"Moisture seeps out of wood once split? Sounds dumb but ..

[MooresFT]

Drying in the round is a waste of time for this very reason! I can see it's an easy way of storing timber but you can't claim your timber is seasoned this way.

 

Splitting a log increases the exposed unbarked faces and therefore increases the rate at which the timber drys.

[skyhuck]

Drying in the round is a waste of time for this very reason! I can see it's an easy way of storing timber but you can't claim your timber is seasoned this way.

 

Splitting a log increases the exposed unbarked faces and therefore increases the rate at which the timber drys.

 

It also reduces the distance the water need to travel.

[Beardie]

The bark is good at resisting water loss, so exposing the interior of the wood is a good way of drying more quickly. A cleft billet will dry faster than a round log of the same size.