334 AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS. 
should be halved, or even quartered. It is then piled in the 
seasoning yard in such a manner as to be protected as far as 
possible from the sun and rain. It should be placed where the air 
may circulate freely on all sides, not only of the pile, but of each 
log; bad ventilation is sure to cause rot. (Thurston, of. cit.) If 
stacked in the open air it should be arranged at a considerable 
inclination. (Bale.) It should be sheltered, if possible, from high 
winds. Rankine states that natural seasoning to fit timber for 
carpenters’ work usually occupies about two years; for joiners’ 
work, about four years. 
Hot air seasoning is resorted to where it becomes necessary 
to season wood rapidly. The timber is piled in large chambers or 
ovens. The sap is expelled by a current of hot air having a 
temperature of 121° to 149°* C for logs of hardwood. 
Seasoning by passing the smoke-laden products of combustion 
from the furnace, directly through the pile of timber, has been 
found not only a good method of seasoning, but also to have an 
important and useful preservative effect. (Thurston, op. ci?.) 
McNeile’s process, consisting in exposing the wood to a moderate 
heat in a moist atmosphere charged with the various gases produced 
by the combustion of fuel, is a modification of this. 
Different forms of apparatus for hot-air seasoning are either 
described or figured (or both) in most works on constructive 
materials. Rankine calls this the best method of artificial seasoning. 
It is sometimes convenient to season timber by stacking it 
about the boiler of the engine used to drive machinery. 
Desiccation is useful only for small scantling ; the expense of 
applying it to large timber is very great; moreover, “as wood is one 
of the worst conductors of heat, if this plan be applied to large logs, 
the interior fibres still retain their original bulk, while those near 
the surface have a tendency to shrink, the consequence of which 
would be cracks and splits of more or less depth.” (Tredgold.) 
Desiccated timber should not be exposed to damp before use. 
Mr. Laslett states that during this process ordinary woods lose 
their strength, and coloured woods become pale and wanting in 
lustre. 
* The temperature varies with different authorities, 
