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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1879)
THE WEST SHORE. April, 1879. thk num. Mr - HABITS AM. AMHM'IATKH. The teredo, or it i mora oommunly oallixl, the ship-worm, ni formerly supposed to lie native of Uie tropical Mu noil to have been t n. .1 by ahipa into the colder weteri, m it ia now found along tho northern ooaaU of Karom and America, ami ia in many places . l in! destructive. Hut thia belief haa been recently proved to lie erroneous. In the course of aome aioavationa made at llelfut, the trunka of a tree, entirely riddled liy the tenxlo, waa found twelve feet lielow the aurface, in strata of an aje lung irevioua to the daya of navigation, anil foaall U, onue the lioiue of the teredo, have I found in many other lo alitiea, at ixinaidrralde ileitha ; facta which prove that the leradu haa inhabited from a remote i the watera of the teniierate tone. The moat fam liar '. m ia the Imde namtii, which haa al waya heen met w ith in the llay of San Fran- , I. 11 The teredo haa of late yoara lieen the aubject nf much atudy by anine naturaliita, and much thought haa been eiiended ami many eijieri menla made in the attempt to doviae mtuuia of prutoclion from ita ravagea. In watera where thia peat atMiunda, a anlid stick of tinilier, un -protected, becomes completely honeycombed in year or two and may lie broken by the alight aat ahook. At Norfolk Navy Yanl, a piece of wood, which had lieen immeraed in sea-water only eight daya, waa ienelratd by a tereilo to tho depth of one eighth of an inch. They are an email when they enter the wood aa to lie almoat inviaihle to the naked eye. The worm, aa it may be called for convenience, enters at right angles to the grain until fairly into the wood, end e!tcrwanU eicavatoa in a direction parallel with the Hbere, diverging only Ui avoid aome ohetru.'tioo in lU path When full grown they meaaure from one to two and a half feet in length It makeaita home in the wood and do rtvea IU food entirely from the water. Aa it grows it constantly citends Ita coll or gallery, but avoids a trualon into the lodging of an' other The teiedns method of iwrforal haa been a matter ol dispute, but late researches have bon thai its eicevatnilli are . nplished by means of ,rttel roUry motion imiaild Ui ita bivalve ahell Thia shell 1. attached to or forma Mfj of the larger or aupenor extremity id the Wredii, which doea all the Imring. Through the inlenor rttrrmity ln,, it cmaUulIt pn. irtided nil . the era, the U redo aucka up and ctrrulaUse through iU system, by mean, ( ,y. pi. 1, hw a oouaiaiil current ol watai, 0011 taming the inluaoria upon which it live It ia hardly pmlm U. apply the ten,,. head and Ull U. a molluak In. h l.rea at one oud and feed, at the other. A itiuecular organ, . .11., I by netuieli.l. ,t. loot. ,, U ,,h ,1 hold. ,u, it Hrwly against the head f ,u gallery, while sar in. " t" l" li"i between the valvaa of the hell al that end of th, teredo, whkn ,,,,, naUrally .all the bead The worm haa a pli. all to i, , 11 1 ai ayatem !. a creature whoae w hole life u devote.1 t. the making f a hole asac! Is. tilling it with Ita on growth Th. celU ma It by it are oomwonl) from una quarter to new third of aa m, h in diameter at the larger eaxi gradually increasing 11, ait, from the mm U onllci. by which ita eotrao.e waa efferte.L Thaa Ihr teredo makes ita home a inuou thai II ever leerse. And aa a Umber whoa eurfa e may anow no an; 11 ita dcn.laU.ua may be completely HMM within At lira! eight, the tawlo would appear U bare nipliahe.l the "" 11 palling tie hole 11, altn ,1 Another limber worm, atill more destructive w ita ecUosv. M of the order m;,U and genua inwni m. me neat Known scioa ,. the . Urthnm; much amaller than the teredo, being al mammy only (rum ou.