A treatise on the origin, progress, prevention, and cure of dry rot in timber

CHAPTER X.
SUMMARY OF CURATIVE PROCESSES.

The following summary of the most approved formula for preventing and curing the evils of rot is prepared from the works of Tredgold and Wylson; some other more modern receipts have been added from ‘The Builder,’ ‘Architect,’ ‘Building News,’ and other professional periodical publications. Discretion in their use is recommended, and in serious cases we decidedly recommend consulting a professional man who is well acquainted with the subject.

TO PRESERVE WOODWORKS THAT ARE EXPOSED TO WET OR DAMP.

1. For those of an extensive nature, such as bridges, &c. The Hollanders use for the preservation of their sluices and floodgates, drawbridges, and other huge beams of timber exposed to the sun and constant changes of the atmosphere, a certain mixture of pitch and tar, upon which they strew small pieces of shell broken finely—almost to a powder—and mixed with sea-sand, and the scales of iron, small and sifted, which incrusts and preserves it effectually.

2. A paint composed of sub-sulphate of iron (the refuse of the copperas pans), ground up with any common oil, and thinned with coal-tar oil, having a little pitch dissolved in it, is flexible, and impervious to moisture.

3. Linseed oil and tar, in equal parts, well boiled together, and used while boiling, rubbed plentifully over the work while hot, after being scorched all over by wood burnt under it, strikes half an inch or more into the wood, closes the pores, and makes it hard and durable either under or out of water.

4. For fences, and similar works, a coating of coal-tar, sanded over; or, boil together one gallon of coal-tar and 2½ lb. of white copperas, and lay it on hot.

TO PREVENT ROT.

1. Thoroughly season the wood before fixing, and when fixed, have a proper ventilation all round it.

2. Charring, after seasoning, will fortify timber against infection, so will a coating of coal-tar.

TO CURE INCIPIENT DRY ROT.

1. If very much infected, remove the timber, and replace with new.

2. A pure solution of corrosive sublimate in water, in the proportion of an ounce to a gallon, used hot, is considered a very effectual wash.

3. A solution of sulphate of copper, half a pound to the gallon of water, laid on hot.

4. A strong solution of sulphate of iron; this is not so good as sulphate of copper.

5. A strong solution of sulphates of iron and copper in equal parts, half a pound of the sulphates to one and a half gallon of water.

6. Paraffin oil, the commonest and cheapest naphtha and oil, or a little resinous matter dissolved and mixed with oil, will stay the wet rot.

7. Remove the parts affected, and wash with dilute sulphuric acid the remaining woodwork.

8. Dissolve one pound of sulphate of copper in one gallon of boiling water, then add 1¼ lb. of sulphuric acid in six gallons of water, and apply hot.

TO PREVENT WORMS IN TIMBER.

1. Anointing with an oil produced by the immersion of sulphur in aquafortis (nitric acid) distilled to dryness, and exposed to dissolve in the air.

2. Soaking in an infusion of quassia renders the wood bitter.

3. Creosoting timber, if the smell is not objectionable.

4. Anointing the timber with oil of spike, juniper, or turpentine, is efficacious in some degree.

5. For small articles, cover freely with copal varnish in linseed oil.

TO PREVENT WORMS IN MARINE BUILDING.

1. A mixture of lime, sulphur, and colocynth with pitch.

2. Saturating the pores with coal-tar, either alone or after a solution of corrosive sublimate has been soaked and dried into the wood.

3. Sheathing with thin copper over tarred felt is esteemed the best protection for the bottoms of ships for all marine animals; the joints should be stopped with tarred oakum.

4. Studding the parts under water with short broad-headed nails.

TO DESTROY WORMS IN CARVINGS.

1. Fumigate the wood with benzine.

2. Saturate the wood with a strong solution of corrosive sublimate: if used for carvings, the colour should be restored by ammonia, and then by a weak solution of hydrochloric acid; the holes may be stopped up with gum and gelatine, and a varnish of resin dissolved in spirits of wine should afterwards be applied to the surface.

3. Whale-oil and poisonous ointments have been found of service.

The wood should be carefully brushed before being operated upon.

TO DESTROY ANTS AND INSECTS IN WOOD.

1. Corrosive sublimate is an effectual poison to them.

2. Oils, especially essential oils, are good preventives.

3. Cajeput-oil has been proved effectual for destroying the red ant.

4. Payne’s, Bethell’s, and Burnett’s processes are said to be proof against the white ant of India.

5. Dust the parts with pounded quicklime, and then water them with the ammoniacal liquor of gas-works, when the ammonia will be instantly disengaged by the quicklime, and this is destructive to insect life.

6. For the black ant, use powdered borax; or smear the parts frequented by them with petroleum oil; or syringe their nests with fluoric acid or spirits of tar, to be done with a leaden syringe; or pour down the holes boiling water to destroy their nests, and then stop up the holes with cement. Ants dislike arsenic, camphor, and creosote.

The preceding remedies are not by any means given with the intention of superseding the previous chapters, which should be carefully studied by those who wish to acquire a moderate knowledge of the subjects.

CHAPTER XI.
GENERAL REMARKS AND CONCLUSION.

Our task is nearly completed: we have but few general remarks to make.

