Connecticut western news., 1908-05-14
TREATED AND
 UNTREATED POSTS
THEIR COMPARATIVE DURATION
Timbers Creosoted 30 Years Ago are as Sound as When put in the

Ground. <..
 Especial correspondence to The News.
 No process to preserve timber can come into use unless it is certain that the outlay for the treatment will be more than offset by the longer service of the treated timber. It is difficult to give general example of the saving effected by treating certain timbers and the class of timber. The following examples of the saving which under certain circumstances can be effected by proper preservative treatment are. how ever, typical, although they may not ap- ply to other localities and to other kinds of timber without some modification:
 An untreated loblolly pine fence post costs about s cents, or, including the cost of setting, IA cents. Its length of life in thls condition is about two years. Compromising interest at per cent, the annual charge on such post is 7.53 cents-that is, it costs 7.53 cents year to keep such post in service. If given Q prsservRtivs treatment, which costs about 10 cents, the length of life of the post is increased to about eighteen years. The total cost of such post, set, is then 24 cents, which, compounded At the above interest rate, 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 a saving each year for every mile of fence of . sum equivalent to the interest on $219.60. s Y.
 The saving due to treating railroad ties is also worthy of consideration. A loblolly pine tic untreated is worth about 30 cents, and it's length of life in this condition is about five years. To this first cost should be added the cost of laying, which is about 20 cents. The annual charge figured as above is then 11.52 cents. If treated it will last for about twelve years. It's cost of treat ment is about 35 cents. A treated tie in the track therefore, costs about 85 cents. Compounded at per cent, as in the above example, its annual charge is g. AS cents, The saving per year is therefore 204 cents per tie. Assuming 2,880 ties per mile Of track, the saving due to treatment alone amounts to $68.75 per mile, which corresponds to an invest ment of 91. .175 per mile.
 TELEPHONE POLES
 Assuming that the cost ot an un- treated oldflsld or loblolly pine pole, in cluding hauling and setting is $5, and that it lasts five years-a fair estimate for many portions of the United Btatss- the annual charge, compromising inter est ct 5 per cent, amounts to $1.15. In other words, it costs the owner @1.15 A year for every such pole in his lines This corresponds to a capital of $23 in- vested at 5 per cent interest, or, for a mile of 40 poles, to $920. Again. as- suminK that the butt of such . pole can be treated for $1. the first cost of the pole, set in the ground, is $6 The treat mont may reasonably be expected to Se- cure . service from the pole of twenty years, instead of five years when un- treated. Thus, the annual charge on the treated pole. with the, same rate of compound interest, is only $0.48 per pole. which corresponds to an invest ment of $9.60; or $384 per mile, as com pared with the $920 per mile in the other case. Thus during the life of the treated pole a yearly saving of the in terest on $536 will be effected for every mile of line.
 Treated poles need to last only 1o years longer than untreated poles in order to justify the cost of treatment. Moreover, there is abundant evidence to show the long life of creosoted wood. Even in this country there are many ex- amples of poles and other timbers creo- soted twenty and even thirty years ago, which to-day are apparently as sound as when first set in the ground. There have been failures, but in every instance they can be traced to incompetent or fraudulent work, insufficient impreg- nation, improper preparation of the timber, or some similar cause.