be determined by time, bul fclie desirable combination for this country would seem t<» 
be the impregnation of the inside of the tie with some metallic salt to poison the 
germs of decaj , and a thin coat of creosote outside to repel the intrusion of moisture. 
'• If the timber is to bo exposed in a comparatively dry situation, as in bridges, a 
trestle, or a fence, the results of this investigation indicate that Ky a nixing is a good 
process to use. It does not seem to impair the strength of the timber as much as 
Burnettizing, and the latter accordingly is not recommended for those parts of struct- 
ures (chords, tics, etc.) which are to bear tensile strains. 
"Kyanizing costs about $6 per 1,000 feet, b. in., and success with it cannot be ex- 
pected unless the work be well done. Caution will need to be observed in carrying 
it on. as corrosive sublimate is a violent poison. 
,l Conditions of success. — Your committee will therefore attempt to state the principal 
conditions to be observed to achieve success, so far as they have been disclosed by this 
investigation. 
"(1) Select the appropriate process, in view of the subsequent intended exposure 
of the timber. 
"(•J) Select the more open-grained, porous, and sappy varieties of wood to operate 
upon. 
''Antiseptics penetrate but little into the dense structure of White Oak, Burr Oak, 
and Yellow or Heart Pine, ami are of doubtful utility for White Pine, Chestnut, or 
Spruce, while they readily impregnate and preserve the following varieties of wood : 
Hemlock, Sweet Gum, Mountain Pine, Loblolly Pine, Black Oat, lied Oak, Gray Oak, 
Water Oak, Beech, Poplar, Ash, Sour Oak, Cottonwood, Maple. 
"The cheap woods, on the contrary, can be made to outlast the best woods in their 
natural state by a thorough artificial preparation. 
•• For railroad ties it will be advisable to select the harder kinds of wood to guard 
them against cutting into by the rails, especially upon curves. Preservation, how- 
ever, materially adds to the natural hardness of timber, and it is found to resist cut- 
ting by the rail, under ordinary traffic, from 12 to 16 years. 
" (4) Extract the sap and water, as far as practicable, before injecting the preserva- 
tive. It is obvious that a Liquid solution cannot be forced in unless there is a place 
for it, and yet most of the failures of valuable methods can be traced to neglect of 
this obvious requirement. Timber must be well seasoned either naturally or artifici- 
ally before the antiseptic is injected, except in the case of the Boucherie process, 
which can only lie applied to freshly cut logs. 
"The Europeans operate, as has been stated, upon timber which has been cut and 
seasoned six months or more, and hence they find little trouble in injecting the so- 
lutions. In this country we must operate chiefly upon green or freshly cut tim- 
ber, and hence must resort to steaming, if we use the pressure method of injection. 
Very good results are acomplished by steaming, but the work must be well done, 
and at such heal and pressure as not to injure the fiber. 
•' (.">) Put in enough of the antiseptic to accomplish the desired result, and make sure 
that its quality and strength are such as neither to injure the fiber of the wood nor 
to leave it unprotected. 
" (0) After the wood is prepared allow it to dry as much as practicable before using.. 
Its durability will be materially increased by getting rid of surplus moisture. 
"(7) Let there be no undue haste in carrying on the work. This is sure to result in 
unsatisfactory preparation. 
"(8) In laying prepared ties or timber in the track protect them from moisture or 
water, as far as practicable, by draining the road-bed. 
" (9) Contract with none but reliable parties. As an inspection subsequent to the 
doing of the work-, short of chemical analysis, does not establish the fact whether it 
has been well done, and the results cannot be detected for some years, there will al- 
ways be a great temptation to do bad or careless work under contracts. The safe 
course, therefore, for those who decide to have timber preserved is either : 
" (a) To do the work themselves, under the supervision of experts; 