-liiui ui uuu-uau u, an inch in length. The limnoria penetrate! at right angles to tho line of the libera and purauea ita oourae across the grain of the wood. Count lew numbera of theae limnoria attacking a pile from all aidea, eat almoat into the heart of the tun our. ao that it mav hu broken hv a slmht 1st eral atrain. T. ,1. Arnold, Engineer to the Har bor ( 'ommissioncrs, in his report made to the Hoard 111 I ni 11 tit y, I H7.J, atatua that the I mi no ria had only recently made ita appearance in our waten. Hiuce which time it haa become aa trouhleaomo aa the teredo. Still another timber deatroyor now inhabits our watera. Mr. J. K. Hcupham, Aaat. Kuginoer of the ('. 1'. It. It., diicovered it about two yeara ago in San Francisco lay, ami it seoina to lie faat lucreaaing in nuniliera. Thia last arrival is a cruataccan of the genua rhilura, and species Irrrhmu: It ia much larger than the limnnria. and attacks timber in tho name way, by cutting acroaa the grain of tho wood. From the fact that it i nlets the pilea juat above the mud, it may tin great injury before ita preaenco ia known or even auaiectcil. W hat ita fate may be in our watera it ii iutioeaiblo to determine It ia stipnaoil to have been brought hero by shipping from Auatralian port. Neither tho teredo nor the limnoria will 1 ni n. in nracKisii watera. inoy rctiiiiru sea water, free from all impuritiea, and avoid places where the water ia contaminated by the dis charge from lowen. They do not attack piloa while tho bark remain! on, but wherever the timber becomes exposed tboro they outer ; with thia difference : the tereilo always penetrate! from Mow low-water mark, while the limnoria moat frequently attacks juat lielow the lino of high water. It is thought that the latter likea to take the sea air between tides. Tho ( '0111 miaaionera atato that in tho harbor of Ban Fran- oiaco the bark protecta tho piles for about two years, and that iu tho course of fivo yoara moro wioy nave to ne renewed. 1 11 the :n. hues of Holland, is preserved a liaiier by llr. K II. Von llaumhaiior Inf whirl, a tranalation appeared in tho Popular Srience .onrity ior august ami September, 1878,) con- ti II a description of many methods for the preservation of timber, Unit were teated in Holland, under tho direction of tho Hoyal Academy of Scioncoi of Amiterdam. Of theao mothoda wore two claaaoa 1 cnatinga applied to the aurface of wood, or modilicationa of tho sur face it-, it ; and impregnation of wood with dif ferent iuhatancea which modify tho interior aa well aa the aurface of the wood. Of tho first olaae, eight ircosaea were aiibmitted to the Commission, iiicludinu metallic mint n,,.i,, of QMI Ur. ream and sulphur, applied hot paralline varnish ; coal Ur, applied colli in suweasive layers ; lurientin ; linaeed oil ; color Hunta, ami charring tho aurface of the wood SNM)imena of wood treated by theae processes were placed in aea water in May, IKffl). An ex amination made aix months afterwards con vinced the 'otnmiaaion that none of them were effective, and that no mere otenor application csmid guarantee protection. Of methoda of impregnating wood, they exanuneil the follow ing i Sulphate of copper, green vitriol, acaute of lead. ..bcate nf llm, ,1 f pt, and , ereoaoUv 1 he only one of theae that found favor with the t ommiaaion waa that which employed the , ,,( creoeoU. They eonclude.1 that mere e.trrmd coaunp were in.ulbct.nt, aa they were - !lyi t.'?'"1 mrc,"u'll mean, or mal le.t mtm l-oam e.poaed, the teredo netr.t.l Impregnation with aolul.le aalU la meffeeuv. Itacaw, they are d,a,lved by the action of U,.a.wr. In employing the oil of rota. it ia Mcaaary that it he of good Mal.ty the imiH-egnaUon thorough, and inch Th"!'