A Laboratory Evaluation of Wood Preservatives

U N D A M E N T A L scientific discoveries in the biological sciences during the latter part of the nineteenth century slowly brought organized knowledge out of the chaos of conflicting theories as to the character of many natural phenomena. This was especially true in the field of fermentation where these accumulated findings and observations finally served as the basis for the proof that the filamentous fungi were the causal agents in the decay of wood. This knowledge of the decay mechanism, together with increased demand for wood products due to industrial expansion and the concomitant depletion of our best stands of naturally rot-resistant species of timber, served as a stimulus towards organized studies of the physiology of decay organisms and possible means of prophylaxis. While Nature has been lavish in the supply of fast-growing species, she has also been provident in making such timber more vulnerable to attack by the micro-flora and fauna which act as scavengers for the forests and as conservators for vast quantities of materials which trees take from the soil during their growth period. The necessity of preserving this more easily decayed wood accelerated the search for satisfactory means of protection. This has been especially true in the Bell System where fast-growing but easily rotted southern pine has, to a large extent, been supplanting chestnut and cedar for poles. In the past the use of certain materials for the preservation of wood was based entirely on their availability or the personal prejudice of proponents for them.