91 



Commenting on this Report. Mr. ('. \V. Shirley. late Kntrineer for Har- 

 bours and Rivers, New Smith \Yalos, who iravo especial attention to the 

 subjeet (if turpentine timber and cobra, wrote to me 



There is one portion which, from long .experience and observation, I must 

 remain at issue with your conclusions. I refer to your conclusions set forth 

 in clause V that the bark will afford protection to the piles. 1 had in my old 

 otlice a bag full of samples of bark and wood cut from turpentine piles under 

 water, showing the worm-holes passing through the bark and into the tinilwr 

 (.sap-wood only) indeed some samples rather indicated that they had a weak- 

 ness for thi' bark-covered portions. It may lie that where the bark is cloxelfi 

 adherent they pass through, but when at all loose they do not. 1 have never 

 yet met with a case when Teredo sinking in one piece of wood has passed out 

 into an adjoining piece even though in close contact for instance, I have seen. 

 dozens of defective planks removed from punts, and never detected a worm 

 passing from the bad one to those adjoining or to the plunks inside. In .'{-inch 

 planking the, caulking would perhaps only go half-way as shown in rough 

 sketch,* having 1-A-inch of wood in close contact. 



T never saw this joint crossed. May it not be the same with the bark if 

 still loose it forms such a joint, while if it is closely adherent the worm may 

 pass ;fs shown by the samples I had in my possession, now all lost I fear. I 

 :.'ver troubled about the bark being kept on after the piles were brought on to 

 the ground and passed. I looked to the bark as one of the means for identify- 

 ing the timber only, and 1 have never yei seen any difference in life between 

 those driven with or without bark. All are equally liable to b;> damaged as 

 far as the sap-wood goes. 



When deciding to use xheuihcd piles I would never think of using turpen- 

 tine. as they invariably run much larger in the girth at the butt for tsayi a 

 40-foot pile than ironbark. as a rule, indeed, quite ."iO per cent, larger. So 

 when sheathing is paid for at Is. (id. per super, foot, the extra price of the 

 timber is soon covered by the saving in sheathing. 



IlKPOUT OX THE DrUABILITY OF T'XSIIKATIIKD TT III MONT INK 

 PILES FOIt WHARF 



During the past three years, while demolishing a number of old wharves in 

 Sydney Harbour to make room for improvements necessitated by the growth 

 of the trade of the port, we have had ample opportunity of ascertaining the 

 value of turpentine piles for wharf construction. Nearly all the old private 

 wharves in Darling Harbour were built of unsheathed turpentine piles of from 

 S inches to 12 inches in diameter. Though the exact dates of erection are not 

 obtainable, it is well known that many of them have been standing from thirty 

 to forty years. They were usually of light, construction, having been built t<> 

 suit a much smaller class of vessels than we find it: necessary to provide for 

 now. Had it not been for the great increase in tonnage of ships in recent 

 years, several of these old wharves might have been repaired and made 

 serviceable for a few years more. Naturally some of the piles drawn were 

 found to be entirely crippled, but an examination showed that these were 

 usually not turpentine, but some other timber. 



We have, in our sample-room in the otlice. four sections cut from piles 

 drawn from Smith's wharf, Miller's Point, which, from outside indications. 

 appeared to be amongst the most damaged of the piles, usually about low- 

 water mark. In three instances, while the sapwood has disappeared, having 

 been destroyed by Lhnn<n'iu tcrcbninx, the timber itself is as sound as the day 

 it went into place. Only one of the three sections has any teredo holes, and 

 that not more than ten small ones, which would not materially weaken the 

 pile. The fourth section, which is completely riddled with holes, is not. tur- 

 pentine. and has been classed as ironbark. It may be added that about SO 

 per cent, of the old turpentine piles, which we have drawn recently after a. 

 service varying up to forty years, have been used over again for various 

 purposes, such as sleepers for cargo-shed floors, repairs to old wharves. Ac. 



* Not reproduced. 



