METHODS OF DETERMINING THE TIME OF THE 

 YEAR AT WHICH TIMBER WAS CUT. 



By Raphael Zon. 



It is generally admitted that the time of the year at which tim- 

 ber is cut has an influence upon the durability of the wood, and 

 that timber cut in winter gives longer service than timber cut in 

 summer. This opinion is based not merely on theoretical con- 

 siderations but also on actual experiences, especially with railroad 

 ties. Ties made from trees which were known to be cut in sum- 

 mer rotted sooner in the ground than ties made of the same species 

 but cut in winter. The reason for this is found in the scantiness 

 of easily decomposed chemical substances in the tissues of trees 

 after the close of the vegetative period. The sap in the tree 

 during winter consists almost entirely of water, and therefore does 

 not offer a favorable medium for the development of micro-or- 

 ganisms. In summer, on the contrary, the sap contains albumi- 

 nous and other chemically unstable substances which under the 

 influence of the high temperature of summer readily ferment and 

 favor the development of decay-producing micro-organisms. 



The few who oppose this view claim that by proper handling of 

 the timber after cutting, wood cut in summer may prove as dur- 

 able as that cut in winter. Since the presence of moisture in the 

 wood more than the chemical composition of the sap favors the 

 starting of decay, they argue that the smaller amount of water in 

 the tree and quicker drying of the wood in summer prevent de- 

 cay. This might be true if the wood could always be dried im- 

 mediately after cutting, but there is no doubt that unless timber 

 cut in summer is at once dried artificially or in the air, it is in- 

 variably less durable than timber cut in winter. That the ad- 

 vantages of winter cutting are fully recognized by the users of 

 wood may be readily inferred from the fact that practically all 

 of the government railroads abroad and some of the railroads in 

 this country, specify in their contracts for ties that the latter shall 

 be of winter cutting. Since however, there is no accurate method 

 for determining with certainty the time of cutting, the inspectors 

 of ties have often been compelled either to make merely a pre- 



