The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1909-08-25

occurred: If there were some
way to make the common and cheap
kinds Of timber last longer. it might
help some.' Various people got
busy and worked out several differ
ent methods Of treating timber
cheaply and yet effectively. Prob
ably the United States government,
through the Forest service, has
worked on this longer than anyone
else in this country. Now the pro-
cesses have been so we'll developed
that the economy Of timber treat
ment is a sure thing. The life of
almost any wood can at least be
doubled by thorough impregnation
with creosote or zinc chloride. This
alone means a great saving, both in
the original cost Of the timbers and
in the labor of replacing them. But
better yet, cheap woods when well
treated are just as good as the valu-
able and naturally durable kinds,
and will last considerably longer than
those which are naturally durable
but untreated. Then cottonwood,
willow, spruce, lodgepole pine or
jack pine can be used in place of
cedar for posts; birch, hemlock or
tamarack in place of oak for ties;
lodgepole pine in place of cedar for
poles; and in every case the treated
substitute will last longer than the
wood commonly used, and will cost
less.
The railroads, always alert for
greater economy in management;
were the first to adopt the preserva-
tive treatment for their ties. The
Northern Pacific now creosotes near
ly every tie used. Its two creosot-
ing plants at Brainerd, Minnesota,
and Paradise, Montana, are running
to their full capacity and using any
species of wood. The Great North
ern operates large plant at Son.
ers, Montana, where it uses zinc
chloride instead Of creosote. Two
new plants will be erected very soon
by the Great Northern, one at Cass
Lake, Minnesota, and another near
the western end of the line, in
Washington. The new transconti-
mental road, the Chicago, Milwau-
kee & Puget Sound, is also planning
to build very large treating plant
in Montana within a short time.
The large mining companies are
not far behind the railroads in
adopting preservative treatment for
the timber used in the mines, as
enormous quantities of timber are
used each year for supports. While
a great deal of this is temporary in
character. there are many tunnels
and shafts which must be kept open
for long term of years. Here
where wood decays very rapidly,
and the cost of replacing the tim
bers is very great, a good deal of
money can be saved by treating the
timber with a preservative. The
Bunker Hill & Sullivan Mining and
Concentrating Company Of Kellogg,
Idaho, and the Hercules Mining Co.,
of Burke. Idaho. last year obtained
the assistance of the Forest Service
in designing and building treating
plants. The Forest Service fur
nished an engineer in wood preserva-
ton to take charge of the plants
until employees of the companies had
become familiar with the work, the
companies paying the expenses. At
ter six months operation under the
supervision of the Forest Service,
the latter withdrew and the plants
are now being run by the companies
themselves.
Any person who so desires can
obtain similar cooperation with the
Service by application to the district
Forester at Missoula, Montana.