DRY ROT IN SHIPS.
257
"In the mean time, as your Honourable Board 'further require
"that my report may be extended to the measures necessary to prevent
"the evil in any of His Majesty's Ships ' I beg leave to offer the follow-
"ing observations relating to the seasoning of Timber, a subject, upon
''the discussion of which for want of time I had not entered in my former
"report.
"The trees, having been felled at a proper time of year and upon
"examination found to be free from internal Fungi and rot14 the season-
"ing should be immediately commenced and carried on regularly until
''the last moment of fitting together, without artificial heat ; they
"should even be sheltered from rain and the heat of the sun and sup-
ported from the ground upon which they should never after be
"suffered to lie quiet long; they should be kept separate from one
"another at all times, especially when not quite dry and if brought
"from distant countries by sea, they should be put on Shipboard as
"dry as possible and not stowed too close, for incipient fermentation
"is much to be feared, especially if the Timber be fresh cut ; it destroys
"the connection of the fibres and is difficult to check.
"The Timbers having been squared and reduced to a certain state
"of dryness should be stacked upon high ground, the lowest ones being
''raised some feet from the earth ; the next supported at a proper
"distance, perhaps twice the measure of its thickness and those nearest
"to the top of the stack may be closest. The distance of the Timbers
"from each other may vary with the situation of the Stacks and the
"state of the wood; those most confined, in the lowest ground or
"containing freshest wood being most open, since the free access of
"proper air not only prevents fermentation and the growth of Fungi,
"but tends to harden the wood and so renders it less liable to be in-
"jured by damp hereafter and more unfit for the nourishment of the
"Dryrot.
"High stacks are better than long ranges, particularly in low
"confined marshy Countries, or adjacent to our coast ; and one stack
"should never be placed so as to prevent the wind from entering the
"open spaces of another.
"Should the wood show any signs of Fungi, which, notwithstanding
"much caution, may sometimes happen when the Timber has been
"placed too close, stacked too early, or from a succession of close, damp
"weather, it must be cleaned and occasionally turned and fresh stacked.
"It will be found generally useful to pull down the stacks after a
''short time and build them afresh nearer to the place where the Timber
"is to be used, the upper Timbers being brought to the bottom of the
"fresh stack, the top of which will be formed by those that were at the
"bottom of the old stack, this movement being repeated several times
"will facilitate and promote the healthy seasoning of the wood and at
"the same time bring it nearer to the hands of the builder.15 In this
14 An externally good looking living Oak has been so full of the rot as to be easily crumbled
to pieces : it is proper to observe if there be any infant signs of this before using it.
15 It might be of advantage if some smart arrangement could be made for order and
convenience in placing the wood according to its most appropriate purposes, ornamentally imita-
tive of the Muskets in an armoury. It would become the boast of some individuals, whose
skill is naturally adapted to it, and at length the pride of the nation to contemplate on a neat and
cleanly arrangement, pleasing in the present and offering a fair prospect for the future.