"
Some of the ties so preserved have been transferred to other portions of
the track, and some of the soil has also been transported to other
localities, so that it is hoped that in the discussion that may be
expected to follow this report, some further light will be thrown on the
subject by an account of the results of these experiments.
Experiments Nos. 15, 16, 17, and 18 are most instructive, and convey a
useful lesson.
In 1865 Mr. B.S. Foreman patented the application of a dry powder for
preserving wood, which was composed of certain proportions of salt,
arsenic, and corrosive sublimate. This action was based upon an
experience which he had had when, as a working mechanic of Ellisburg,
Jefferson County, N.Y., in 1838, he had preserved a water-wheel shaft by
inserting such a compound in powder in the body of the wood, and
ascertained that it was still sound some 14 years later.
His theory of the action of his compound upon timber was briefly this:
"That all wood before it can decay must ferment; that fermentation
cannot exist without heat and moisture; that the chemical property or
nature of his compound, when inserted dry into wood, is to attract
moisture, and this moisture, aided by fermentation, liquefies the
compound; that capillary attraction must inevitably convey it through
the sap ducts and medullary rays to every fiber of the stick.
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