The decay of wooden sleepers, posts, &c., on our railways and the destruction of timber piles by worms have been the causes of directing the attention of engineers to the preservation of timber. Most of our leading engineers now have the greater portion of the timber used in their works either creosoted or injected with chloride of zinc. Architects, as a rule, do not, unfortunately, adopt any process for preserving timber from rot and decay; and have practically no guarantee that timber used in their works has been thoroughly seasoned: posterity will not thank them for this, and yet they are not solely to blame. The fault in a great measure rests with the public, who require buildings to be erected at the least cost and in the shortest possible time. Moreover, the works executed by our leading builders are so extensive, that they have no room in their yards for large piles of timber to lie and season; and even if they had room it is doubtful if they would allow so much material, representing money, to remain idle. We are acquainted with one instance where a London architect, about a dozen years ago, erected a public building. The front of the reporters’ gallery was formed of oak panelling; and within a year after the completion of the building narrow slips or tongues of wood had to be let in in several places to fill up the holes formed by the shrinkage of the panels. Similar cases to this are by no means rare. We can quote another instance of unseasoned wood. A range of workshops was erected a few years since in South London; the principals of the roof were not ceiled; almost before the building was finished the upper floor was occupied by a battalion of workwomen. The heat of the room (the ventilation being defective) soon had an effect upon the tie-beams, but one beam, which we imagine was unseasoned, in consequence of large shakes and splits, had to be taken out and replaced with new. We will (as a lawyer would say), cite one more case. A church in Surrey required some extensive repairs to the roof: an architect and a builder were employed, and the necessary works were done. Within four years dry rot has made its appearance on the new timbers of the roof (not an air-tight one). One of the churchwardens, on consulting us last year (1874) as to the best means of stopping the rot, energetically remarked, “Who is responsible to us for this, the architect or the builder?” Charles Dickens, in his edition of ‘Bleak House’ in 1868, wrote, with reference to long Chancery suits, “If I wanted other authorities for Jarndyce and Jarndyce, I could rain them on these pages.” We are able to make a similar remark with reference to any more instances of dry rot. According to the 7th chapter of the First Book of Kings, “Solomon was building his own house thirteen years:” we cannot spare so much time now-a-days over the erection of a house, but that is no reason why our timber should not be naturally or artificially seasoned.

If we cannot obtain naturally seasoned timber, by all means let us have artificially seasoned wood. Tredgold, in his Report on Langton’s system,[42] nearly arrived at the secret. We will quote a few words from his Report:

“Mr. Langton having discovered a new method of seasoning timber … by which the time necessary to season green timber, and render it fit for use, is only about twice as many weeks as the ordinary process requires years; … it is more economical, and locks up less capital than the common method.”

We believe we may say that the number of our public buildings which have been erected during the present century with artificially prepared timber can be counted on our eight fingers (without troubling our thumbs) and not exceed that number;[43] and yet we hear of dry rot in the great dome of the Bank of England and other buildings without profiting by the events. We should like to know if the wooden dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral is safe from dry rot, (the domes at the Panthéon and the Halle-au-Blé at Paris were affected,) and plumbers fires.

It is evident that a preservative process, thoroughly suitable for everyday use and applicable to buildings, has yet to be invented: it should be cheap, should render wood uninflammable, should preserve the wood from decay and dry rot, should not harden the wood until some time after its application, and should be colourless and invisible. The invention of such a process will require careful thought and experiments, for it appears to us that the whole theory of any successful plan for the prevention of the dry rot must resolve itself into the solidifying or coagulation of albumen: this means hardening the sap-wood, and causing increased difficulty in working the wood. We can easily illustrate our remarks, by quoting one of the latest patents for preserving timber, which has recently been made public. It is the invention of a gentleman living in England, who has discovered a means of making wood uninflammable, preventing dry rot and decay, and rendering white and yellow pine, both in hardness and appearance, like teak and oak. We have no objection to its rendering wood uninflammable, providing it does not “hurt” the wood; but can the reader believe that any architect, in erecting a moderate-sized villa, would specify that all the joiners’ work, staircases, window-frames and sashes, architraves, skirtings, doors, &c., must be formed of wood as hard as teak; or rather, can the reader imagine the architect’s client would be agreeable to pay the greatly increased cost for the extra labour involved. We do not think this invention will ever be used, at least to any extent, in buildings.

Much yet remains to be done with regard to uninflammable wood for buildings: we think the matter should be dealt with (with reference to joists, floor boards, partitions, doors, staircases, roof timbers, &c.) by a new Buildings Act of Parliament. Stone and iron will not burn, but they are not fire-resisting: brick, artificial stone, and incombustible wood will give us all we desire; the details may be difficult of arrangement, but builders would comply with them if they were imperatively required. At present our houses are formed of brick walls, every room being separated vertically and horizontally from the adjoining rooms by combustible wooden walls. A street built up of fire-proof buildings would be a novelty. The whole subject requires to be dealt with thoroughly, for while we have combustible wooden floors, partitions, &c., we cannot at the same time have a fire-proof building. We have not been able to spare the space, or else we should have devoted a long chapter to this subject; a superficial consideration (such as alum and water) would have been practically useless.

