Seasoning of Timber. 



2 5 ; i 



ing the chances for destruction of the wood by its fungus 

 enemies. Seasoning is, therefore, of the first importance for the 

 utilisation of cheap timbers hitherto regarded as short-lived. 



According to von Schrenk, much timber is rendered unfit for 

 use by improper methods of seasoning. Green timber, particu- 

 larly when cut in the autumn or winter, contains a large amount 

 of water. When exposed to the sun and wind, the water will 

 evaporate more rapidly from the outer than from the inner parts 

 of a log, and more rapidly from the ends than from the sides. 

 As the water evaporates the wood shrinks, and when the shrink- 

 age is not fairly uniform the wood cracks. When wet wood is 

 piled in the sun, evaporation goes on with such unevenness that 

 the timbers split and crack so badly as to become absolutely 

 useless. Such uneven drying can be prevented by careful 

 piling. A very large quantity of railway sleepers and other 

 timber split from this cause is thrown out of use ever)* year. 



As kiln-drying is employed mostly to prevent the warping 

 and checking of wood, and only rarely to prevent decay, it is 

 not necessary to dwell at length on this method of seasoning. 



Other methods of seasoning wood, referred to in the report, 

 are by steaming, by immersion in water, and by boiling in oil. 



The most effective seasoning is stated to be that obtained by 

 the uniform, slow drying which takes place in properly con- 

 structed piles outdoors, under exposure to the winds and the 

 sun. Lumber has always been seasoned in this way, and it is 

 still the best and cheapest for ordinal')* purposes. The methods 

 in use have been determined by long experience, and are pro- 

 bably as good as they could be made for present conditions. 

 But the same care has not up to this time been given to the 

 seasoning of such classes of timber as sleepers, bridge material, 

 posts, telegraph and telephone poles, &c. These have some- 

 times been piled more or less intelligently, but in the majority 

 of cases their value has been too low to make it seem worth 

 while to pile with reference to anything beyond convenience in 

 handling. 



The following general recommendations are made in the 

 report : Green timber should be stacked in as open piles as 

 possible as soon as it is cut, and so kept until it is air dry. In the 

 case of sleepers, the form of pile with seven sleepers in one row 



