Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-01-16

tfmbcrs Ia such an extent hat the
cave-in occurs p~rematurely, ana then
lives are sacrificed. In such cases the
remaining ore is also a loss. for when
tho ground has once commenced TO
move or work as the miners call II,
it Is almost impossible TO clean 1t out
and hold back the rock so that the
remaining ore may be obtained.
But OF still greater importance Is
the second class Of timbers used In
The main working openings, tunnels,
shafts, etc, which are 70 he maintain .
ed for as Ions a time as possible. Tim
bors for this service are chosen not
only for their strength and nrmness,
but also for their ability to resist de-
cay.
"ln nine cases out Of zen, whom tim
hors are crushed. the Indirect cause Is
decay. produced 10y low forms os plant
life. The dwindiing Of u timber
supply has driven consumers of wood
AN over the country 20 study decay
and ita prevention. aud 1t is safe to
say Tint In the very near future we
shall see many more mines putting in
small plants for the treatment OF their
|timbcra. after the pattern OF the
plants that have been designed ana in
stalled FOR this purpose by the Uni
ted States forest service. by treating
The permanent timbers with some
Of the various personalities, they may
be made 10 resist decay almost in
definitely. Tho additional cost tx
slight
Not only this. but since timber
whom il Is once treated retains its orig
innl strength. many Of the so-called
inferior timhers' which have hitherto
been considered almost %valuclesH be-
cause they decay rapidly. viii hnd wide
use ia many localities. such species
are loblolly pine and to a certain OK
tent. siiortleaf pine, Engelmann
spruce, iire-killcd %lodgepuic pine,
white fir, ana many other more local
timbers.
"Thc lirst Of the treating plants for
mine timbcrs was put up by an east
ern coal company. after extensive ex-
poriments In cooperation With the
forest service which demonstrated the
practical value OF the treatments
Since then, other plants nave been in
stalled in different parts Of the coun-
try, two Of the latest being in the
Occur d.Alcne load district Of north
ern Idaho, where. while there IL an
ample timber supply for some time 10
come, the treatment IS warranted by
The high labor cost Of replacing timber
sets. The added cost OF treating tim
bcrs is from 10 TO Is per cent of the
original cost,
IAN interesting point IN the problem
OF wood preservation Is the spread of
decay In old workings. caused by in
fcction from nearby timbcrs. a fresh
green post, placed between two sticks
that are already sick, VIII become in
fected and decay much more rapidly
than # II were Isolated The c%ontagion
is similar TO that of the Ills hat man
is heir to. although 1t usually works
more slowly In one large mine q two
mile tunnel was completed eight years
ago ana during the first four years
the timber stood up in iinc shape
Then signs Of decay began to creep In
here aud there. and since then the dis
cas-, has extended throughout the en-
tire length of the tunnel necessltatlng
an annual expenditure of between four
and five thousand dollars FOR rcplac-
ing fimbors rendered useless through
decay, Less than one-fourth OF this
sum goes for tlmbcring the remainder
representing the coat o. framing ana
tho cavo-ins which crush the tlmbera
and block the mine tunnels. often
causing many deaths. are due TO moth
inR but wood decay
"Tho work Of treating mine tlmbers
is considered of such importance that
one group OF men In the forest service
gives rs entire attention to this sub
tect lnvestigativo work carried on by
this branch OF the service since 1t a
organized has demonstrated that treat
INK with an efficient prescrvativc viii
prolong the life of timber indefinitely
In places where before u was subject
to u rapid decay. and the interest
shown by the large consumers OF tim
Der and their %eagcrness to supply the
Information that has been obtained to
their own particular problems has
been widespread aud indicative of the
hruYUt. nf Nvpntf l"fYatrNutiBn