Laboratory analysis was performed on artifact labeled "deck timber".  Galbraith Labs in Knoxville, Tennessee tested samples taken from within the "formation' and from without.  All of the laboratory procedures were videotaped, including the taking the sample from the specimen, and the actual execution of the analyses.  

Results of "inside" "outside" analysis:
The sample outside the formation showed a 1.88% carbon content; but the one from inside yielded a 4.95% carbon content, an amount that was consistent with the presence of prior living matter, such as decayed or petrified wood. It also showed a surprisingly high iron content.

Note:
Petrified wood is commonly known to contain organic carbon; but it is not known to be found in natural minerals.  Compounds of carbon can be analyzed to determine whether they are composed of matter that was non-organic (non-living), or organic (living). Therefore, the one test to determine if an object was organic (once living), or not is to determine its organic carbon content.

Procedure:
Gail Hutchens, Vice President of Galbraith, suggested that they run an analysis for total carbon content. This would include both inorganic and organic. Then, they would test for inorganic  Then, the two tests would be compared. By subtracting the amount of inorganic from the total amount, the amount of organic carbon would be determined.

Results of organic carbon testing:
The result was that it contained .71% total carbon. Inorganic carbon totalled .0081%. It contained .7019% ORGANIC CARBON- almost 100 times more organic than inorganic!  

Note:
The "deck timber" having been determined to contain organic Carbon, which means that it was once living, was found to have a unique characteristic in that It displayed no growth rings. 

Growth rings in trees and other plants are caused by a variation in the water supply to the plant. Annual rings occur when the temperature drops and the sap in the tree fails to rise. The leaves of the deciduous trees turn color and die, soon dropping off. In the spring, the warmth releases the tree from its state of "hibernation" and the sap begins to flow again. Even though there may be water in the ground, when the temperature drops, the tree does not continue its cycle until it is again spring. Therefore, a ring results when the growth is temporarily halted and begins when spring arrives.

In order to understand why the pre-flood wood showed no growth rings one needs only to consult the Bible.  It informs us that before the flood it did not rain; therefore there were not wet and dry seasons.  Growth was at a constant rate. 

Genesis2:5  "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD GOD HAD NOT CAUSED IT TO RAIN UPON THE EARTH, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6  But THERE WENT UP A MIST FROM THE EARTH, AND WATERED THE WHOLE FACE OF THE GROUND." 

Note:
Scientific study confirms the absence of growth rings in plants from what they label the "Carboniferous period"

"There was, as we have already said, secondary bark and wood, similar to that of modern trees but lacking the spring and winter rings which correspond to seasonal alternation of moisture and dryness. This is a further proof that the Carboniferous climate was fairly uniform." (Larousse Encyclopedia of the Earth, p. 369.)