! " U,rb I'lv 52 "laiia were oonhrme.1 by aubeenuent ft 4 French It 11 U. I regretted that the Holland tfS" ..penmentawith JSuSZ. ft""1- ' C Kmml nZ but on MMM of .ta htgh pne, u,, 5gTj W thought uieleaa to try it. Thia lubatanos, now ao cheap (selling iu ..... , . , ,, at about two and a half cents per gallon) and abundant in California, might make a moat effective preser vative if properly mod. Some of the heavy California oil, which thickena on being exposed and changes tn'o a substance called maltha' (allied to asphaltum), would seem well suited to the purpose. Whatever process ia used it appears to be essential that the sap be thor oughly expelled from the wood, and the albu men that remains be ooagulated by heat before the impregnation is effected. The cost, of the oil i,n,u, will - 1 ' - - ciu piuoaoiy prevent its general use for this purpose. It is ollt-Jtillftl lw Iho ,1 iut llt.i I i,o, nl aa.1 1 f it 1 , m oi bar, ana 18 Hold in the Ivistern mnrlrf. ol bIum.1 .1. A ; " u "oooL sia cents per gallon. It is not manufactured hero, and it,.. ...... 1 , ., . ,.,.,.......,.. . L : i v ....... ...... vwi . "oioniiios ,i niiier price in this market. One gallon of creosote oil is re- lltlirfld for each enltie foot nf wuul WakJ 1 " - -- w ,,,..i. various preservative methods employing creosote have lieen tried in San leranoiam ,.nllo,l m.m.1: L - --- - - .-w, vw.vu uopceit, veiy, the Seel v, Itobbins, and Woods processes, but mm nave uoou aaiisiacnory to me Harbor Uom- .... . isubimu , ,oo,,iuj prouuee to erect works for tho preservation ol timber bv the 't'l. it.. ....... . ............ -.u:.u i i J, . o.,o,,.o j,io. , ss, ninen employs sutpnace 01 copper, with the addition of chloride of barium, forming sulphate of baryta, which is claimed to I... i ...... I. .1,1.. ' L of .11 11 . wasmw wiiicr. ji aii brie processes tested by our Harbor Commissioners, this is the only one which has so far proved efficacious. Thov have a niece nf Minhims ..;., ...l,i..u j : . I jiiuu suivii waa treatod by the Thilmany process, and placed in - vi vm, iNv. ovisiin; ii piooil Ol HIO BainC WllOll II III Hot, el,, I Aft..,- n .w.w.b.... ..f 4.... , 1 -w. . ..,,. I,,. Dssrauic ui mil yoars, the pieces were taken up, and the one so I....I...1 I...... 1 t-l... 1 Lil. IL. .11 ......... iuuiiu iuiacii, wiuie sno otnor was com- uletelv n,l.!l...l t... ti... .....i.. nsu. n r. r --j . ..... ..,. . .in ueiioo. XUD V oilinilS- sitinera are not sure that the process would be ctiicacious witn tho Oregon fir. in use in our ,. ..I...... TI :: ' ii a, xuey iue giving some otnor pieces 01 wood, treatod by the Thilmany process, a longer tost II'. A. Lawaon in Mining and Scientific Press, Wikk Bklth. The Iron Aat. sneaking of thia latest invention, says: "Machine straps of wire, aa a substitute for leather, are being made by a Herman firm. The belts are made of the best cruoible steel wire, in transverse network of one to ten wires, in any desirablo length or width. The two emla nf th aaa iaimiI like the middle, so that there is no beginning and no ending, the belt forming an endless Und. All the wires run parallel only across the width, in such a manner that one wire cavenea into tno other like a spiral, a continuous, densely-wovon chain being thus produced, the movability of whioh is ao great as to enable it to go round the smallest pulley. The straps are also made with leather or clastic lining, or I ., ,, , I . . r... 1 .. .1 I. I.....I .1 1 . I t 1 i nun n-.iiiiei. elastic, neiup, Iiair-UIIH', or any other material, also its interstices filled wm Kim.i perciiti, to soppiy elasuc nanus witn Cotton uel, anil in iV i ..!.; i ..-. iv pinmuh iiieu nv, uisiiioiH- The tightening of the strap shortening of the ""in i wiiy ueueaaary once, via., wo en oj no ins oi a Btrsip aey, may oeeneotasi ...iy eaauy iin,t very quickly by taking out any desirable niimHnr nf vim n.,.l inininff the two ends in the same manner by twisting in ""imrou numner oi wires. T.vra. Worm in CttcUMBWW. The dietetio repuUtion of cucumbers ia bad enough already, Hot it is likely to become worse, now that Dr. eidy, of Philadelphia, haa discovered that they are liable to he infaatad with tana.wnrtn. At a meeting of the Academy of Science, Phil adelphia, he exhibited a specimen of tape-worm taaen from the inaide of large cucumber. It ii aaid to have had all the characteristics of a true tape worm, but belonged to an unknown species, the peculiarity being that the ovaries, containing the round yellow eggs, are oonflned to the anterior extremity of the segment.