18CS. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



47 



HOW TO PHEVENT THE DECAY OF 

 WOOD, 



HEN using 

 wood for 

 fe n cing, 

 posts, rails, 

 bars, and 

 gates, or 

 for imple- 

 ments, or 

 bu ilding 

 purposes, it 

 is not only 

 important 

 make them 

 endure in order to save an- 

 other set of materials, but 

 also to save the time which it takes to con- 

 struct them. 



When shingles are partially decayed, they 

 hasten the decay of the boards under them, 

 and thus a double loss occurs. There Is, then, 

 not only the loss of shingles to be supplied, 

 but the co.-^t of nails, t-taglng and carpenters' 

 time to be added. And so it is in replacing 

 feni'es 



If, by some cheap contrivance, farmers could 

 make their s-hingles last forty years instead of 

 twenty, and their wooden fences in the same 

 proportion, what a vast saving of labor and 

 lumber would be secured. That they can suc- 

 ceed in effecting a very important saving we 

 have no doubt. In the first place, it can be 

 done by the use of whitewash on buildings 

 and fences, and by other materials on wood 

 that is inserted in the ground. On the roofs 

 of buildings, we sincerely believe that $10, 

 expended for lime, and judiciously applied, 

 would save $500 each ten years in every village 

 in New England. If the shingles are laid, 

 whitewash over them annually, or at least, as 

 often as once in two years. We know of many 

 roofs, on some of which the shingles have been 

 laid 40 years, that are perfectly tight, although 

 the shingles are worn down to less than half 

 their original thickness. In one neighborhood 

 several roofs were covered about the same 

 time with the best white pine, shaved, heart 

 shingles. These were not whitewashed, and 

 have all decayed and been reshiiigled ! One 

 set of buildings was covered with the cheapest 

 sap shingles. They have been whitewashed 

 every other year, and are now flat, tight, and 

 nearly as firm as slate, at the close of fifteen 



j years. Another set, upon which shingles of 



I the same kind were laid eleven years ago and 



I whitewashed, has roofs that are tight and in 



perfect order. The wash upon them is made of 



lime, water and a little salt, and laid on with 



very little care. 



If the shingles are new, dip them into hot 

 whitewash, and lay them as soon as they are 

 dry. Gov. Smith, of New Hampshire, stated 

 in the N. E. Journal, some time since, that 

 he "bought hemlock shingles ybMr;;ee?i years 

 ago, at a cost of $1.50 per M., and treated 

 them in this way, and the roof is tight now, no 

 moss having accumulated on them, while his 

 neighbors in the same time have reshingled 

 where the first quality of pine was used with- 

 out any preparation," Whitewashing roofs 

 not only saves shingles, but is a safeguard 

 against fire. 



A rule for making whitewash, given in the 

 Scientific American, is as follows : — 



Take a clean, water-tight cask and put into 

 it half a bushel of lime. Slack it by pouring 

 water over it boiling hot, and in sufficient 

 quantity to cover it five inches deep, and stir 

 it briskly till thoroughly slackened. When 

 the lime has been slackened , dissolve it in water, 

 and add two pounds of sulphate of zinc and 

 one of common salt. These will cause the 

 wash to harden and prevent its cracking, which 

 gives an unseemly appearance to the work. 

 A beautiful cream color may be given to the 

 wash by adding three pounds of yellow ochre ; 

 or a good pearl or lead color, by the addition 

 of lamp or iron black. For fawn color add 

 four pounds umber, one pound Indian red, 

 and one pound common lamp black. For 

 stone color add /bttr pounds raw umber and 

 two pounds lamp black. When applied to the 

 outside of houses and to fences, it is rendered 

 more durable by adding about a pint of sweet 

 milk to a gallon of wash. 



Some paints are also cheap and exceedingly 

 durable, such as the Venetian red and Span- 

 ish brown. Buildings or fences painted with 

 either of these would scarcely want more than 

 one coat in a life-time. To be sure, they are 

 colors that do not usually please the eye on 

 prominent objects, but are exceedingly durable. 



Some time since a recipe for making a dur- 

 able paint was sent to the **Societe d' En- 

 couragemenf in Paris, which was said to have 

 the hardue'*' '' <*^ '-^iate '■■«rop, f^-x] ^ 



