2 
On the Preservation of Timber. 
importance of the subject, and the additional attention paid to 
all scientific inquiries connected with industrial pursuits, have 
greatly augmented the applications for patents, no less than 50 
having been taken out with this object between 1832 and 1858. 
Dr. Richardson's Report gives an interesting summary of the 
various modes and materials suggested for protecting the sur- 
face of timber or preserving its substance, and the result at 
which be arrives, viz., that any waste or refuse wood, even 
though in an advanced stage of decay, may be distilled into 
products of great value for the preservation of timber, is an 
important discovery which before long will probably be made 
available for the preservation of the timber so largely required 
for agricultural buildings and fences ; whilst Armstrong's patent, 
taken out in 1858, for mounting the apparatus used for impreg- 
nating wood with any preservative fluid, on carriages and wheels 
suitable for running on railways or common roads, promises to 
make the invention generally available. — H. S. T. 
I. — Report on the Preservation of Timber. By Thomas 
Richardson, F.R.S.E., Professor of Chemistry in the 
University of Durham. 
Nature of Wood. — The tissues of wood are composed of a sub- 
stance termed cellulose, more or less incrusted with a hard and 
brittle organic matter, which is more abundant in hard and heavy, 
than in the soft and light, woods. This substance contains more 
hydrogen than is necessary to form water with the oxygen. The 
differences noticed in the composition of Lignine, which was 
supposed to be the pure principle of wood, are due, according 
to Payen, to the presence of this incrusting substance. He has 
found it to contain four allied principles, which he has dis- 
tinguished by the names of Lignose, Lignone, Lignin, and 
Lignireose. 
Composition of Wood. — The following Table contains the 
ultimate composition of several woods, cellulose, and humus : — 
Wood Analysed. 
Oxygen 
Carbon. 
Hydrogen. 
and 
Nitrogen. 
Sainte Lucie . . 
52-90 
6-07 
41-03 
Ebony 
."52 -87 
6-00 
41-15 
Pine 
51-79 
6-28 
41-00 
Oak 
50-00 
6-20 
43-80 
Beech 
49-25 
6-40 
44-65 
Poplar 
47-00 
5-80 
47-20 
Birch 
51-93 
6-31 
41-76 
Aspen 
51-02 
6-28 
4J-70 
Willow .. .. 
54-03 
6-56 
39-41 
Cellulose .. 
44-44 
6-17 
49-39 
Humus .. 
57-48 
4-76 
37-76 