In conclusion, we can only summarize our remarks on the cause of dry rot, by saying, “Season and ventilate,” in every case: as to the cure, that is not so easy to deal with. If the reader has ever had a decayed tooth aching, a friend has probably said, “Have it out;” and we say, wherever there is a piece of timber decayed in a building which can be removed, “Have it out, and stop up with new;” and in so advising we are merely following the advice to be found in a good old volume, which has never yet been equalled, and which says:

This course will not, however, suit every case, for when the rot has spread in many directions, the best and cheapest course is to consult some professional man, well versed in the peculiarities of dry rot, before determining upon any remedy, for we have shown in the course of this work that the disease may arise from various causes; and it is not a difficult matter to select the wrong remedy, and thus increase the disease.

We trust the reader has found in this volume at least some hints which may be of service to him. A new house affected with dry rot is an unhealthy one to live in, and an old one is worse than the new; we mean the kind of house referred to in one line by an American poet, as follows:

FOOTNOTES

INDEX.

• Abel’s silicate of soda process, 160
• Academy of Sciences, Holland, report on sea-worms, 235
• Acetate of lead, 226
• ” iron and wood tar, 130
• Acid, carbolic, 257, 276
• ” fluoric, 287
• ” hydrochloric, 286
• ” hydro-fluo-silicic, and other substances, 166
• ” nitric, 98, 285
• ” pyroligneous, 111, 144, 263
• ” sulphuric, 161, 285
• ” vegetable, 111
• Age of trees, how to ascertain, 9
• Air, admission of, to prevent or cure rot, 27, 171, 187, 284, 292
• Alberti (L. B.), on seasoning wood, 66, 75
• Alcohol, in corrosive sublimate, 263, 265, 266, 279
• Alderson’s (Captain), experiments with woods, 127
• Alkali, caustic, 122
• Alum, to prevent combustion, 118
• ” experiments with, 119
• ” and other substances, 156, 166, 167
• American method of preserving ships’ masts, 111
• ” oak, inferior to English, 40
• Ammonia, to cure rot, 118, 137
• ” and other substances, 131, 286
• Amsterdam, built on piles, 23
• Annual rings in wood, 8
• Ants, black, how to destroy, 287
• ” white, description of, 240
• ” ” how to destroy, 251, 286
• ” ” in Australia, Bahia, and Pernambuco, 245
• ” ” in Batavia, 247
• ” ” in Brazil, 244
• ” ” in Ceylon and the Philippine Islands, 246
• ” ” in France and Japan, 248
• ” ” in India, 251
• ” ” in Jamaica, 241
• ” ” in Spain, Senegal, and Surinam, 248
• ” ” woods which resist, 249
• Armstrong’s (J.), account of rotten floor, 43
• Arsenic, 224, 252, 287
• ” experiments with, 167
• ” and other substances, 253
• Asphalte, to keep out damp, 179
• Australian method of seasoning Jarrah wood, 115
• Baker’s (J.), case of dry rot in Baltic wood, 177
• Ballast for railway sleepers, 48, 138
• Bank of England, dry rot in dome, 42
• Banks (Sir J.), on growth of fungi, 44
• Barium sulphide, to preserve wood, 156
• Barlow’s patent process, 102
• ” on seasoning wood, 78
• Barnacles on timber piles, 223, 226
• Barry (Sir C.), on steaming wood, 90
• Baryta, and other substances, 166
• Basement stories with damp, 23, 181, 182, 187
• Bayonne, girder in church at, 174
• Beams, advantage of sawing, 32
• Bees, carpenter, destroy wood, 240, 259
• ” wax, and other substances, 156
• Beetles, in wood, 262, 275
• ” how to destroy, 286
• Belgian engineers prefer charred sleepers, 96
• Belidor, on felling trees, 54
• Belton House (Earl Brownlow’s), beetles in carvings at, 268, 281
• Bentham (Sir S.), on drying oak, 91
• Benzine, to destroy wood beetles, 266, 277, 286
• Berkeley, on fungi, 21
• Bethell’s (J.), patent creosoting process, 130, 155, 224, 234, 286
• ” ” drying stoves, 86
• Binmer, on steaming and charring, 99
• Biot, on pressure process, 144
• Blenheim, state of carvings at, 281
• ” carvings in yellow deal at, 273
• Blood, and other substances, 167
• Bond timber, decay of in walls, 45, 174
• Borax, a receipt for black ants, 287
• ” and other substances, 156
• Boucherie’s (Dr.), sulphate of copper process, 146
• Bourne’s (J.), experiments with wood, 254
• Bowring’s (Sir J.), account of ants in Obando, 247
• Boyden’s (A.), remedies for dry rot, 95, 112, 122
• Brande (Dr.), on preserving woods, 139, 142, 155
