SAP-STAIN, MOLD, AND DECAY IN GREEN WOOD. 41 
Both cold and hot solutions of creosote may cause considerable 
irritation, and in some cases blistering, when brought in contact with 
the skin. By proper use of the tongs, however, this trouble was 
avoided. Kubber gloves were worn during the dipping of spokes 
in the solutions of mercuric chlorid, since that salt, as already 
stated, is a deadly poison when taken internally and is sometimes 
absorbed through the skin when solutions are handled continuously. 
Many metals, such as iron and zinc, possess the common property 
of precipitating metallic mercury from the solutions of its salts. 
For this reason the iron tongs and other metallic objects could not 
be used in connection with the mercuric-chlorid dip. 
The spokes that were treated with salt or lime were placed, a few 
at a time, in wooden boxes containing the respective substances in a 
finely powdered state and were rolled to distribute the chemicals 
over them as evenly as possible. The excess was shaken off. They 
were then close piled in one section of the warehouse. After 24 
hours the lime coating showed a marked tendency to absorb moisture 
and cake. Moreover, it turned the wood dark. For this reason the 
liming was discontinued after 300 spokes had been treated. The 
salted spokes soon became exceedingly moist, due to the hygroscopic 
nature of the salt. The antiseptics used and the number of spokes 
treated in the different lots follow : 
(a) 10 per cent creosote in kerosene, cold 5. 100 
(&) 10 per cent creosote in kerosene, hot 5,100 
(c) 5 per cent borax in water 1,013 
(d) 1 per cent mercuric chlorid plus 1 per cent hydro- 
chloric acid 1, 000 
(e) Dry salt 1,032 
(f) Dry quicklime 300 
The first lot went forward in a box car loaded to capacity with 
5,000 cold-creosoted spokes, 5,000 that had been hot creosoted, 800 
spokes that had been dipped in mercuric chlorid, and 350 that were 
untreated. It was originally intended to ship the other lots at the 
same time. The car, however, was found to be too small, so the 
borax-treated, salted, and limed spokes went forward at a later date. 
Many of the cold-creosoted spokes that had lain in the shed for 
two to three weeks awaiting shipment were slightly molded. It was 
noticed that those with the mold were taken from that part of the 
pile that had suffered most from poor ventilation, namely, near the 
bottom and in the rear. The spokes in the other lots at that time 
seemed to be free from mold or sap-stain. 
METHOD OF LOADING CAR XO. 1. 
The spokes were stacked in transverse ricks, beginning at the end 
of the car and working toward the doorway. Each rick was built 
up in the following manner. A row consisting of five pairs of spokes 
