Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1908-03-10
DECAY IN WOOD.
II Can Be Prevented at Little Cost
With Much SAVING.

II Can Be Prevented at Little Cost
With Much Saving.
It is estimated that a fence post,
which under ordinary circumstances
will last for perhaps two years, will, IL
given preservative treatment costing
about 10 cents, last eighteen years. The
service Of other timbers, such as rail-
road ties, telephone poles, and mine
props, can be doubled and often trebled
by inexpensive preservative treatment.
Today, when the cost of wood is big
item to every farmer, every stockman,
every railroad manager-to everyone,
in fact, who must use timber where it
is likely to decay-this is a fact which
should be carefully considered.
1t is easy to see that If the length Of
time timbers can be used is doubled,
only half as much timber will be re-
quired as before and only one-half as
much money will need to be spent in
the purchase of timber. Moreover,
many woods which were for a long
time considered almost worthless can
be treated and made to last as long as
the scarcer and more expensive kinds.
OF the actual savings in dollars and
cents through preservative treatment.
a fence post such as was mentioned at
the beginning might serve as one ex-
ample. The post is Of loblolly pine. and
costs, untreated about 8 cents, or in
Guiding the cost of setting, IA cents. 1t
lasts about two years. Compounding
interests at per cent, the annual
charge of such a post is 1853 cents;
that is, it costs 1853 cents a year to keep
the post in service. Preservative treat
ment costing 10 cents will increase its
length Of life to about eighteen years.
In this case the total cost Of the post,
set, is "a cents, which compounded at
5 per cent, gives an annual charge Of
2.04 cents. Thus the saving due to
treatment Is 5.49 cents year. Assum-.
ing 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.
In the same way preservative treat
ment will increase the length Of life Of
a loblolly pine railroad tie from five
years to twelve years and will reduce
the annual charge from 1852 cents to
9.48 cents, which amounts to a saving
Of $5S75 per mile.
It is estimated that 10000 acres are
required each year to grow timber for
the anthracite coal mines alone. The
average life Of an untreated mine prop
Is not more than three years. BY prop
er preservative treatment 1t 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 sim
pie treatment of their butts, be made
to last twenty or twenty-five years.
Sap shingles, which are almost value
less in their natural state, can easily
be treated and made to outlast even
painted shingles Of the most decay re-
sistant woods. Thousands of dollars
"bluing" of freshly sawed sapwood
lumber This can be prevented by
proper treatment, and at a cost so
small as to put it within the reach of
the smallest operator.
In the south the cheap and abundant
loblolly pine, one Of the easiest Of all
woods to treat, can by proper prepara-
ton be made to take the place Of the
high grade longleaf pine for many pur-
poses. Black and tupelo gums and 9TH
er little-used woods have a new and
increasing Importance because Of the
possibility Of preserving them from de-
cay at small cost. In the Northeastern
and Lake States are tamarack, hem
red and black oaks, all Of which by
proper treatment may help to replace
the fast st-diminishing white oak and ce-
dar. In the states Of the Mississippi
valley the pressing fencepost problem
may be greatly relieved by treating
such species as cottonwood, willow and
blackberry.
Circular 139 Of the Forest Service, "a
Primer of Wood Preservation" tells in
simple terms what decay is and how 1t
can be retarded, describes briefly GER
tain preservatives and processes, gives
examples of the saving in dollars and
cents, and tells what wood preservation
can do in the future. The circular can
be had free upon application to the
Forester, Forest Service, Washington,
D. c.