• Bréant’s patents, 145
• Brick dust, tar, &c., to preserve piles, 228
• Brimstone, bees-wax, &c., to preserve wood, 156
• Brochard and Watteau’s process, 80
• Browne’s (Sir S.), experiments with piles, 229
• Brunei (Sir M. I.), 138, 139, 215, 228
• Buffon, 144, 198
• Builders, bad, 182, 202
• Building, hints on, 180
• Burnett’s (Sir F.), patent zinc process, 140, 224, 254, 255, 286
• Burt’s experience of creosoted sleepers, 137
• Cadet de Gassicourt’s process for dry rot, 144
• Calomel, composition of, 264
• Calvert’s caoutchouc process, 162
• Camphor disliked by ants, 287
• Canadian white spruce deals liable to warp, 65
• ” yellow wood liable to rot in damp situations, 36, 43
• Caoutchouc, solution of, 162
• ” and other substances, 163
• Carbolic acid, for wood beetles, 257, 276
• Carbonate of soda (Payne’s process), 154
• Carbonization by gas, 97, 164
• Carpenter bees destroy wood, 240, 259
• Carpenter (Dr.), on growth of fungi, 43
• Carvers, wood, 280
• Carvings destroyed by worms, 266
• ” how to clean, 270
• ” to destroy worms in, 286
• Cashiobury, carvings at, destroyed by beetle, 269
• Cement, to protect piles, 227, 228
• Ceylon, ants in, 246
• Chalk, and other substances, 161
• Champy’s tallow process, 144
• Chapman (W.), on dry rot, 25, 73, 112, 119, 122, 165, 167
• Charcoal—see Oils, Whale, and Fish—to preserve wood, 121
• ” and other substances, 157
• Charpentier’s hot air patent, 80
• Charring wood, 95
• ” when useful, 100
• ” and pitching, 96
• Chassloup Lambat’s suggestion to prevent rot, 163
• Château of the Roques d’Oudres, girders at, 174
• Chatsworth, Gibbons’ carvings at, 281
• Chelura terebrans destroy piles, 219
• Chemists prefer thin creosote, 131
• Chinese method of preserving wood, 167
• Chippendale’s carvings, 281
• Chloride of calcium, 146
• ” of manganese, 154
• ” of sodium, 164
• ” of zinc—see Burnett’s Process
• Chlorine gas, and other substances, 123
• Chloroform, for wood beetles, 277
• Chunam, and cocoa-nut oil, 107
• Church at Bayonne, fir girders in, 174
• ” of Holy Trinity, Cork, rot in vaults, 39
• ” in London, rot in roof, 184
• ” in Surrey, 289
• ” of St. Mark, Venice, rot in curb, 176
• ” of Old St. Pancras, London, rot in vaults, 40
• Cleghorn (Dr.), on creosoted sleepers, 47, 136, 142
• Coal Exchange, flooring of, 81
• ” tar, 170, 233, 246, 256, 262
• ” ” and other substances 123, 284, 285
• ” vessels last long, 117
• Cobley’s patent lime process, 166
• Colocynth and quassia, 263
• ” and other substances, 285
• Colouring woods, 108
• Commission, report of, on carvings, 266, 274
• Cooke’s (M. C.) instance of fungi, 43
• Copal varnish, 191, 197
• ” in linseed oil, 285
• Copper, red oxide of, 161
• ” prussiate of, 146
• ” sulphate of—see Sulphate of Copper
• ” nitrate of, 226
• ” sheathing against sea-worms, 228
• ” ” and tarred felt, 285
• Copperas, and coal tar, 284
• ” to preserve ships, 112, 226
• Cork, for ends of brestsummers, 174
• Corrosive sublimate, 123, 226, 264, 265, 285, 286
• ” and other substances, 130, 155, 263, 265, 266, 279, 285
• Covent Garden Theatre, dry rot in bond, 175
• Cow-dung mortar, and oils, 251
• Creosote (Bethell’s patent), 118, 130, 133, 142, 165, 230, 236, 255, 257, 285, 287
• ” vapour, 145
• ” and chloride of zinc, 133
• Crepin (M.), on creosoted wood, 139, 236
• Cryptogamia, or fungi, 15
• Cullen’s process for dry rot, 157
• Dammer oil, and other substances, 255
• Damp, 176, 177, 178, 181
• ” a cause of decay in wood, 22
• ” rooms, how to ascertain, 24
• Darwin’s process for dry rot, 156
• Daviller (A. C.), on felling trees, 54
• Davison and Symington’s process, 81
• Davy (Sir H.), on corrosive sublimate, 127, 263
• Deals require long seasoning, 64
• ” how sometimes imported, 35
• Deane’s (Sir T.), account of dry rot case, 39
• Decay of trees, symptoms of, 33
• De Lapparent’s processes, 73, 97, 163
• Desiccating processes, 81
• Dickson (Dr.), on Kyan’s process, 130
• ” (J.), on seasoning wood, 75
• Ditton Park, carvings destroyed at, 269
• Donaldson’s (Prof. T. L.) account of dry rot case, 42
• Dondeine’s paint, 165
• Dorsett and Blythé’s copper process, 151
• Doswell’s report on timber piles, 232
• Dram battens liable to rot, 8
• Dry rot, wet rot, and rot.
• ” appearances of, 31, 35
• ” causes of, 24
• ” danger of, 34
• ” how different from wet rot, 14
• ” proceeds according to temperature 29, 187
