The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1907-10-18
Trees and WATER
ARE MIGHTY FACTORS IN PROG.
REss AND DEVELOPMENT OF
THE COUNTRY.
FINE TREES AND WATER MAKE
GREATER BLESSINGS COME
TO OUR HELP.

Throwing the locomotive out o1
consideration, no agent has taken {
more prominent place in the materia
development of the Rocky Mountain
region than the telephone and tele
!. graph. improvements in overland
transportation Furnished by steam
roads and in rapid communication
made possible by the use OF the wire
for the delivery of messages have
gone hand in hand in making the
great West thoroughly accessible and
in fastening development.
A person seldom realizes the i'm
portant part which the telephone and
telegraph play in his daily life, and
few know the enormous amount OF
capital invested and material that i:
required TO construct and maintain
the extensive lines.
thirty million poles are used in
the United States on 100000 miles
of telephone and telegraph lines
This does not include the large NUM-
Der of poles which are required by
the eleatric lighting and transporta-
ten companies. Most Of the poles in
use are cedar, but throughout the
Rocky Mountain region this is not
available, and Douglas fir is substi-
tuted. Douglas fir, while not so dur,
able as Cedar, is much more lasting
than the other available timbers and
its use has been widely extended
AS the telephone and telegraph
lines increased to meet the demands
.of business brought about by the
growth of railroads and towns, it be-
came necessary to cut large areas OF
timber lands to supply the poles hold
ing the wires. For long time tim
Der was SO plentiful, that suitable
poles could be easily obtained with
out going far from the lines under
construction. Now, however, the con
siderable distance that the poles must
be transported in many cases and the
general scarcity of timber has tend,
ed to raise the cost. Consequently
pole users have been compelled to find
some cheaper, more abundant timber
to replace the expensive Douglas fiji
or discover some Inexpensive way OF
making it last longer by fighting off
decay.
The decay of the wood is caused by
the action of low forms of plant life
called funt,i and bacteria. These
live upon4the wood and in time to de-
stroy it. In order to grow, they re-
quire sufficient amount of heat, air
moisture; and food. All of these re
quirements are met in most parts OF
the United States. When the pole is
set, however, air and moisture gen
orally exist in requisite amounts only
in that portion of the pole near the
surface of the ground. The portion
Z of the pole buried several feet under
,-.e ground does not furnish them
with the necessary air, while that
part above the ground, in most cases,
contains insumcient moisture for
their development. If the part near
the ground line can be protected from
attack, the life Of the pole can be
= materially increased.
Many methods have been tried at
various times to protect this vital
part of the pole. Most of these con
sisted in applying oils or paint OF
similar substances with brush to
the butt. With few exceptions, they
have been. largely abandoned as not
giving the desired protection. 4.ie
substance applied remained almost
entirely upon the surface of the wood
and as a result seasoning checks and
wind shakes ruptured the coating
and exposed the untreated wood tc
/ attack by. fungi, which soon destroy
ed the pole.
The lorest service of the United
States Department of Agriculture
has spent considerable time in de.
veloping a method by which the butt5
Of poles can be successfully and econ.
omically preserved against decay
with q consequent increase in the
lifesof the whole pole. This consists
Of immersing them in alternate baths
of hot and cold preservative, such az
creosote or zinc chloride. The poles
are placed in a tank of hot preserva
tive to "a depth OF one foot above the
ground line when set, and kept there
forRa few hours, depending g upon the
species and condition of the timber
The pole is then placed in bath O
cold preservative for a short time
which completes the treatment.
When the wood is heated in tht
& first bath, the air and moisture in til;
wood cells and intercell ellular spaces 1.
e1n,sndsd, and some Of it is driver
out Upon imm ersion in the COLI
preseryative, the difference in temper
i ature causes the EXPANDED air ant
nsadsture to contract, thus forming
partial vacuum, which causes the ri
to penetrate the wood to the desirst
depth. The wood to be treated shosll'
ba air seasoned. .ss3i3
Douglas fir is a dense timber, an.
lisg heartwood is very difficult to pen
al rate successfully with preseryatiye
hut usually the pole has a zone 9
5S} sa slpwood which is thick enough an
can be inpregnated with enougl
! preservative to greatly increase th
tura1 life of the pole.
However, III the Rocky Mountain re