15 



emphatic in his opinion that thorough creosoting is the best 



remedy that has so far been used for this purpose and reports 



that this has been demonstrated both in Europe and in this 



country." 



The biennial reports for 1891-2 contain the contracts for treated 



piles. These were let to the Pacific Improvement Company for 14 Ib. 



and 15 Ib. treatment with creosote and to the Paramne Paint Company 



for coating piles. From this time the biennial reports list contracts 



for both coated and creosoted piles. 



In 1898 the biennial report to Governor Budd contains the follow- 

 ing reference to methods of preservation: 



"The preservation of piles and timber is the one over- 

 shadowing question in the administration of waterfront affairs. 

 In the course of a trial recently, in the Superior Court of San 

 Francisco, involving a consideration of the merits of the var- 

 ious methods of preserving piles, the fact was brought out upon 

 the testimony of three of the foremost civil engineers on this 

 Coast that the methods of pile treatment adopted by this Board 

 will preserve the piles for from twenty to twenty-five years." 

 The methods of treatment referred to were apparently "coating" 

 and "creosoting", described as follows in the report: 



"These patents embrace different forms of artificial cover- 

 ing for piles, while others call for the injection of antiseptics 

 and other chemical matter into the pile itself, which is accom- 

 plished after a degree of porousness is formed in the wood by 

 extraction of the sap and moisture therefrom." 

 Notwithstanding the testimony of the "three foremost civil engin- 

 eers", all of the treated and coated piles of this period failed long be- 

 fore the twenty to twenty-five year period expired. The report of the 

 Chief Engineer in the same biennial report (1898) contains the follow- 

 ing significant paragraph which may account for the unfavorable be- 

 havior of the preservatives: 



"All authorities in writing on the preservation of piles 

 for marine work seem to ignore the existence of the Limnoria. 

 In my opinion, it is much more destructive on this coast than 

 the teredo, and while a pile that has been thoroughly creosoted 

 will resist the teredo even if somewhat checked, the limnoria 

 will find the slightest opening and destroy the pile." 

 That these protections, while not lasting the anticipated period, 



were nevertheless beneficial is attested by the Chief Engineer in the 



Biennial Report of 1900, as follows: 



"With few exceptions, the piling of old structures has been 

 done with coated or creosoted piles, and although the same 



