174 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



in others a post may be driven clear down with comparatively 

 few blows. In such places driving posts is preferable to setting 

 them in holes which have been dug. 



CHARRING POSTS, 



230. With a view to render them more durable, has long been 

 commended by men who ought to pass for good authority on 

 such subjects ; but the beginner may rest assured that the prac 

 tice is by no means a good one, as a post will last longer when 

 not charred than when charred ; and this is particularly true of 

 green timber. I am fully persuaded, that if posts of green tim 

 ber be charred it hastens their decay. Charcoal, we all know, is 

 very durable in the ground, but posts which have been charred 

 are not all converted into charcoal. Simply a small portion of 

 the outside, by being charred, is rendered more durable. But 

 this does not exclude moisture from the wood inside or beneath 

 the charred portion. There is a thin portion of wood just be 

 tween that which has been converted into coal and the remainder 

 of the post which has not been affected by the fire, which has 

 been heated almost to a burning point, which will quickly decay 

 when the whole charred portion will afford no more protection 

 from the influences of the weather than so much loose charcoal 

 placed around a post. Posts are charred usually around the part 

 that will come, after they have been set, just at the surface of 

 the ground, because posts always decay first near that point ; and 

 if that part could be rendered as durable by any artificial means 

 as the other portions of the posts, they would last as long as we 

 could desire. When posts are charred they are almost always 

 burned too much. It is necessary to form only a thin coal on 

 the outer surface, which is just as efficacious as if coal an inch 

 thick were formed around the posts. 



231. In order to place the matter beyond a doubt, let two 

 posts be taken from the same log, and from the same portion of 

 the log, and let them be seasoned for one year ; and then let one 

 be charred, and both of them set in the ground where the soil 



