Protection Against Fire.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 28, 1 July 1885, Page 2

Protection Against Fire.

The liability of shingles to catch fire has long been a standing danger m Colo nial wooden buildings, and the undermentioned extract from an English periodical showing a method of rendering: timber shingles for roofs noncombustible, may be of use to many of our readers.' According to engineering a United' States chemist has discovered a method of preserving wood from decay, which, though at present only applied' to shingles—split logs used for roofing m he v of slates or tiles— will have many other applications. '" By the process the wood m also rendered incombustible. Here is the method of treatment : Two hundred: and fifty gallons ol water are mingled with twenty pounds of lime, and ten pounds of salt. In this mixture, tKei wood is Tboiled utitil quite saturated. ' Shingles so prepared will last for roofing .. _^HxupqßfiS-fo* l -*a*«iy — years, altirongti"Tiir=f protected with paint. With regard to the fire-resisting powers of wood bo. pre pared, experiments showed that when' | soaked m naphtha, and set alight, the shingles would not catch fire. Although of course the liquid burned itself out.' A curious point m this method of preparing is that it is best applied to green wood, as then the sap cells are open, and will better absorb the solution.