• ” caused by bad building, 182
• ” ” mortar, 44, 173, 177
• ” ” damp brickwork, 44, 182
• ” ” ” ground, 20, 21
• ” ” ” stone, 44
• ” ” heat and moisture, 23
• ” ” insufficient areas, 178
• ” ” ” tarpaulings, 184
• ” ” joining different woods, 176
• ” ” kamptulicon, 187
• ” ” Keene’s cement, 188
• ” ” oiled cloth, 185
• ” ” old trees, 183
• ” ” partial leaks, 23
• ” ” want of air, 171, 172, 186, 187, 188
• ” ” ” proper drains and spouts, 41
• ” increased by stoves, 172
• ” in ground, under house at Hampstead, 20
• ” under foundations, Norfolk House, 176
• ” ” ” Grosvenor Place, 176
• ” ” floor, Stanmore Cottage, 183
• ” ” hearthstone, 43
• ” ” pavement at Basingstoke, 43
• ” on paved floor, Westminster Hall, 44
• ” in vaults, Old St. Pancras Church, 40
• ” on vaults, Holy Trinity Church, Cork, 39
• ” in cask in cellar, 43
• ” ” basement floor of house, Greenwich, Frontispiece
• ” ” ground floor of houses, 43, 177, 185, 186, 187
• ” ” first floor of house, No. 29, Mincing Lane, 187
• ” ” second floor of house, No. 79, Gracechurch Street, 187
• ” ” barn floor, 42
• ” on floor of house, No. 106, Fenchurch Street, London, 186
• ” in wood bond, Covent Garden theatre, 175
• ” ” damp closet, or pantry, 16
• ” ” wood lining to walls—basement, 125
• ” ” floor of house in the Temple, London, 124
• ” ” brestsummer of shop, 42
• ” ” girder of house (Earl of Mansfield’s), 32
• ” ” ” building at Malta, 32
• ” ” partition, No. 16, Mark Lane, London, 188
• ” ” roof, church in London, 184
• ” ” ” ” Surrey, 289
• ” ” curb of dome, St. Mark’s, Venice, 176
• ” ” dome, Bank of England, 42
• ” ” ” Halle-au-Blé, Paris, 42
• ” ” ” Panthéon, Paris, 42
• ” ” Society of Arts building, Adelphi, 42
• ” ” field gates, 183
• ” ” foreign timber, 35
• ” ” paling 125
• ” in ships, 23, 26, 73, 93, 112, 114, 172
• ” prevented by seasoning, 63
• ” good, cheap, and easy remedy required, 291
• Du Hamel, 66, 72, 144
• Duke of Devonshire’s house, dry rot at, 40
• D’Uslaw’s, Meyer, steam process, 102
• Dutch method of coating piles, 221
• Earl Brownlow’s house, beetles in carvings at, 268
• ” of Mansfield’s house, rotten yellow fir girder at, 32
• Emerson’s boiled oil process for rot, 110
• Endogenous stems, grow from within, 4
• Engineers, English, 139, 288
• ” foreign, rules for sulphate of copper, 151
• ” ” ” creosote, 131, 133
• Evelyn (Sir J.), on seasoning wood, 53, 73, 75
• Exogenous stems, grow from without, 4
• Faraday (Prof.), on corrosive sublimate, 129, 263
• Felt, tarred, and copper sheathing, 285
• Fences, how to prevent them rotting, 46, 161
• Fenchurch Street, No. 106, dry rot on floor, 186
• Feuchtwanger’s (Dr.), water-glass for piles, 226
• Field gates, dry rot in, 183
• Fire-proof houses, cost of, 143
• ” ” necessity of, 291
• Flemish carvings in England, 280
• Flockton’s wood tar process to preserve wood, 130
• Floor-cloths, injurious effects of, 185
• Floors, how to protect from worms, 266
• ” dry rot in, 20, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 125, 176, 182, 183, 186, 187
• ” ” Frontispiece
• Fluoric acid, for the black ant, 287
• Fontenay’s metallic soap, to preserve wood, 165
• Forestier’s experiments with creosoted piles, 139, 236
• Foundations, how to build, 179
• Fraser’s (Capt. A.) paint for white ants, 253
• Fungi differ according to situation, 22
• ” explanation of the term, 15
• ” forms and strength of, 31, 43
• ” production of, 15, 18, 19, 20
• ” rapid growth of, 44
• Gambir composition for white ants, 255
• Garlic and vinegar for worms, 106
• Gas, carbonization of wood by, 97, 164
• ” chlorine, and other substances, 123
• Gibbons’ (Grinling), carvings, 260, 280
• Glue, solution of, to preserve ships, 112
• ” and other substances, 112, 122, 130
• Gracechurch Street, No. 79, dry rot in second floor, 187
• Graham (Prof.), on Burnett’s process, 140
• Grease, how to take it out of floor, 191
• Greenwich, rot in floor of house at, Frontispiece
• Greville’s (Dr.) description of fungi, 21
• Groo-groo worms in Surinam, 247
• Grosvenor Place, rotten planking in houses, 176
• Guibert’s smoke process, 93
• Hales’ (Dr.) oil and creosoting processes, 111, 118
• Halle-au-Blé, Paris, dry rot in dome of, 42
• Haller’s (Dr.) analysis of a fungus, 31
• Hampstead, dry rot in ground of house at, 20
• Hancock’s caoutchouc and oil process, 162
• Hartley’s experiments with fire-proof house, 120
