292 



Seasoninsr Wood. 



Vol. IV. 



times, the sure result of unhappy domestic 

 relations at home. 



Thus I have tried to show that the farmer 

 may labour under " a suspension," and conse- 

 quent " pressure," far more detrimental to his 

 interests, social and pecuniary, than that so 

 much discussed in the community, and under 

 which he cannot expect to prosper, — but re- 

 lieved of. which, he may flourish, be happy 

 and prosperous, notwithstanding " Davy P," 

 should sign the " resumption bill" to-morrow. 

 1 must stop for the present, and continue 

 again when I shall have more leisure, as \ 

 wish this question to have a hearing as well 

 as other subjects, for if we cannot bring about 

 an " early resumption" of aflectionate regard 

 among those particularly concerned, it would 

 be prudent for all those to go for " suspen- 

 sion" who are in honesty compelled to sub- 

 scribe themselves bachelors. 



One of the Oldest Kind. 



Chester county, Pa., March, 1840. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Sir, — Permit me to call your attention to 

 the following interesting remarks on the 

 seasoning of wood — they contain the most 

 valuable information, based upon purely sci- 

 entific principles. Your subscriber, 



j^ John Redmond. 



Montgomery county, 5th April, 1840. 



" Wood, when seasoned by the air, is left 

 in the same state as when seasoned by wa- 

 ter, which is, with the loss of its sap or juices, 

 these being washed or evaporated away : and 

 this is sooner effected by water than by air. 

 The wood then, only consists of its fibrous 

 and solid parts, which are considerably con- 

 centrated by being dried ; yet the mass is 

 not without numerous interstices or cells, 

 from whence the sap has been expelled by 

 the air or water, and in dry weather these 

 contain little else than dry air ; but in moist 

 weather, they become charged with humidity 

 from the atm.osphere, to such a degree at 

 times as to swell and even burst the boards 

 so seasoned. Now, the shrinking and swell- 

 ing of boards happen according as moisture 

 is absent or present; but if seasoned wood 

 can be defended from the impressions of wa- 

 ter, it never will swell. I effected this while 

 painting a landscape on seasoned poplar, 

 which warped or became straight according 

 as were the changes in the state of the at- 

 mosphere, by covering the back, sides and 

 ends with painter's drying oil, at a time when 

 the board was straight, and it never after- 

 wards warped. 



Equal parts of rosin, turpentine and bees 

 wax were melted together, well skimmed, 

 and with a brusli laid boiling hot on a board 

 six feet long and eighteen inches wide, which 

 was then kept in water nineteen months, 



without having imbibed any water, or having 

 its coat of cement damaged. 



Wood seasoned quickly by fire whilst 

 green or full of sap, does not afterwards im- 

 bibe water, as air and water seasoned wood 

 does, because, as it seems, the sap is inspis- 

 soted by the sudden heat, so as to fill, or 

 mostly to fill up the interstices, and being so 

 fixed and hardened, it excludes the water; 

 and the sap thus cured or cooked, is prevent- 

 ed fi-om fermenting, and thus rotting the in- 

 side of the wood, and from flying off in va- 

 pour. 



A pair of cart wheels, soon as made, were 

 •thickly covered with tar, and set up, resting 

 against the side of a house for a year or two 

 — when put to use, the fellows broke, and 

 showed a sound external surface, all the rest 

 being a dark, rotten, coarse powder. Here 

 the unseasoned wood, being coated over, so 

 as to obstruct the sap from evaporating, it 

 fermented, it is presumed, and rotted the in- 

 side of the solid parts of the timber; the shell, 

 or outside having been dried and seasoned, 

 and lost its sap before the tar was applied, 

 remained sound. 



1 remember once sleeping in a room of a 

 one story house lately built by Dr. Wharfield, 

 of Elkridge, Maryland ; in the morning I 

 could not but admire the wainscot and ceil- 

 ing of the room, which were of poplar boards, 

 in which the joints could not easily be disco- 

 vered ; the work was not painted, and I sup- 

 posed the boards must have been seasoning 

 for many years in a tobacco house. The 

 doctor pointed to two lengthy pits on the 

 side of a hill, and said, the trees were felled 

 and cut into logs, which were immediately 

 hauled to the pits, over one of wJiich a log at 

 a time was sawed into boards, and immedi- 

 ately, while full of sap, a fire was made, 

 and kept burning under them, until the boards 

 were perfectly cured ; some of the wainscot 

 being put up with these boards, within two 

 weeks of its having been in the growing 

 tree : the pits were alternately employed in 

 sawing the logs and firing the stocks. 



Recommending to a ship-carpenter the 

 trimming timber roughly in the woods, and 

 thus seasoning the pieces by fire, he object- 

 ed, because it would render the timber hard 

 to cut and work — perhaps too, some might 

 think it would render the timber too durable ; 

 it may, however, some day be thought pro- 

 per to contract for its being so .seasoned, es- 

 pecially for national ships." — Bordley. 



P. S. From the above, we learn the neces- 

 sity of dissipating, thoroughly, by the action 

 of fire, or some other means, every portion of 

 the sap, before covering the wood with any 

 body, that would prevent the evaporation of 

 such, should any be left remaining — a con- 

 sideration of the utmost importance. J. R. 



