50 
readily admits of treatment by antiseptics, but it must be thoroughly 
done 5 such, a treatment that practically will keep every fiber of the 
wood dry ; or, if not thus protected, the antiseptic must be of sufficient 
strength to prevent any fermentation from being set up. A portion of 
the wood left unprotected and put in the ground would still be liable 
to attacks, and decay would soon follow in other parts. Mere exterior 
protection is one of the best ways to start internal decay, the so called 
"dry-rot," as timber does riot decay unless moisture is present. We 
have an abundance of proof that Hemlock ties well treated will last 
for fifteen or twenty years. I have a piece of Hemlock wood which 
was "Kyanized" in 1847, and has been in the ground until this year, 
18S<>, and is generally sound. The experience of railroad companies 
in using treated Hemlock ties is so extended in this country that the 
efficacy of such a plan no longer admits of doubt as to its practicabil- 
ity or expediency. On the Chicago, Eock Island and Pacific Eailroad 
some " Burnettized" Hemlock and Tamarack ties were put in the road- 
bed in 1866, and in 1882, after sixteen years of service under heavy 
traffic near Chicago, about 75 per cent, of them were still in the track, 
and the rails not cutting into them any more than they would into 
AVkite Oak ties. Several other roads have had similar results. Since 
1881 the Eastern Eailroad, of Massachusetts, has "Kyanized" (by a 
simple bath in a 1-per cent, solution of an antiseptic) many thousand 
Hemlock ties, at a reported cost of 11 to 12 cents per tie, and they are 
employing the process at the present time. Treating Hemlock by either 
of the processes mentioned hardens the fiber of the wood. Effective 
creosoting preserves the timber, but does not harden the fiber as do 
other treatments. Charring the exterior of Hemlock, as is done for 
some woods in France, would be but a partial protection, as fermenta- 
tion might still take place internally.* 
The fungi that attack this wood are numerous, and the following is a 
list of those so far observed : 
* Since writing the above I Lave obtained a piece of one of the ties "Kyanized" by 
the Eastern Eailroad Company, put.down in 1831 and taken up in the fall of 1886 ; 
ifc is perfectly sound, and, while under very heavy traffic, the wood is not cut into 
over three eighths of an inch under the rail. 
FUNGI. 
Agaricus meleus, Yahl. 
Agaricus campanella, Batsch 
Agaricus porrigens, Pers. 
Agaricus succosus, Pk. 
Agaricus rugosodiscus, Pk. 
Agaricus epipterygluSj Scop. 
Paxillus atrotomentosus, Fr. 
Lenzites sepearia, Fr. 
Stereum radiatum, Pk. 
Pol up or us lueidus, Fr. 
Polyporus benzoi?ius, Fr. 
Pol i/})o r us epileucus, Fr. 
Polyporus Vaillantii, Fr 
Polyporus subacidus, Pk. 
Polyporus medullapanis, Fr. 
Polyporus pincola, Fr. 
Polyporus abietinus, Fr. 
Polyporus borealis, Fr. 
