CONTROL OF DECAY IN PULP AND PULP WOOD 13 
half to two years, the losses for an average mill will be a very con- 
siderable item. As these can largely be prevented through the 
improvement of storage conditions, at least part of the money repre- 
sented in losses might well be invested for their prevention. 
The points to be emphasized in handling pulp wood are: 
1. Timber should be left in the woods the shortest possible time, 
and while it is there it should be stored on skids, on a well-drained 
site fully exposed to the wind, in separate piles running, preferably, 
in the direction of the prevailing winds. 
2. If borers are troublesome, soaking in water and peeling are 
effective. 
3. Logs should, if possible, be peeled, in order to hasten air drying 
and also to prevent borers from attacking the wood. 
4. Badly infected shipments or portions of shipments should be 
separated from sound wood and segregated for rapid utilization. 
5. Wood should be stored at the mill on well-drained land. The 
site should have a cindered surface which will give rapid run-off and 
keep down weeds which hinder air circulation around the base of piles. 
Barker waste is a poor filling material, because it harbors fungi and 
forms a very unstable foundation for piles, even when surfaced with 
cinders. 
6. Conical piling by the use of conveyors is not considered as good 
as ricking for partially dried wood. For river wood it seems satis- 
factory, when the piles are equipped with an overhead spray system 
to keep the surface moist. The method needs testing under commer- 
cial conditions, however, in order to determine more exactly the per- 
centage of moisture in the wood necessary for protection. The 
sprays are also valuable features for fire prevention. 
7. Wood should never be ricked directly on the ground. The best 
procedure is to use reinforced concrete skids provided with sufficient 
openings to insure good cross-ventilation or concrete piers supporting 
stringers which have been given a pressure treatment of coal-tar 
creosote. If treated properly, either of these types should last 20 to 
25 years. The latter is preferred because it gives better cross- 
ventilation. If it is not considered feasible to equip the yard with 
concrete piers, the next best method would be to use wood blocking, 
pressure-treated with coal-tar creosote, as supports for the stringers. 
The stringers should, in any case, be at least 12 inches, preferably 18 
inches, off the ground. If pulp logs are used they should be of the 
larger sizes and should be pulped or removed when the piles are 
torn down. 
8. High-ranked piles should, as a rule, be separated by open spaces 
4 to 6 feet wide and with their length in the direction of the prevailing 
winds. Between low piles a 3 to 4 foot space should be sufficient. 
9. Each pile should be marked with the date on which it was piled, 
or if possible with the date of cutting. The piles should be used in 
the order they were cut. 
10. All decayed and unserviceable wood should be removed from 
the yard, and after the removal of a pile of wood the bark should be 
cleaned up. 
