The Elbert County tribune., 1907-02-28
POSTS OF DEAD WOOD
LoooEPoLE PINE ~
WELL ADAPTED.
Preserved With creosote BY = Cheap
Process u FutfiIIs All Require
Ments-piseoversd by Gov
ernment Experiments.

Washington.-An experiment In the
preservative treatment OF dead lodge
pole pine for fence posts. Just com
pleted by the forest service, on the
Henrys lake forest reserve in Idaho.
has given results of economic value
both to the people of the community
and to the forest service 1t has
demonstrated that fre-kiiled lodgepole
pine Is well adapted to treatment with
creosote by an exceedingly simple
process.
The demand for durable posts by
ranchmen in the vicinity of lHenrys
lake has hitherto been met by the use
of red cedar. but the supply OF this
species is now completely exhausted
The only native trees at present avail
able for posts are lodgcpole pine,
quaking aspen. and Douglas FIR.
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 1t 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 1902-are serious
handicap to the forest there. This
timber must be got rid of to mako
room for young growth IL the future
forest Is to be well stocked.
Properly treated lodgepole pine
should last 90 years, which equals the
life of the former favorite, red cedar
BY treating the pine, and thus making
II servlceable for posts. the forest
service has found way of removing
the encumberlng timber at a good
price and supplying consumers with
valuable posts at reasonable figure
Since the success of preservative
treatment has been demonstrated the
value of the wood has risen from 25
cents to approximately 40 cents per
cord.
yanized-lron 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 Fahr., 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 on many of the forest reserves,
the pressing need for durable wood,
the steady rise in its price due to tho
increasing difficulty of obtaining II.
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 chlorid and other
processes as the needs of the different
regions and the thorough testing of
each process may require.
AS result of the post experiment
1t is understood that a company will
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-
tion works. They count upon a local
market already in good part developed
by the confidence which the fence
post experiment has inspired.