... Were
these crystallizations salt alone, they would soon dissolve, but the
arsenic and corrosive sublimate have rendered them insoluble; hence they
remain intact while any fiber of the wood is left."
"The antiseptic qualities of arsenic are also well known, and have been
known for centuries. Chemical analysis of the _mummies of Egypt_ to-day
shows the presence of arsenic in large quantities in every portion of
their substance. Whatever other ingredients may have entered into the
compound that has been so potent in preserving from decay the bodies of
the old kings of Egypt, and even the linen vestments of their tombs,
arsenic was most certainly one."
The mode of application used by Mr. Foreman was to bore holes two inches
in diameter three-fourths of the way through sticks of square timber,
four feet apart, to fill them with the dry powder, and to plug them up
with a bung. For railroad ties he bored two holes two inches in
diameter, six inches inside of the rails, and filled and plugged them.
Fresh cut lumber and shingles were prepared by piling layers upon each
other with the dry powder sprinkled between in the ratio of twenty
pounds to the thousand feet of lumber. This was allowed to remain at a
temperature of at least 458 deg. F. until fermentation took place, when the
lumber was considered fully "foremanized.
Pages:
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97