PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 513 



This oil, which could be procured for five cents a gallon, he 

 thought could be used advantageously. When using timber he 

 has his poles cut and put into a pond of water in spring ; about 

 fall they begin to sink, and by the time that winter sets in they 

 have all sunk. He then piles it up until properly seasoned, and 

 afterwards plants them upper end down, the butt being upper- 

 most. Wood so used has lasted for fourteen years. He thought 

 that the timber now coming from the West was not so durable 

 as it used to be. 



Mr. Koch. — Trees when cut retain their sap ; getting rid of 

 this sap is the best mode that could be adopted for its preserva- 

 tion. 



Mr. Seely thought it unfortunate that the president was not 

 present at the meeting, as he could tell how soon railroad wood 

 Avould wear out. Wood is precisely the same as cotton in com- 

 position. When you put it into a gun it comes out cotton in 

 composition. The useful part of wood is not changeable. It is 

 the sap which creates a fermentation that destroys the wood. 

 Get shut of this sap and you preserve the wood. The matter 

 which causes the fermentation is like the white of an egg. Albu- 

 men is easily decomposed. Take a piece of mint and how do 

 you preserve it ? We dry it. Varnish up wood so that the 

 water will not get in, and you will preserve it. Roast eggs or 

 meat and you preserve them, as you coagulate the album. Put 

 a ham over a fire of chips — the chips producing creosote, and 

 you preserve it. The same' rule applies to wood. 



A member inquired whether it preserved the wood wet or dry. 



Mr. Seely said either way, so that the smoke got into the 

 wood. Saturate wood with sulphate of soda, and it will answer 

 well as a preservative ; but the expense is a fatal objection to 

 its use. When the fact becomes known that creosote can be 

 purchased for eight cents a gallon — creosote mixed with coal tar 

 is better, as the tar on the outside makes a varnish through 

 which water cannot penetrate — wood can be preserved for twice 

 the length of time. 



Mr. Johnson stated that he had applied creosote to planks, 

 and also to railroad ties ; he had certificates which went to 

 show the superiority of it over anything yet tried. The pro- 

 per course would be to subject them to the product of com- 

 bustion, ancl then immerse the wood in a tank containing a 

 mixture of carbonic acid and creosote oil. In England sulphate 



[Am. Inst.] GG 