• Hawkshaw’s opinion of Payne’s process, 155
• Higgins’ (Dr.) ammonia remedy for rot, 118
• House, fire-proof, 120
• ” ” cost of, 143
• ” badly erected, 182, 202
• Howe’s experiments with posts, 45
• Humboldt, Baron, on damp rooms, 24
• Indestructible Paint Company, 195
• Indian Woods, 47, 134, 223, 250
• Ingredients for preserving wood, 168
• Iron, cast, effect of sea-water on, 230
• ” muriate of, 157
• ” prussiate of, 146
• ” pyrolignite of, 130, 146, 151, 156, 234
• ” sulphate of, 154, 157, 284
• Jackson’s preserving processes, 111
• ” (G.) experiments with white ants, 254
• Jagherry, or coarse Indian sugar, for mortar, 253
• Japanese method of treating graining, 194
• Jarrah wood, how seasoned, 115
• Johnson’s (B.) account of rot in floor, 42
• Jones’ (Major, R. E.) report on rotten beams, 32
• Kamptulicon causes dry rot in floors, 187
• Kenwood, rotten fir girder at, 32
• Kidlington, carvings in yellow deal at, 273
• Kirthington Park, Gibbons’ carvings at, 281
• Knabb’s sulphate of copper process, 152
• Kœnig’s opinion of sulphate of copper, 152
• Kyan’s corrosive sublimate patent, 123, 205, 223, 233
• Lampblack, and fish oil, 108
• Langton’s extraction of sap process, 101
• Lead, 173, 179, 200
• ” and tarred rope for piles, 228
• ” oxide of, and other substances, 123
• Légé and Fleury-Pironnet’s copper patent, 149
• Le Gras’ manganese, zinc, and creosote patent, 164
• Lepisma worm destroys boats, 221
• Letellier’s preserving processes, 130, 165
• Lewis’ lime process, 112, 116
• Liebig (Baron) on decay of wood, 19
• Lime, to preserve wood, 112, 116, 253, 286
• ” and other substances, 107, 117, 156, 157, 166, 255, 285
• ” re-carbonated, injurious to wood, 116
• ” water, to preserve ships, 116, 122
• ” ” ” basement joists, 116
• ” ” and sulphuric acid, 156
• ” vessels last long, 116
• Limnoria terebrans, description of, 217
• ” ” how it destroys piles, 218
• Linseed oil—see Oils
• Litharge ” ”
• Logs, state of, on arrival in England, 37
• Lowestoft Harbour, creosoted piles in, 230
• Lukins’ stove process, 121
• Lycoris fucata, destroys the Teredo navalis, 237
• Lyme Hall, carvings at, 281
• Maconochie’s suggestions for preserving wood, 121, 145, 163
• McMaster (B.), on decay of railway sleepers, 47
• McWilliam, on fungi, 20, 22, 29
• Makinson, on creosoted piles, 231
• Malta, rotten girders in building at, 32
• Manganese, and other substances, 163, 165
• Mann’s (Capt.) and McPherson’s (Capt.) experiments, 255
• Margary’s patent sulphate of copper process, 130, 150, 254
• Mark Lane, No. 16, dry rot in partition at, 188
• Marshall (G.), on seasoning oak, 69
• Maun (G. O.), on sleepers, Pernambuco railway, 138
• Mecquenem’s desiccating process, 80
• Mellis (J. C.), on creosoted wood, 256
• Melseun’s experiments with ammonia, 137
• Mercer’s Hall, decay of carvings at, 267
• Mercury, deuto-chloride of, 165
• ” bi-chloride—see Corrosive Sublimate
• Merulius lachrymans, dry rot fungus, 21
• Methods for seasoning wood, 168
• Methylated spirits of wine for carvings, 279
• Michigan Central Railroad bridge, dry rotten, 185
• Migneron’s process, 144
• Miller’s hot air process, 102
• Mincing Lane, No. 29, dry rot in first floor at, 187
• Moll’s vapour of creosote process, 145
• Moon, age of, a guide for cutting trees, 56
• Mortar made with sea sand objectionable, 113, 181
• ” cow-dung and castor oil, 251
• Mud and other substances to preserve wood, 253
• Müenzing’s manganese process, 154
• Mundic, to preserve wood, 118
• Muriate of iron (Toplis’ process), 157
• Nails, scupper, for piles, 228, 286
• Neamann, on seasoning wood, 79, 117
• Nichols (T.), on sand bath, 116
• Nitrate of copper for piles, 226
• Nitric acid, for worms, 285
• Norfolk House, rotten planking at, 176
• Norway white lowland deals warp, 65
• Nystrom’s process, to prevent combustion, 166
• Oak, American, liable to rot, 40
• ” different qualities of, 71
• ” good and bad, 25
• ” seasoning, 69, 70, 90, 91
• ” panelling, if not seasoned, shrinks, 288
• ” how to prevent splitting, 106
• Ohio fire-proof paint, 185
• Oil, Arracan, to protect wood from ants, 252
• ” boiled, to preserve planks of ships, 111
• ” castor, with cow-dung mortar, 251
• ” cajeput, to protect wood from ants, 247, 286
• ” of cedar, to protect wood from worms, 106
• ” cocoa-nut, to preserve wood, 107
• ” ” and other substances, 107
