Wood Preserving Department 



By E. a. Sterling 

 The Modern Application of Wood Preserving Methods Various Treatments and the Use of Treated Woods 



SINCE the September issue of the American For- 

 estry gives special attention to yellow pine, it 

 may be stated that this wood has been more ex- 

 tensively treated against decay than any other. In 1914 

 10,600,000 yellow pine railroad ties were treated out of a 

 total of 44,000,000, the only wood used to a great extent 

 being oak. For construction timbers of all kinds, particu- 

 larly bridges, trestles, and marine work treated yellow 

 pine leads the list with Douglas fir second. 



New uses for treated yellow pine are being developed, 

 with the result that the user gets better service and the 

 producer is able to market the lower grades and utilize 

 all parts of the tree more closely. It remains to extend 

 a more general knowledge of the possibilities of wood 

 preservation to the smaller consumers. Railroads and 

 other large corporations are at least partially awake to 

 the possibilities, but the home builder, the farmer and the 

 head of small companies has not been educated, nor in- 

 formed, as to what treated timber will do for him, nor 

 where nor how it can be obtained. In fact it is difficult 

 to make retail distribution of treated lumber at the pres- 

 ent time because the user doesn't know what he wants, 

 and the retail yard man doesn't carry it in stock, and the 

 big treating plants and lumber manufacturing companies 

 have not developed this class of trade. It is in keeping 

 v/ith the possibilities of yellow pine for treatment that 

 the Southern Pine Association and some of the manu- 

 facturers are vigorously taking up the matter. 



CLOSELY related to the preservative treatment 

 of wood against decay by creosote or zinc chlo' 

 ride is the fireproofing of wood. Large timbers 

 stand up well under a severe fire, and the character of 

 contents rather than the building material determines 

 the fire hazard. While sprinkler systems are considered 

 the best protection in any type of building, the fact re- 

 mains that fire retardants are desirable under certain con- 

 ditions. Realizing this condition, the National Fire Pro- 

 tective Association has recently published an excellent 

 report on "The Use of Wood in Building Construction," 

 which contains results of experiments with various fire 

 retardant materials, including shingle stains, paint, and 

 various mineral salts. It is impossible to summarize this 

 report other than it shows that there is very little differ- 

 ence in the inflammability of various kinds of untreated 

 wood, and that ammonium salts and sodium borate gave 

 more satisfactory results than other chemicals, and that 

 paint is a fire retardent. Those interested in the subject 

 can obtain further information or copies of the report by 

 writing to the National Fire Protective Association, Bos- 

 ton, Mass. 



CREOSOTED wood block pavements are rapidly 

 becoming recognized as the most satisfactory of 

 all street paving material. They are noiseless, 

 durable, sanitary, and if properly treated and laid are 

 distinctly economical. The failures in the past which 

 have in some cases prejudiced cities against wood blocks 

 have been corrected, so that there is no excuse 

 now for the existence of any wood block pavement 

 which doesn't meet all of the modern requirements of 

 service. The improvements in the methods of treatment 

 and laying are largely the result of organized activity by 

 various associations representing either the lumber inter- 

 ests or wood preserving plants. 



The latest and strongest organization to take up the 

 matter is the Southern Pine Association of New Orleans. 

 Their publications on Creosoted Wood Block Pavements 

 show irrefutably through the statements of civil engi- 

 neers, paving experts, street commissioners and citizens' 

 leagues, backed further by the opinions of government 

 experts, that creosoted wood block is the one ideal pave- 

 ment. All interested in the subject should obtain the 

 bulletins of this organization. Another factor leading 

 towards greater efiiciency in the handling of this whole 

 subject is the cooperation recently arranged between the 

 Southern Pine Association and organized manufacturers 

 of creosoted wood block. 



MUNICIPAL progress in creosoted wood block 

 paving work is indicated by a few examples of 

 recent activity in various cities. Memphis, Tenn., 

 is to pave Main Street and part of Front Street for a 

 total distance of 3,643 feet; Cincinnati has just finished 

 putting down 11,000 square yards of creosoted pine block 

 pavement. The blocks in the first case replace cobble- 

 stone and asphalt, and in the second, granite blocks. 

 The city of Philadelphia in July awarded contracts for 

 wood block paving on three streets, two of them carry- 

 ing some of the heaviest traffic in the city. In New 

 England at a recent outing of the Cambridge. Mass., 

 Pioard of Trade a vote of the 300 members present 

 showed 270 in favor of wood blocks. On the Pacific 

 coast, where the use of wood blocks is not as thoroughly 

 established as in the east, experimental sections are being 

 laid in many of the cities. In Seattle a contract has been 

 let for wood block pavement on Twelfth Avenue, and 

 through the activity of the West Coast Lumber Manu- 

 facturers' Association and the local creosoting interests 

 the efficiency of this form of pavement is being demon- 

 strated. In Florida there is a growing realization that 

 the local material, on which much of the prosperity of 

 the state depends, is the best available for street and 



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