The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-08-21
TELLING A TREE BY ELECTRIC
 ITY.

The Process Required More Than Two
 Hours, the Trunk Being Eleven Feet il Circumference.
 One of the chief attractions of Jack sonville, H., is the large trees Whicf
 overreach many of the principal streets shielding them from the sun. The
 grounds of the state insane hospital To- cated there, are also shaded with many trees, and recently a limb of one of the largest of the trees was broken off by the wind. As it fell it blocked the car raige drive, and it was decided to cut away the whole tree. As the workmen found the tree too large for crosscut saw, they were about to chop it down when it was suggested that the elec- trician "elec.rocure' it.
 Following out the suggestion, con- nection was made with an arc lamp cir cult passing near. The electrician changed the circuit at the power house so it could be thrown on to dynamo that was operating a power circuit, and then dropped a couple of short wires from the nearest arc lamp pole, con- meeting twenty feet of No. IA iron wire between them. Putting the wire around the tree and having a couple of men hold it taut, the current was turned on, but it was found that only thirtyf1ve ampere circuit could be obtained. This was not sufficient to make any appre- ciable effect on the trunk of the tree. After another unsuccessful attempt with smaller iron wire the arc light circuit had to be put in service for the night.
 The following morning a pair of No. weather proof lines were run to the nearest underground feeder, and a twenty foot piece of seven strand No. 16 galvanized iron wire was inserted in the circuit, three of the strands being taken out to give air space and room for the products of combustion to pass. The feeder was cut out of regular duty and put on a small dynamo, which was also specially arranged for wide regu- lation of voltage. The dynamo tender was given a code of signals and told to keep his eye on a man who was placed on top of the administration building tower to transmit the signals from the electrician.
 cOoll dlltI SlSH was pdSS6u Iu6 wire became uncomfortable to the touch; another signal, and it soon be- gan to smoke and the bark to blacken; another and the zinc whitened while those holding the cautery began sliding 1t slowly back and forth. The bark sparled and smoked The wire took a dull red color in the sunlight and a cherry hue in the crevice. Its motion was adjusted so as to give sufficient air to reduce the wood to soft charcoal af- ter the water was evaporated and to remove the charcoal as fast as formed In an hour the crevice was eighteen inches deep, and at this point the wire, having been considerably reduced in size by oxidization, gave away and was replaced by another The opera tion was kept up until the trunk was almost cut through, when the little bit of unburned wood in the center of the trunk parted and the tree fell
 The tree was an elm, with a large percentage of water, and was eleven feet in circumference. The current in the cautery was from 120 to 135 arn- peres direct, the voltage at the machine being varied from so to 115. The time in the operation was two hours and ten minutes.--The Western Electrician.