misci-:lla xeo us. 555 



fst, easiest and therefore the best method seems to be to charge the wood with 

 crude petroleum. Pine (if seasoned), for example, is made almost waterproof 

 by saturating it with this simple material, and, therefore, made much more 

 lasting. Crude petroleum is very cheap, and maybe applied with a brush until 

 the wood will soak up no more. In the application care should be taken to 

 avoid accidents by fire, and not approach the work with a flame until it is dry. 

 An application of petroleum is especially valuable to much exposed woodwork." 



Bemarks.—For fence posts, it is well known to be important to place the 

 butt end of the timber upwards, from the greater diificulty that water finds in 

 ascending against the natural course of sap, in the pores. This done, then, and 

 the posts painted with the crude petroleum, or by the charring and painting 

 with the coal tar, it would appear they should become almost everlasting; and 

 why our railroad men do not try this on sections of their ties, is almost unac- 

 countable. With the great destruction of our forests, yearly, for this and all 

 other purposes for which timber is used, must soon compel them to resort to 

 this practice, else to be compelled to use iron or steel ties, at a much greater 

 expense. Of course this is a free country, and they have a right to use un- 

 painted and unprotected timber, so long as they can buy it; still, the painting 

 with the petroleum would be far cheaper than such constant changing, as is 

 now the necessary custom Were not only the whole of the posts, but also 

 fence boards, petroleumed thoroughly, it would pay big. Try it a few times, 

 as the fellow said about cedar rails, they would last a thousand years, for he 

 had tried it several times! Of course this man's disregard to truth was very 

 great; but not so great as these railroad men and timber speculators disregard 

 to the destruction of our forests. In some parts of Europe, iron ties have 

 already been tested, hence correct information could easily be obtained upon 

 this important subject. Probably, in the United States, with the improvements 

 in the manufacture of steel, this would take the place of iron for ties; but the 

 importance of protecting fence posts is too great to be so generally neglected 

 as it is. 



3. Fence Posts, the Importance of Seasoning, etc.— An experi- 

 mental writer upon this subject very sensibly says: "To have a fence that will 

 last we must have good posts, for that is the part that gives out first by rotting 

 off at the surface of the soil. Then the fence has to come down, new posts be 

 set, and the boards replaced. Sixteen years ago I experimented with fences, 

 and find seasoned oak posts, oiled and then tarred with boiling coal tar, last the 

 longest. I took green posts that were sawed 5 inches square at one end and 

 2 by 5 inches at the other, and 7 feet long. I tarred half as many as would 

 build my fence, and the other half I put into the ground green with nothing 

 done to them. In 5 years after, the tarred posts were nothing but a shell under 

 the ground, all the inside being decayed. Some of the other posts were rotted 

 off, and some were about half rotten. Two years after, I built another fence, 

 with seasoned oak posts, same size as the first, giving them all a good coat of 

 oil, and in a few days after tarred them, as I did before, with coal tar, heated 

 In a can made for the purpose, 4 feet deep and large enough to hold 4 posts set 

 <m end. I left them in the boiling tar for about 10 minutes, then took them out 



