INTRODUCTION. 
rpHE following Record deals with, the Antiseptic Experiments carried 
1 out in continuation of those, the results of which are given in 
Volume III, Part II of the Indian Forest Records. Chapter IV of that 
publication outlines the proposals for future investigation, which having 
been given effect to are described in the following note. When this 
enquiry was taken up, little or nothing was known in India about the 
antiseptic treatment of timbers, nor was any plant available in which 
to treat timber. It was therefore thought advisable to carry out the 
preliminary experiments by the cheapest and simplest methods possible, 
and the Open Tank process was adopted. Eight years and more have 
elapsed since this enquiry was started, and further experience has 
definitely fixed the value and limitations of the Open Tank process. It 
has been found suitable for treating posts, poles and sleepers of certain 
of the softer species of timber, but only in relatively small quantities ; 
thus the outside limit for sleeper treatment by the Open Tank process is 
put at 50,000 B. Gr. sleepers per annum. 
Though this note deals primarily with experiments carried out by 
the Open Tank process, in Part V are given the records of a limited 
number of experiments carried out in pressure plants. 
The original scheme according to which the field experiments were to 
be carried out was drawn up in 1910, and was brought into effect at 
once, so that the sleepers treated at that time and laid down in 1911 
have been six years in the line, while the laboratory experiments were 
started in January 1909, and have therefore been in progress sufficiently 
long to give definite results. 
Part I reviews the work done up to the time the last note was pre¬ 
pared on the subject; Part II deals with the laboratory experiments ; 
Part III describes the field experiments carried out by treating timber 
m Open Tanks, according to the prepared scheme ; Part IV deals with 
the field experiments conducted according to the Open Tank process, 
outside the scope of the scheme; Part V is a record of experiments carried 
out with the Indian timbers in pressure cylinders ; Part VI discusses 
the factors governing the treatment of timber when carried out under 
Indian conditions, with special reference to sleeper woods ; and Part VII 
briefly outlines the processes by which timber, other than sleepers 
might with advantage be treated in India. 
Where reports or other documents have been quoted in the body of 
the report, the names of the authors, where possible, have been given. 
B 
