, and white pine. The posts are treated with 

 hot creosote in three different ways : bushed, that is, the butt only 

 painted with creosote in two coats; the entire post dipped for ten 

 minutes, and last, the post given complete open tank treatment, that 

 is, given a hot bath for an hour, then a cold bath for twenty-two 

 hours, and then another hot bath for an hour. The posts are then 

 set out in an experimental fence and their future conditions carefully 

 noted. Untreated posts are also set out to serve as a cfieck. 



The preservative used is Barrett's Grade I Creosote Oil, which 

 costs 30 cents a gallon. The results of the experiments for the last 

 two years show as follows : Brush treatment, gain per post, 4/5 of a 

 pound, average cost 1 1/3 cents. Dipped, gain per post, 3/5 of a 

 pound, average cost 2 cents. Open tank, gain per post, 4 pounds, 

 average cost, 14 cents. The experiments are to be continued until 

 final conclusions can be drawn and then the result will be published 

 by the university. So far the results indicate that dipping is most 

 satisfactory for species which absorb creosote readily, whereas the 

 open-tank process is necessary for those which resist the oil. 



The experiments show that the species may be listed as follows 

 in the order of their ability to absorb creosote in the open-tank process. 

 The figures after each species indicate the average absorption per 

 cubic foot. 



Absorption Per Cubic Feet 

 Species Pounds of Creosote 



1. Basswood 13. 700 



2. Yellow birch 12. 200 



3. White elm 7.999 



4. Beech 7.486 



5. Red maple 5 . 387 



6. Red oak 5.068 



7. Hard maple 3. 738 



8. Ironwood and blue beech 2.972 



9. White ash 2 . 3 13 



10. Hemlock 0. 774 



Hot water treatment of seeds of poor germinating capacity (espe- 

 cially leguminous) has been experimented with by the Dutch experi- 

 ment station in Java, to find out the most effective treatment. The 

 results showed that with some species (Crotalaria) no advantage came 

 from steeping. With Albizzia the best result was obtained by using 

 water at 60° C, dropping the seed into the water at that temperature 

 and leaving them to cool for three hours. For Pithecolobium hotter 



