Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1908-03-21
DECAY IN WOOD PREVENTED.
Money Saved and Less Material
Needed

Money Saved and less Material
Needed.
II is estimated that a fence post.
which under ordinary circumstances
will last for perhaps two years. will.
II given preservative treatment cost
ing about ten cents last eighteen
years. The service OF other timbers.
such as railroad ties. telephone poles
and mine props. can be doubled and
often trehled by inexpensive preser-
vative treatment. To-day when the
cost OF wood is a big item to every
FARMER. every stockman. every rail-
road manager-to everyone, in fact
who must use timber w.1are II is
likely to decay-this 40 a fact which
should be carefully considered.
It is easy TO see that III the length
OF time timbers can be used is tioub-
led. only half as much timber will
be required as before and only one
half as much money will need 10 be
spent I'm the purchase OF timber.
Moreover, many woods which were
for a long time considered almost
worthless can be treated and made
10 last as long as the scarcer and
more expensive kinds.
OF the actual saving I'm dollars and
cents through prescrvative treatment
n fence post such as was mentioned
at the beginning might serve as one
example. The post is OF loblolly
pine. and costs untreated. about s
cents, or including the cost OF set
ting, II cents 10 lasts about two
years. Compounding interest at
per cent, the annual charge OF such
"A post Is 7.53 cents; that Is. IL costs
7.53 cents year 10 keep the post in
service.
Preservative treatment costing 10
cents will increase it's length OF, life
TO about is years. In this case the
total cost OF the post. set. is "a cents
which compounded at per cent
gives an annual charge OF 2.04 cents.
Thus the saving due TO treatment is
5.49 cents year. Assuming that
there are 200 posts per mile. there
is saving each year for every mile
Of fence sum equivalent TO the in
terest on S219.6O.
In the same way prcservative treat
ment will increase the length OF life
OF a loblolly pire railroad tie from
five years 10 twelve years and will re-
duce the annual charge from 1852
TO a saving OF S5S.75 per mile
= is estimated that 10000 acres
are required each year to grow tim
Der for the anthracite coal mines a
lone. The average life OF an un-
treated mine prop is not more than
three years. BY proper preservative
treatment IL can be prolonged by
many times this figure. Telephone
and telegraph poles, which in ten or
twelve years. or even less, decay so
badly at the ground line that they
have TO be removed. can by a sim
pie treatment Of their butts. be made
TO last twenty 10 twenty-five years
Sap shingles, which are almost val
ueless in their natural state, can cas-
lily be treated and made to outlast
even painted shingles OF the most
woods Thousands
OF dollars are lost every year by the
so-called "bluing" of freshly sawed
sapwood lumber This can be pre-
vented by proper treatment, and at a
cost so small as to put IL within the
reach OF the smallest operator.
In the South the cheap and abun-
dant loblolly pine, one of the easiest
of all woods TO treat, can by proper
preparation be made TO take the
place OF the high grade longleaf pine
for many purposes. Black and tu-
pelo gums and other little-used
woods have a new and increasing
Importance because of the possibility
of preserving tnen from decay at
small cost. In the Northeastern and
Lake States are tamarack, hemlock
beech. birch. and maple, and the red
and black oaks, all Of which by pro-
per treatment may help TO replace the
fast-diminishing white oak and ce-
dar. In the States OF the Mississippi
Valley the pressing fence-post prob
lem may be greatly relieved by treat
ing such species as cottonwood, will
low and blackberry
Circular 139 OF the Forest Service
"a Primer OF Wood Preservation"
tells in simple terms what decay is
and how it can be retarded, describes
briefly certain preservatives and pro-
cesses. gives examples OF the saving
In dollars and cents and tells what
wood preservation can do in the ia
ture. The circular can be had free
upon application to the Forester,
Forest Service, Washington, ID. c.