175 



and moisture are as nearly equal as they can be, and if the 

 charred post outlasts the uncharred one, the result will be in 

 favor of charring them. 



STEEPING FENCE POSTS 



232. In different kinds of antiseptic liquid, for the purpose of 

 rendering them more durable, has been often practised with very 

 good success. The process has been denominated Kyanizing and 

 Burnettizing timber, from the names of the inventors. Kyan 

 used corrosive sublimate, and Burnett used chloride of zinc. A 

 tank or vat is prepared, or a molasses hogshead will subserve a 

 good purpose, and about one measure and a half of the dry 

 chloride of zinc to about one hundred measures of water are 

 put in the tank and well stirred together, when the posts are set 

 in this liquid, and allowed to remain ten or fifteen days, or until 

 they become thoroughly saturated with the liquid. They should 

 then be taken out, and allowed to dry, under cover, until they 

 are entirely dry. It is necessary to saturate only that part of the 

 posts which is set in the ground, and a few inches above the sur 

 face of the ground. 



233. Dr. Boucherie, of Paris, France, has used for this pur 

 pose about one pound of sulphate of copper to one hundred 

 pounds of water. It is contended that timber thus treated is 

 rendered more firm, and will endure three times longer than if it 

 had not been submitted to the process of steeping it in the liquor 

 of an antiseptic character. In some localities there are compa 

 nies having suitable apparatus for impregnating large quantities 

 of wood with an antiseptic liquid, for bridges, ships, &c., and it 

 is considered to be a process which pays exceedingly well. 



234. The practice of boring a hole in posts near the surface of 

 the ground, and filling it with common salt, is but a modification 

 of steeping. The salt soon becomes dissolved, and is absorbed 

 by the wood, and thus preserves a small portion of the post for 

 a short time. All these processes which have been mentioned 

 are chemical processes of preserving wood. There are mechani 

 cal modes of preserving posts, of which I will mention but one, 



8 



