If the logs are painted with two or three coats of creosote before they
are laid upon the ground, it will protect them for an indefinite time and
prevent decay. Hugh P. Baker, dean of the New York State College of
Forestry, writes me that--
two or three applications of warm oil with a brush will be
very helpful and will probably be all that the ordinary man
can do. Creosote is the best preservative because of its
penetrating power and the way it acts upon the fibres of
wood, and in the end is cheaper than a good many other
things which have been used to preserve timber. In fact,
various forms of creosote are best-known preservers of
organic matter. There is no advantage in using charcoal at
all and I presume suggestions have been made for using it
because we know that charred wood is more durable.
Linseed-oil is good; ordinary white-lead paint will be
better, but neither of them is as effective as creosote, and
both are more expensive. You will find that carbolineum and
other patent preparations are recommended very highly; they
are good but expensive and the difference in price between
these patent preparations and ordinary creosote is much
larger than is justified by their increased value. Creosote
can be procured in large or small quantities from a number
of concerns. I think we have been getting it for about ten
dollars per barrel of fifty or fifty-three gallons.