SAP-STAIN, MOLD, AND DECAY IN GREEN WOOD. 39 
South. It was desired to test in a more practical way some of the 
antiseptics that had been used on a small scale during prelimi¬ 
nary experiments at the Madison laboratory. In these experi¬ 
ments first-grade escort spokes 2J by 2J by 27 inches long of red oak 
were used. They were selected mainly for two reasons: First, red 
oak in a green condition was the wood, of all those used at this par¬ 
ticular mill, which seemed to be the most liable to mold and sap- 
stain; second, the escort spoke was convenient to handle in connec¬ 
tion with the dipping apparatus employed. 
All spokes were taken directly from the warehouse after turning 
and grading. It was noted that 80 to 90 per cent of them contained 
sapwood varying in amount from 5 to 100 per cent. 
In lieu of dipping tanks it was decided to use whisky barrels of 
50-gallon capacity. Three of these were placed on a platform in 
the mill yard beside the tracks upon which the trucks were operated. 
One barrel was equipped with a steam coil of bent J-inch iron pipe 
provided with shut-off valves (fig. 17). This coil, when connected 
with the main steam boiler, supplied the necessary heat for main¬ 
taining the temperature of the dipping solutions. A piece of cor¬ 
rugated, galvanized-iron plate, approximately 2 by 6 feet, when 
supported in a slanting position with the lower end resting upon the 
top of the barrel, served as a drain board. Iron tongs similar to 
those used by blacksmiths, hydrometers, thermometers, and a gallon 
measure completed the list of essential apparatus. 
The following antiseptics were applied in the form of solutions or 
in a dry state: 
(а) Barrett’s grade 1 liquid creosote, 10 per cent by volume. 
Perfection kerosene oil, 90 per cent by volume. 
Temperature, 80° to 90° F. 
(б) Barrett’s grade 1 liquid creosote, 10 per cent by volume. 
Perfection kerosene oil, 90 per cent by volume. 
Temperature, 150° to 155° F. 
(c) Powdered borax, 5 per cent by weight. 
Water, 95 per cent by weight. 
Temperature, 80° to 90° F. 
( d) Mercuric chlorid (C. P.), 1 per cent by weight. 
Hydrochloric acid (commercial), 1 per cent by weight. 
Water, 9S per cent by weight. 
Temperature, 80° to 90° F. 
(c) Dry salt (finely grained). 
( f ) Dry quicklime (finely powdered). 
The spokes were conveyed to the dipping barrels on trucks. There 
they were grasped by means of the iron tongs, immersed from 5 to 
10 seconds in the bath, and then placed on the corrugated-iron drain 
board (fig. 18). When practically all of the excess liquid had 
drained off they were again grasped with the tongs, loaded upon 
another truck, and wheeled to the north end of one of the open sheds 
