The seasoning of timber consists of its subjection to that process, natural or otherwise, which will render it suitable for use in carpentry, joinery, wheel building, etc., and which will maintain it in that condition for as long a time as possible.

We desire that the timber when in its finished state should neither shrink nor swell unduly, that it should not crack or shake, and above all, that it should maintain its properties unimpaired.

The various species have each their own characteristic qualities, which determine their uses, thus we do not look for great strength in timbers furnishing veneers, while the hardest and heaviest woods are unsuited for such purposes as signalling poles, where lightness is a desideratum.

Since every tree has its own distinctive properties it follows that seasoning, to be really scientific and effective, must vary according to the particular species under consideration.

Moreover, just as the care and preservation of human life require very different treatment in different climates, and vary according to the occupations, tendencies, etc., of classes and individuals, so in timber the care and preservation (seasoning) must vary according to the country, the climate, and the uses to which the timber is to be subjected.

As the most noticeable characteristic in seasoning is the evaporating out of the moisture contained in timber "seasoning" is often confounded with "drying."

These are, however, not entirely convertible terms. Timber may be said to be "dry "when it has lost fifth to one sixth of its weight, whereas it cannot be said to be "seasoned " till it has lost about one third.

It is, of course, financially undesirable to have a larger capital locked up in so perishable and imflammable an article as timber than is absolutely necessary to the turnover.

On the other hand early maturity in the vegetable, as in the animal world, is necessarily accompanied by its inevitable result, premature decay.

It may therefore be assumed that all forms of artificial seasoning are in themselves undesirable if they can be avoided.

Moreover, it is a matter of common knowledge that early maturity is greatly stimulated by tropical heat and we may fairly assume that timber is no exception to the general rule, and consequently that it seasons far more rapidly in India than it would in more temperate climates.

The process will be more rapid in a hot dry climate than in a moist one, and it is evident that our efforts in a hot climate must be directed towards retarding the seasoning process rather than to hastening it, and towards stopping its further development as soon as it has become effective.

One of the earliest and most fruitful causes of decay is leaving valuable logs lying in forests and depots after felling, and allowing them to sink into soft earth of their own weight; they thus absorb a good deal of moisture and are sure to be infected with the spores of destructive fungi, and thus impregnated with the seeds of decay.

When brought into a depot olfactory they should be at once skidded well off the ground.

As it is generally held that squared logs do not rift or split, so much as round ones do, and also because squaring removes the sap-wood, which is more prone to disease and decay than the adjacent heart wood, logs should, if possible, be rough squared before stacking.

Damp, heat, wind, moisture, and exposure to the direct rays of the sun are all deleterious, so each stack should be provided with a rough roof, and the sides and ends should also be screened from the weather though a free circulation of air (without draught) is essential.

Uneven drying is the main cause of splitting whether in the loe or scantling, and can be prevented by frequently turning the pieces, the evaporation being greater from the upper than from the lower side. It is also greater from the ends than from the sides.

Gradual and natural drying renders the wood tough and durable, as the portions liable to be acted on by the atmosphere are rendered less soluble than if the seasoning be more rapid.

As a result of these considerations it is evident that the ends should be protected in some way, the best way being to paint them with size and whiting" and then to nail battens on the ends of the log or plank. The leaping of the log plank, or scantling with cowdung and mud is also an effective and useful precaution ; anything which will tend to prevent irregular drying will mitigate the defect of timber splitting.

If. moreover, timber can be kept for some time in a dry place before coming on into plank, it will be less liable to warp and twist in the process of seasoning. If again the plank or scantling be further allowed to dry before being taken into use, the thin fine shakes which begin to form as soon as the scantling is cut will probably not open to such an extent as to become deleterious.

If, however, timber is kept too long these shakes tend to become deeper and deeper (ill they occasionally render the whole log unfit for conversion.

As timber seasons quicker in hot climates than in England, the time at which it can be properly taken into use is therefore shortened pari passu.

Summary Of Rules To Be Observed In Seasoning Timber

1. Fell the tree when the sap is " down."

2. ;Remove it from the forest as soon as possible.

3. ;Take off the sapwood and square the log.

4. ;Stack it in a dry place, where the air can circulate, but be careful that the stacks are not exposed to sun, wind or rain.

5. ;Allow the logs to dry slowly ; especially protect the ends and paint them with size and whiting. Leap all logs well.

(i. If the size admits, quarter the logs.

7. ;Planks and scantlings to be carefully piled with plenty of free air space ; care should be taken that the small battens used to separate the scantlings are quite sound and free from decay. Cover scantlings with cowdung.

8. ;Turn the planks or scantlings over annually so that the top sides become the under sides ; paint the ends with size and whiting and nail small battens over each end.

9. ;Half - wroughts should be stacked with short blocks between them in as cool, dry and dark a place as possible, free from sun. wind, and rain, and the temperature should be as even as is practicable.

10. ;They should be turned over annuallv and restacked.

11. ;In all restacking, all diseased and rotten timber, including battens, should be removed.

12. ;Disease in timber is often very highly contagious, and one diseased batten may convey infection to the whole stack.