304 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
too Ibs., according to its fineness. There is a drying chamber 
in which the spruce used for making this material is dried 
artificially when the demand is so great that it cannot be met 
by wood dried in the open air. There is also in use here a 
system of impregnating wood with sulphate of copper. The 
sulphate is dissolved in water, and the solution is placed at a 
height of 30 feet above the logs to be operated upon. It is 
applied to the logs in the following way:—The log is placed on 
a frame, the butt end being somewhat higher than the thinner 
end. A flat board is placed over the butt of the log, after a 
piece of hempen rope (to prevent leakage) has been laid between 
it and the periphery of the log. The board is firmly fixed to the 
log by means of screw-headed dogs. The liquid is then intro- 
duced by means of a flexible tube into the space between the 
butt and the board, and the solution is carried into and through 
the log to its thinner end by the force of gravitation from the 
elevated reservoir. It will have found its way through within a 
period of from three to ten days. ‘This is proved by applying 
potassium ferro-cyanide to the lower end of the log, which 
shows a reddish brown colour if sulphate of copper be present. 
The natural sap is replaced by the sulphate solution, and the 
wood is impregnated by the copper, whereby its durability is 
increased from seven to twenty-one years. 
The beech is used for firewood, and there are several machines 
used for preparing it. It is cut in the forest into lengths of 2 to 
3 feet, and the pieces are split and piled until they aredry. They 
are then brought into the mill and cut into g-inch lengths, and 
these are again split by machinery into pieces 1 inch in thick- 
ness. They are then driven into hoops which contain about 
+ cwt., and sold, and, when empty, the hoops are returned to 
the factory to be refilled. The larger beech is impregnated and 
sold for sleepers. The spruce is piled after it is impregnated, 
and is disposed of for telegraph and telephone poles. There 
were several machines for making handles for tools, agricultural 
implements, etc., from ash, and these handles, which are beauti- 
fully finished, are turned out with great speed. 
On the 8th June I again examined the manufacturing 
processes, and I was also shown through the office and saw 
the system of book-keeping which is used at present by Herr 
Tuchschmid. It is the neatest and most exhaustive method I 
have ever seen. 
