On the Use of Ilomc-fjroioii Tinihcr. 
213 
(|uantity should hv. used as will cover the bottom of the pond. 
It will not recjuire many bushels to do this, and tlu? mixtiin! should 
1)0 renewed at discretion as the pond receives iresh water. In 
the solution thus made, the timber cut to the required scantlings 
and sawn on all sides is placed, the larger pieces intended for 
beams, &c., at the bottom of the bath, and the smaller timbers 
intended for rafters, boards, skirtings, &c., at the top. In this 
condition they remain for periods varying according to the size 
of the timbers from three to nine weeks. They are then taken 
out, and after being exposed for a few days to the sun and wind 
are dry enough and read}' for use. 
The woods most suitable for the process and most benefited 
by its application, arc those of the order Conifera% though it may 
be found when more generally tried that many other woods are 
benefited by it. At present poplar resists the application. 
It is needless to observe that it is not advisable to use young 
trees, even though they may have grown rapidly, and attained 
a size beyond their age. Forty years would probably be found 
to be the earliest period of growth at which fir timber would be 
serviceable for use. Mr. Selby in his book of ' British Forest 
Trees,' p. 408, thus speaks of wood of the Coniferae tribe, " It 
has also been used for roofing and other building purposes with 
success, and found durable after having undergone the process of 
steeping in lime-water ; this mode of protecting the fibre of 
Scotch fir sap-wood was first practised by Sir J. Menteath, Bart, 
of Closeburn, Dumfrieshire, some fifty years ago, and he finds 
that sap-wood which unprotected would not have lasted thirty 
years, after having been subjected to this treatment, shows not 
the slightest symptoms of decay after having been put up more 
than forty years. The solution is made by dissolving a small 
quantity of quick lime in the water in which the wood is steeped, 
and in which it ought to remain for ten days or a fortnight. 
Kyanising, or the solution of corrosive sublimate, would doubtless 
be equally, if not more, effective than the lime, but more costly 
in its application." 
I am afraid I have extended my remarks somewhat beyond 
the limits of a letter, but as the writer of the Prize Essay on 
Roofs for Farm Building, I have felt considerable interest in the 
matter, and have been impelled to make the communication with 
the hope that Mr. Burton Borough's proceedings may become 
a profitable example to the country. 
I am, dear sir, yours truly, 
Arthur Bailey Denton. 
22, Whitehall Place, 6th March, 1868, 
