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man worked the piles out of the raft up to the driver, he drove dogs 

 into the piles at five different points in their length. It has been a 

 common sight to see rafts of creosoted piling dogged diagonally across, 

 each pile being permanently damaged, as the holes made by the dogs 

 are rarely plugged. The dog is by far the worst enemy of creosoted 

 piling, as is definitely shown, it is believed for the first time, in the 

 service record report of the Board of State Harbor Commissioners 

 which has been presented in this report. Their use should be uncon- 

 ditionally prohibited, except within specified distances of either end 

 which will allow ample margin to protect the water section of the pile. 

 When creosoted piles are prepared for towing considerable distance, 

 boring and reeving should be the only method of fastening allowed. 

 The ax, the pike pole and the peavie also cause much damage. The 

 holes left by sinking an ax in the piling, as is frequently done in 

 handling, are much like those caused by the dog, and are particularly 

 dangerous. The use of pike poles and peavies should only be per- 

 mitted when their points are blunted. The use of boat hooks dur- 

 ing inspections by row boat or raft is also a source of considerable 

 damage to treated piles in place, and should be prohibited. 



Construction 



Driving Creosoted Piling. Again it is necessary to take precau- 

 tions against the puncturing of the protective shell with pike poles, 

 peavies, axes, etc. Unfortunately men handling creosoted lumber and 

 piling do not appreciate the necessity for preserving the protective 

 shell- Eternal vigilance is the price of a good job in this respect. 



One of the most important duties of the pile-driving crew is to 

 drive the piles without puncturing the protective shell. There is al- 

 ways danger of checking the piling urier the hammer. In using a 

 steam hammer it is well to use piles of a minimum butt diameter of 

 14 inches. This permits the pile to be headed, trimming off all creo- 

 soted material so that the plate upon which the plunger strikes rests 

 entirely on untreated wood and is not so likely to cause checking. On 

 rocky bottoms, where there is little or no mud, great care must be 

 taken not to spit the pile (Plate 10). This can be done by avoiding 

 hard driving, and by tne use of various types of steel shoes and plates. 



Cutting Off Piles. Creosoted piling should not be cut off below 

 high water line, thus exposing untreated wood to attack by borers, if 

 it can be avoided. Even tide slopping where piling is cut near to high 

 water level, may permit Limnoria attack, if water can settle where it 

 does not run off (Plate 11, Fig. 1). Furthermore, decay frequently oc- 

 curs in the untreated interior of piles when they are cut off at any level 

 above high water. Whenever piles are cut off, therefore, the untreated 

 wood should be protected by thoroughly painting the top of the cut-off 

 portion with hot creosote. Above the water line, a further coating of 



