TIME TO OUT TIMBER. 69 
CHAPTER IX. 
TIME TO CUT TIMBER. 
Tr is not to be supposed that the intelligent farmer who 
may at any time be in want of a stake for his sled or 
grapevine will wait until some particular season before 
he cuts it; neither will he consult some old-time almanac 
to learn whether the sign is right, or the moon is of 
the proper age—for such superstition belongs to the past, 
as the moon has not the influence on vegetation that our 
grandfathers believed in their time. There are, however, 
certain seasons in which it is more convenient to cut tim- 
ber than in others. 
Many persons assert that if a tree is cut in October or 
November, the wood will be much more durable than if 
cut in April or May. Under some circumstances this may 
be true; in others, it is not. In the spring the sap is ina 
fluid state, and the outer portions of the tree contain more 
water than in autumn, consequently if cut at this time, and 
no opportunity given it to get rid of this excess of moisture, 
it will decay more rapidly than if cut when comparatively 
dry. The bark is also soft at this time, allowing those in- 
sects which deposit their egos that produce the various 
worms—larvex—a better opportunity for doing so. Every 
farmer will have observed that his Hickory and some 
other kinds of wood will be infested with worms and be- 
