, 1907-10-29
DEAD STUFF
NOW USEFUL
tOOGEPOLE PINE MAY BECOME
OF GREAT SERVICE IN THE
RAPIDLY GROWING WEST
Forest Service Gives Plan of Treat.
ment to Bring Fire and Insect Kill.
ed Pine Into Marketable Useful.
ness-Plan of Treatment to Kill
the Disease Germs.


A few days ago The Republican not
ed that the Boston and Wyoming Lum-
Der company, owning large areas OF
timber land near Centennial, where it
had a sawmill. had brought a carload
of lodgepole pine poles to the city to
be used ty the electric light company
in repairing its lines here, replacing
the rotted and unserviceable poles with
new ones furnished by the lumber
company. The following from the for.
est service of the department of agri
culture, being extracts from a bulletin
sent out to western papers, will be of
considerable interest in this connec,
ton there being an increasing demand
for such timber to be used by the light
companies and telephone companies
of the west and particularly of this
part of the state, where both interests
are growing annually:
LodsepoIe Pine Available.
However, in the Rocky mountain re
gion 1t Is not necessary to confine a.
tention to Douglas fir. Large supplies
of %lodgepole pine are available. This
is called ar inferior" timber, because
it is not as durable when placed in the
ground as the more resinous Douglas
fir. Lodgepole pine is cheaper than
Douglas fir, is lighter, and therefore
easier to transport, and embodies all
of the requisites of an ideal pole TIM.
Der, with the one exception of suscep.
tibility to rapid decay. This, howev,
er, can be easily overcome by a proper
preservative treatment. The porous
nature of the wood makes it easy TO
treat. BY the injection of a proper
amount of ~preservative. a %lodgepole
pine pole can be made to last twenty
years or more, at a small cost.
Many Trees Killed.
There are large areas of l%odgepole
pine in which the trees have been fire
Or insect killed. A great deal of tim.
Der has been standing in this condition
for a long time. 1t is for the most part
sound and exceptionally ~well-seasoned,
and consequently in excellent condi
ton for preservative treatment. 1t
can be secured at a lower price than
green timber of the same species, and
for pole purposes, is just as good If
not better. When properly treated with
wood preventative 1t can be employed
for poles in Iessening the drain upon
the more expensive species, such as
Douglas fir.
Branch Bureau Created.
The government considers the inves.
tigation in the preservatiye treatment
of timber of such importance that this
the department Of agriculture-the "cf-
flee of wood preservation" in the forest
services given over entirely to the
work of experiments in cooperation
with railroad companies, mining o +
porations and individuals in prolongins
the life Of railroad ties, mine props.
bridge timbers, fence posts and trans
mission poles. Advice and practical
assistance is furnished all who request
this advice of the forester. The length,
ening of life of timber means the say.
ing Of thousands of dollars annually
through doing away with the heavy ex,
pense of labor and cost of material 70.
renewals.
Low Forms of Plant Life.
The decay of wood is caused by thu
action of low forms of plant life called
fungi and bacteria. These live upon
the wood and in time completely do
stroy it. In order to grow, they re-
quire a 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 general
ly exist in requisite amounts only in
that portion of the pole near the sur
face of the ground. The portion Of the
does not furnish them-with the neces-
sary air, while hat part above the
ground, in most cases, contains insult.
fcient moisture for their development.
If the part neal the ground line can
be protected from attack, the life Of
the pole can be materially increased.
Oil and Paints Abandoned.
Many methods have been tried at
various times to protect this vital part
of the pole. Most of these consisted
in applying oils or paints Or similar
substances with a brush TO the butt.
With a few exceptions, they have been
largely abandoned as not giving the
desired protection. The substance ap.
piled remained almost entirely upon
the surface of the wood and as a re-
suit, seasoning checks and wind shakes
ruptured the coating m exposed the
untreated wood to attack by fungi.
which soon destroyed the pole.
Forest Service Method.
The forest service of the United
States department Of agriculture has
spent considerable time in developing
O method by which the butts of poles
can be successfully and economically
| preserved against decay, with q conse.