• ” dammer, and other substances, 255
• ” fish, 108
• ” ” experiments with, 108
• ” ” and other substances, 108
• ” linseed, 106
• ” ” and other substances, 106, 165, 268, 284, 285
• ” olive, 106
• ” of juniper, to prevent worms, 285
• ” of mustard, to preserve wood, 107
• ” of spikenard, 106, 285
• ” of tar; and other substances, 123, 155, 162
• ” of tar—see Coal Tar
• ” palm, to preserve wood, 106, 107
• ” ” and other substances, 123
• ” paraffin, to cure dry rot, 285
• ” petroleum, to preserve wood, 109, 157, 169, 262, 287
• ” ” and sand, 109
• ” vegetable, best to preserve wood, 106
• ” whale, 286
• ” ” renders wood brittle, 106
• ” ” and other substances, 106, 107
• ” and other substances, 156, 167
• Oils, animal, render wood brittle, 107
• Oxford’s patent, 123
• Painting, house, described, 199
• ” ” causes rot, 183, 185, 269
• ” how to remove from carvings, 270
• Paling, rot in, 185
• Pallas’ iron and lime process, 117
• Panthéon, Paris, dry rot in dome, 42
• Parkes’ caoutchouc process, 162
• Parry’s (Dr.) suggestion to prevent rot, 156
• Passez’s caoutchouc in sulphur process, 162
• Pasteur, researches of, 17
• Patents, most successful patents, 169
• Payne’s patent process, 144, 154, 156, 223, 254
• Peat moss, for seasoning wood, 116
• Penrose’s report on carvings, St. Paul’s Cathedral, 271
• Pepys, Memoirs of, account of rot in ships in, 24
• Pering on dry rot, 25
• Petersburgh deals, white and yellow, 38, 66
• Petroleum oil to prevent rot, 109, 157, 169, 262, 287
• Phillips (R.), on seasoning oak, 70
• Piles, timber, 23, 96, 219, 221, 223, 226, 228, 285
• ” ” cased in iron, 229
• Pine, yellow, liable to rot, 43
• Pitch, 96, 174, 224
• ” and other substances, 107, 159
• Pith of tree, formation of, 4
• Pliny, on salt-water seasoning, 72
• Polyporus hybridus fungi, 21
• Porcher (Dr.), on seasoning wood, 75
• Posts, experiments with, 45
• ” in Norway, how preserved, 173
• ” burning ends to preserve, 96, 98
• ” where they decay, 24
• ” coating, to preserve, 161
• Potash, and other substances, 166, 167
• Price and Manby’s drying stove, 88
• Pringle (Sir J.), on the strength of alum, 119
• Pritchard’s report on sea-worms, 156, 233
• Processes, rules for successful, 110
• ” pressure and vacuum, 168
• Prussiate of copper (Boucherie’s process), 146
• ” of iron ” ” 146
• Pyroligneous acid, 111, 144, 263
• Pyrolignite of iron, 130, 146, 151, 234
• ” ” and oil of tar, 156
• Quassia, 266, 285
• ” and colocynth, 263
• Quatrefages’ experiments, 225, 242
• Quicklime, if dry, preserves wood, 116
• Railway sleepers, 47, 49, 74, 101, 103, 125, 134, 136, 138, 140, 143, 149, 151, 152, 251, 254
• Rance’s experiments with chloride of sodium, 164
• Randall (J.), on oxidating wood, 98
• Ransome’s silicate of soda process, 156, 227
• Rats, how to get rid of, 173
• Reid’s vegetable acid process, 111
• Remedies for white ants, 286
• ” for black ants, 287
• ” for dry rot, 284
• ” worms in carvings, 286
• ” ” in piles, 285
• Renwick’s vapour of creosote process, 146
• Resin, and other substances, 122, 159, 161, 285
• Robins, oleaginous vapour process, 157
• Rogers (W. J.), the wood carver, 72, 268, 274
• Rot, internal causes of, 32
• ” in timber, how to ascertain, 33, 185
• ” ” to prevent, 283
• ” ” to cure, 284
• Salt, bay, to preserve ships, 114
• ” common, to preserve ships, 112
• ” ” to preserve railway sleepers, 74
• ” water, lime, &c., to preserve wood, 73, 111
• ” vessels last long, 114
• Saltpetre, to preserve ships, 114
• Salts, deliquescent, corrode metals, 112
• Sand and coal tar, 284
• ” and petroleum, 109
• ” bath, 116
• ” sea, 113, 181
• Sapwood in different woods, 3
• Saturating woods to resist beetles, 279
• Scott’s (Col.) paint for ants, 253
• Sea salt and copperas, 166
• ” sand, 113, 181
• ” water, effect of, on iron, 230
• ” weed, 113
• ” worms, 203
• Seasoning by air, and exposure in stacks, 64
• ” ” heated, 80
• ” by extraction of sap, 101
• ” ” water, fresh, 71
• ” ” ” salt, 73, 113
• ” ” ” ” sea-weed, and sea-sand, 115
• ” ” ” lime, 73, 111
• ” ” smoke, 91
• ” ” steaming and boiling, 77
• ” ” ” charring, 99
• ” ” gas, 97, 164
• ” ” sand bath, 116
• ” ” scorching and charring, 95,97
• ” ” baking, 79, 81, 86, 88, 94
• ” oak, 69, 70, 72, 289
• ” second, 103
• Sea-worms, woods which resist, 223
• Selenite, experiments with, 119
• Shakes in wood, 10, 249, 250
