SKETCH OF DRY ROT FUNGUS

On basement floor joist in house, at Greenwich, near London Feb 1875.

END OF JOIST

Crumbled into fine red powder, with slight rubbing.

TOP OF JOIST.

Portion of fungus near the edge was torn away on removal of floor boards, the undersides of which were covered with fungus, as well as the sides of nearest joist 10ins. distant.

Portion of fungus near the edge was torn away on removal of joist. Fungus covered top and sides of sleeper joist.

Colours of fungi. White, yellow, green, purple, and rusty red.

A TREATISE
ON THE
ORIGIN, PROGRESS, PREVENTION, AND CURE
OF
DRY ROT IN TIMBER.

WITH REMARKS ON
THE MEANS OF PRESERVING WOOD FROM DESTRUCTION BY
SEA WORMS, BEETLES, ANTS, ETC.

BY
THOMAS ALLEN BRITTON,
LATE SURVEYOR TO THE METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS, AND SILVER MEDALLIST OF THE
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS IN 1854, 1856, AND 1870.

LONDON:
E. & F. N. SPON, 48, CHARING CROSS.
NEW YORK: 446, BROOME STREET.
1875.

THIS VOLUME
IS
Dedicated to
GEORGE VULLIAMY, Esq.,
VICE-PRESIDENT
OF THE
ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS;
AND
ARCHITECT
OF
THE METROPOLITAN BOARD OF WORKS;
AS A SLIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT
OF HIS
COUNSEL, SYMPATHY, AND FRIENDSHIP,
DURING MANY YEARS.

PREFACE.

In preparing this treatise on Dry Rot, the author has endeavoured to place in as condensed a form as was consistent with the nature of the subject, the knowledge and information dispersed through a numerous collection of writers who have treated thereon; he has also availed himself of the assistance of professional friends, builders, timber-merchants, foremen and carpenters; and, by so doing, has been enabled to record several instances of the progress and cure of dry rot. He has consulted many valuable papers published during the last thirty years, in the various professional journals in England, America, France, and Germany, upon this important subject, and has also obtained much useful information from the works of Evelyn, Nicholson, Tredgold by Hurst, Papworth, Burnell, Blenkarn, and other English writers upon timber; Silloway, of North America; Porcher, of South America; Du Hamel, De Moray, and De Lapparent, of France; and several writers whose works will be referred to.

It is many years since a separate and complete work on dry rot has been published, and those who are desirous of inquiring into the matter are frequently at a loss where to obtain any information. Existing works on the subject are out of print, and although they can be seen at a few professional institutes, they are beyond the reach of the general public.

It has been the aim of the author in preparing this treatise to give a fair hearing to every patentee, and he has endeavoured to be as impartial as possible in recording instances of failure and success. If he has erred in any particular case, he will be happy, should this work reach a second edition, to make any necessary correction.

The reader will probably find some things repeated in the course of the work; this is in many cases unavoidable, and in some advisable; for if by a little tautology important truths can be impressed upon the mind of the reader, the author will feel that his labour in preparing this work has not been altogether in vain.

Modern authorities have been relied upon in preference to ancient ones: the following sentence, written by the late Sydney Smith, is quoted as a reason for so doing:

“Those who come first (our ancestors) are the young people, and have the least experience. We have added to their experience the experience of many centuries; and, therefore, as far as experience goes, are wiser, and more capable of forming an opinion than they were.”

20, Limes Grove, Lewisham,
May 14th, 1875.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
On the Nature and Properties of Timber[Page 1]
CHAPTER II.
On the Gradual Rise and Development of Dry Rot[14]
CHAPTER III.
On Felling Timber[51]
CHAPTER IV.
On Seasoning Timber by Natural Methods, viz. Hot and Cold Air; Fresh and Salt Water; Vapour; Smoke; Steam; Boiling; Charring and Scorching, &c.[63]
CHAPTER V.
On Seasoning Timber by Patent Processes, &c.[105]
CHAPTER VI.
On the Means of Preventing Dry Rot in Modern Houses[171]
CHAPTER VII.
On the Means of Preservation of Wooden Bridges, Jetties, Piles, Harbour Works, &c., from the Ravages of the Teredo navalis and other Sea-worms[203]
CHAPTER VIII.
On the Destruction of Woodwork in Hot Climates by the Termite or White Ant, Woodcutter, Carpenter Bee, &c.; and the Means of Preventing the Same[240]
CHAPTER IX.
On the Causes of Decay in Furniture, Wood Carvings, &c.; and the Means of Preventing and Remedying the Effects of such Decay[262]
CHAPTER X.
Summary of Curative Processes[283]
CHAPTER XI.
General Remarks and Conclusion[288]
Index[295]

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Dry Rot on Floor Joist[Frontispiece]
To face page
Timber Beams—Rotten at the Heart[34]
Baltic Modes of Cutting Deals[64]
Mr. Kyan’s Timber Preserving Tank[126]
Messrs. Bethell and Co.’s Timber Preserving Apparatus[136]
Timber Piles from Balaclava Harbour[208]
Destruction of Timber Pile by Teredo[212]
Shell and Cell of Teredo navalis[216]
Piles, Southend Pier; Limnoria, &c.[220]
Carpenter Bees at Work[260]