Red River prospector. (Red River, Taos County, N.M.) 1900-190?, 1907-03-14
POSTS
~FiRE-klLLED Loi
WELL AT
Preserved With crJ
Process II FulhIl
Ments-Dlseove
eminent Exp
WashIngton.-An 8


Washington.-An eK
preventative treatment
pole pine for fence D
pleted by the forest sd
Henrys lake forest reset
has given results of ecol
both to the people of the
and to the forest service.
demonstrated that fre-killedl
pine is well adapted to treath
creosote by an exceedingly
process.
The demand for durable pO
ranchmen in the vicinity Of II
lake has hitherto been met by TIN
of red cedar. but the supply of
species is now completely exhaust
The only native trees at present ava
able for posts are lodgepole pin
quaking aspen, and Douglas hrA
Though durability varies with the
%soundness and dryness of the posts
when placed in the ground and with
the character of the soil with which
they come into contact, in general,
aspen posts last from six to ten years,
fir posts from five to seven years, and
pine posts only from three to four
years.
Lodgepole pine without preservative
treatment is thus too short.lived to
make desirable posts or poles. The
idea Of treating it was suggested by
the requirements of forest manage
ment on the Henrys lake reserve.
Large bodies of dead lodgepole pine,
both standing and down-the legacy Of
severe fires in 19O2-are a serious
handicap to the forest there. This
timber must be got rid of to make
room for young growth if the future
forest is to be well stocked.
Properly treated ~lodgepole pine
should last 20 years, which equals the
life of the former favorite, red cedar.
BY treating the pine, n thus making
it ~serviceable for posts, the forest
service has found a way of removing
the encumbering timber at a good
price and supplying consumers with
valuable posts at a reasonable figure.
Since the success of preservative
treatment has been demonstrated the
value of the wood has risen from %
cents to approximately 40 cents per
cord.
The treatment was given in a gal
vanized-iron tank fitted with steam
coils, in which from 40 to so posts
stripped of bark were placed upright.
Enough creosote was then run into
the tank to submerge the butts for
about two and three-quarter feet, heat.
ed to 200 degrees Fair, or a little
above the boiling point of water at
that altitude, and afterwards allowed
to cool.
The large quantity of fire-killed tim
Der IN many of the forest reserves,
the pressing need for durable wood,
the steady rise in its price due to the
increasing difficulty of obtaining it,
and, finally, the ease with which post
timber can be treated, indicate that
the preservative treatment of timber
is to have an important development
throughout the west. This, besides
meeting the demands of the people
and reducing the drain upon the for
est, will lead to the improvement Of
conditions on the reserves and insure
better crops hereafter.
1t is the intention of the forest serv-
ice to establish experimental treating
plants where there are bodies Of dead
timber on the reserves and a demand
for durable wood cannot otherwise be
met. Experimental work will be con-
Quoted with zinc Chord and other
processes as the needs of the different
regions and the thorough testing of
each process may require.
AS a result of the post experiment,
it is understood that a company win
take up the treatment of dead lodge
pole pine on a commercial scale in the
spring. They are satisfied that the
simplicity and economy of the open
tank process introduced by the forest
service will enable them, with certain
notifications of apparatus, to treat
and sell not only fence posts, but tele-
phone poles and posts used for irriga-
ton works. They count upon a local
market already in good part developed
by the confidence which the fence
post experiment has inspired.