PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 517 



Mr. Fisher. — Physiologists have stated that we are dying every 

 minute — living and dying at the same time. He thought this 

 might apply to trees. 



Dr. Stevens, in reference to the Canada railroad, said the pro- 

 prietors of it failed on account of the wood they used. It was 

 not firm enough in its fibre to sustain the load. Their experi- 

 ments were entirely confined to the sulphates of copper and iron. 

 Saturating wood with these would answer very well as far as the 

 wood was concerned, but it would be very injurious to the iron. 

 The large trees of California have been very much misrepresented 

 in regard to their age. Dr. Torrey has examined some trees 

 which he found to be 2000 years old. The sap of the tree is 

 simply the material for forming the wood. Red cedar is the most 

 endurable of all timber, and there are some buried in the United 

 States which have existed since the time of Adam. They are 

 taken from a depth of 100 feet below the surface of the earth, 

 and are not petrified. The coast of Jersey, like its politics, is 

 in a state of vacillation. Large forests have been buried in the 

 lands along the Jersey coast which has subsided, and a large pro- 

 portion of our white cedar is brought from these swamps. Oxy- 

 gen is necessary for the combustion of wood. In -Canada there 

 is no bitumination or charring of wood at all practiced. The 

 first sleepers of the Utica and Schenectady railroad were laid of 

 this swamp wood. 



Mr. Stetson inquired how the durability of this buried wood 

 compared with fresh cut wood ? 



Mr. Stevens said it was stated that a red cedar was never 

 known to rot. Kreosote and carbonic acid is one of the best con- 

 servators of wood, and it can be furnished at five cents a gallon. 



The Chairman. — Which of the woods — the hard or the soft — 

 will furnish the greatest amount of pyroligneous acid ? 



Mr. Stevens said a relative of his carried on a distillery for 

 the manufacture of this acid, and he (Mr. Stevens) had the 

 means of becoming acquainted with it. It was found that birch 

 wood made the most of this acid. Some say that birch has no 

 sap, while others contend that it is nearly all sap. 



Chairman. — How about maple ? 



Mr. Stevens. — At certain seasons of the year it makes a great 

 deal. Hickory also does the same. 



Chairman, — Will some gentleman give an account of what is 

 driven out of wood ? 



