Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-02-21
A NEW SOURCE FOR
FENCE POSTS.
Dead LOd2cpoIc Pine Preserved with
Creosotc by /. Cheap PROCESS Full
nils All Requirements.

An experiment In the prescrvativc
treatment of dead lodgcpole pine for
fence posts. just completed by the For
rst Service. on the Henrys Lake Forest
Reserve in Idaho, has given results Of
economic value both to the people of the
community and to tho Forest Service. It
has demonstrated that fire-killcd lodge
pole pine is we'll adapted to treatment
with Creosotc oil by an exceedingly sim
pic process.
Tho demand for durable posts by
ranchmen in the vicinity of Hcnrys Lake
has hitherto been me. by the use oF red
cedar. but the supply IF this species is
now completely exhausted. The only
native trees ~ present available for
posts are lo1gepoln pine. quak'ng aspen,
and Douglas fir. Though dura biltv va
RIGS with tho soundness and dryucse %
the posts when placed IN the ground and
with the chara ctcr of the soil with which
they como in contact, in general aspen
posts las. from six 20 ten years. fir posts
from i've to seven years. and pine posts
only from throe to four years.
Lodgcpolo pine without preservative
treatment liz thus too short-llved to make
desirable posts or poles. The idea Of
treating was suggested by the require
monts Of forest management on the
Henrys Lake reserve Large bodies of
dead lodsepole pine. both standing and
down-thN legacy of severe fires IN 1900
are n serious handicap to the forest
there. This timber must be got rd Of TO
make room for young growth If the fu-
turo forest IL 20 he well stocked
Properly treated lodgopo" pine should
last twenty years. which equals tho lfe
of the former favoritc, rcd codar. Ev
treating the pine, and thus making I
scrviceahle for posts. the forest service
has found way OF removing tho oncum-
boring t'iber al good price a:d sup
PLYING consumers with valuable posts at
a reasonable nEurc. Since the success
Of prcscrva.ive treatment has been dem
onstrated the value az The wood mas ris-
on from - cents to approving ely -
cents nor cord.
The treatment was given In ga'van-
zcd-iron tank fitted with steam coils.
In which from 10 to ~ posts stripped If
bark were placed upright Enough GRO
osote was then run into tho tank "a
submerge the butts for about .. feet.
| heated 10 - degrees r, 90 q lit;l" above
tho boiling point of water at that alti-
tude. and afterwards allowed to cool.
The large quantity Of hre-kil,cd timber
on many of the forest reserves tho press
ing need for durable wood. the steady
rise in price Is due TO the increa sin z
difficulty Of obtaining 1t. and. finally, the
ease with which post timber can he
treated. Indicate that the prcscrvatfve
trca trNont Of thinner IS To have ~ impor-
| tant development throughout the West,
! This besides meeting the demands OF
IN" people and reducing the drain upon
I the forest, will lead 70 tho Improvement
Of conditions on the reserves and iusur.
| better crops hereafter
| 1t is the intention of the forest service
to establish experimental treating plants
where there are bodies Of dead timber
| on tho reserves and a demand For dGrI-
| bic wood can not otherwise 10 met In
| pcrmcntal work will bc conducted with
zinc chlrrid and otnor PROGRESSES as tn,
needs Of the diNercr; regions and the
| thorough testing Of each process may ro-
| quirc.
As result of ,hc post experiment. il
! i understood that q company Will tax,
| up the treatment Of dead lodgepole pin,
| on commercial scale in the spring
! They are satisfied that the simplicity and
economy of the open-tank process intro
! duced hy the forest service will enabl,
them. with certain notifications Of ap-
| paratus. 20 treat and sell not only fence
| posts, hu. telephone poles aud posts USED
| for irrigation works. They count upon
n local marie; already IN good par, de-
vclopcd on the confidence VII On the
fence-post experiment has inspired.