• Shaw (Capt. E. M.), on admission of air, 120, 171
• Shield’s remedy for white ants, 245, 256
• Ships, 99, 111, 112, 114, 116, 117, 194, 251
• ” dry rot in, 23, 26, 73, 93, 112, 114
• Silicate of potash, 155
• ” of soda, 156, 160, 227
• ” ” and lime, 160
• Silloway (T. W.), on seasoning wood, 75, 92
• Silver grain, 6
• Size for wood, why required, 197
• ” and corrosive sublimate, 266
• Slating wall to keep out damp, 177
• Sleepers, see Railway Sleepers
• Smirke (Sir R.), on dry rot, 20, 123
• Smith’s solution for wood beetles, 264
• Soap, experiments with, 122
• ” metallic, to preserve wood, 165
• ” yellow ” ” 165
• ” and other substances, 253
• Society of Arts building, dry rot in, 42
• Soda, carbonate of, 155
• Soluble glass, 155
• Southend pier, attacked by sea-worms, 209
• Spores, description of, 15
• Stains for woods, 189, 197
• Stanmore Cottage, dry rot in floor at, 183
• Steam, 145, 168
• ” —see Seasoning by Steam
• Stephenson (Sir M.), on creosoted wood, 134
• Stevenson (R.), on timber piles, 205, 217
• St. James’s Church, Piccadilly, carvings at, 272, 281
• St. Helena, experiments with woods at, 256
• St. Mark’s, Venice, rotten curb of dome at, 176
• St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, 42, 271, 290
• St. Preuve’s steam process, 80
• Stove drying, 79, 81, 86, 88, 94
• Strength of timber, 11
• Strontia, and other substances, 166
• Sublimate—see Corrosive Sublimate
• Sulphate of copper, 122, 146, 149, 150, 151, 161, 226, 284
• ” ” and sulphuric acid, 285
• ” of iron, 154, 157, 284
• ” ” and other substances, 117, 166, 284
• Sulphur, 163
• ” in other substances, 163, 285
• Sulphuric acid, 161, 285
• Surinam, groo-groo worms in, 247
• Swift’s, Dean, recipe for beetles, 282
• Tallow bath for wood, 144
• Tar, and other substances, 106, 130, 159, 228, 251, 284
• Tarred rope, and lead for piles, 228
• Teak oil, to preserve wood from ants, 259
• ” chips, distilled, 163
• Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, built on charred piles, 98
• ” buildings, London, dry rot in, 124
• Tennant’s (Sir E.) account of ants in Ceylon, 246
• ” ” bees ” 260
• Teredo navalis, description of, 212
• ” —see Worms, Sea
• Termites—see Ants, White
• Tie-beam, instance of unseasoned, 289
• Timber depreciates by keeping too long, 64
• Tissier’s hot air process, 102
• Toplis’ sulphate of iron process, 157
• Tredgold (T.), on seasoning wood, 78, 101, 290
• Treenails, 26, 110, 118
• Trees, symptoms of decay in, 52
• ” how to prepare for felling, 61
• ” when to fell, 53, 54, 55, 58
• Trinity College, Cambridge, carvings at, 269, 273
• ” Oxford ” 269, 273
• Truman’s brewery, seasoning casks at, 84
• Turpentine prevents rot, 36, 257, 263, 285
• ” in corrosive sublimate, 115
• Uninflammable wood, good process required for, 170, 291
• Unseasoned oak panelling, 288
• ” roof principal, 289
• Vaporizing woods, 276
• Vapour of creosote process, 145
• Venice, built on piles, 23
• Vernet’s fire-proof method, 167
• Vessels in coal trade last long, 117
• ” in lime ” 116
• ” in salt ” 114
• Vinegar—see Garlic
• Vitriol, blue—see Sulphate of Copper
• ” green—see Sulphate of Iron
• Vitruvius on seasoning wood, 75
• Vulliamy (G.), on charring posts, 96
• Wade’s suggestions for preserving wood, 119, 122
• Wainscot, Crown Riga, 90
• ” dry rot in, 35, 125
• ” how to cut oak for, 70
• ” unseasoned oak for, 289
• Wallis’ experiments with beetles, 276
• Walnut juice for worms, 263
• Warburton’s (H.) opinion of American oak, 40
• Warping of boards, 66, 67
• Water in wood, 39, 67, 180
• ” in church, 29
• ” glass to preserve piles, 226
• Watson’s (Dr.) experiments with wood, 67
• Westwood’s (Prof.) report on wood beetles, 262
• Wet rot, how caused, 14, 28
• Wimpole, carvings at, 273
• Wood bond decays, 175, 176
• ” progress of decay in, 19
• ” (Rev. J.), on worms and ants, 211, 265
• Woods best when not painted, 189
• ” experiments with, 46, 58, 67
• ” french polished, 192
• ” white, improved by water seasoning, 72
• ” which resist beetles, 273
• ” ” sea-worms, 223
• ” ” white ants, 249
• Woodcutters, 55
• ” tricks of Indian, 11
• ” tricks, of, in Ceylon, 114
• Woody fibre, formation of, 2, 7
• Worms, sea, 203
• ” how to prevent in wood, 285
• Wren (Sir C.), 23, 98, 221, 271
• Zinc, chloride of—see Burnett’s Process
• ” sulphate of, 122
• ” white oxide of, 226
• ” and other substances, 165