Proceedixgs of the Farmees' Club. 453 



process," they will not only not decay, but, being saturated witli 

 creosote, they will have the effect of repelling adl insects. But there 

 is still another use for this invention of Kobbins' in which the farmer 

 is deeply interested. The effect of the vapors of coal tar upon the 

 hubs and spokes and felloes of wheels is wonderful. Timber may be 

 cut from the forest on one day and on the next turned into hubs and 

 spokes, and after a few hours of treatment can be fashioned into a 

 wheel. There being no shrinking, the joints will all fit. The spokes 

 will be strengthened, and- the hubs will never shrink or swell, and 

 consequently will never check in the slightest. The farmers cannot 

 fail to appreciate the value of a process susceptible of such universal 

 application, and by machinery, simple and inexpensive, which will 

 not only season wood and lumber in a few hours, but also give it 

 additional strength, and at the same time prime it and preserve it 

 from mould and decay, and from destruction by insects. It has been 

 suggested by a practical farmer that, as carbolic acid destroys the 

 cause of putrification, and has been used with great success in Eng- 

 land, Belgium and Holland, during the prevalence of cholera and of 

 the cattle plague, it would be W'ell to have all the wood work of 

 stables and barns saturated with this substance. 



He also suggests the use of blocks of wood similar to those employed 

 in the Mcholson pavement, for laying the floors of stalls for cattle 

 and horses, and to have those blocks treated by the " Eobbin's pro- 

 cess," and thoroughly saturated with carbolic acid. This substance 

 would not only preserve the flooring thus laid, but have a tendency 

 to keep off' diseases and drive away the flies. 



Mr. J. B. Lyman. — The gentleman has made the operation of his 

 process quite clear. IIn"© doubt it is of much value in the mechanic 

 arts, but I would inquire of the gentleman just how the farmer is to 

 be benefited by it. 



Reply. — A chamber and retort can be erected at a cost of $600, 

 which would do all the wood preserving for a neighborhood. The 

 cost of treating a post would be five cents, and the duration of the 

 post would be two or three or four times as long. Tools thus treated 

 would want no paint and require no care or housing. Wagon and 

 cart wdieels would never check or rot, and shingles thus treated would 

 be as durable as slate, and very much cheaper and more conveniently 

 applied. 



