The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1909-01-21
Important Part Timber Plays In Pro-
ductiOn of Mineral Wealth.

ducti0n Of Mineral Wealth.
Few persons not directly interested
In mining realize the extent to which
timber is used in this very important
industry, said government expert In
prcservat,O, OF mine timber who has
ius' returned to Washington from the
west The average man has only q
vae, understanding o. the import
entc OF the part that timber plays IL
the mining industry, and seldom thinks
OF he enormous quantities required
each year To prevent tn. caving Of the
ground and t.. keep clear |
,ho main working pass ,.,es OF mines.
There trc two gale'.l tsses OF
such ti:1.ters." he contin ID, "the nrst
is used Ii. |. scing the Il ..'es' as the |
arc ,ai.cA. y here the ore s eng tai,
en- OFT. Az the ore is n:.u-.. the STR
ing it with heavy timba framed 1
to rectangular sets Wa,n ore direct- I
ly above the first set is removed, |
second set is built in on top, and so
on ;.c service of these !imbers Ell
wnen the ore is exhaust, \ and the &C
tive mining transferrs1 to another
vein or ore-body.
after time these timbers decay,
to a point where the pressure Of the
rock walls brushes them, and cave
In OCCURS. This causes no damage
II, as have said, the mining work has
been finished; but it sometimes hap
pens that decay has weakened the tim
bers to such an extent that the cave
! in occurs prematurely, and then lives
are sacrificed. In such cases the re-
naming ore Is also a loss, for when
the ground has once commenced to
move or work" as the miners call 1t,
| it is almost impossible to clean 1t out
and hold back the rock so that the re-
naming 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 to be maintain
ed for as long time as possible. Tim
bers for this service are chosen not
only for their strength and f1rmness,
but for their ability to resist decay
"In nine cases out of ten, when tim
bers are crushed, the indirect cause is
decay, produced by low forms of plant
life. The dwindling of our timber sup
ply has driven consumers of wood all
over the country to study decay and its
prevention, and it is safe to say that
in the very near future we shall see
Iuduy HlOIc luluSS putting LII SlAdll
plants for the treatment of their tim
bers, after the pattern of the plants
that have been designed and installed
for this purpose by the United States
forest service. BY treating the per-
manent timbers with some one of the
various preservatives, they may be
made to resist decay almost indefin-
itely The additional cost is slight.
mot only this, but since timber
when it is once treated retains it's orr.
! ginal strength, many Of the so-called
inferior timbers' which have hitherto
been considered almost calueless be
cause they decay rapidly, will fine
wide use in many localities. Sucl
species are loblolly pine and, to Ger
tain extent, shortleaf pine, Engelmanl
spruce, fire-killed lodgepole pine
white fir, and many other more loca
timbers.
"The first of the treating plants 70
mine timbers was put up by an eastern
coal company, after extensive expert
ments in cooperation with the fores
service which demonstrated the prac
teal value of the treatments. Sine
then, other plants have been installe'
in different parts of the country, tw,
/ of the latest being in the Occur d'Alen
lead district OF northern Idaho, where
while there is. an ample timber sup
ply for some time to come, the treat
ment is warranted by the high labo
cost OF replacing timber sets. The add
ed cost OF treating timbers is from
to Is per cent Of the original cost.
An interesting point in the probler
Of wood preservation is the spread Q
decay in old workings, caused by in
lection from nearby timbers. A fres
green post, placed between two stick
that are already SICK will become in
fected and decay much more rapid
than If it were isolated. The conta
gion is similar to that Of the ills tina
man is heir tot although it usual
works more slowly. In one large min
| a two-mile tunnel was completed eigh
| years ago and during the first fou
/ years the timber stood up in fine shape
Then signs of decay began to creep
here and there, and since then the dis
ease has extended throughout the en-
tire length of the tunnel, necessitatin
an annual expenditure of between fou
and five thousand dollars for replae
ing timbers rendered useless throug
= decay Less than one-fourth of thi
sum goes for timber, the remainde
representing the cost OF framing an
installing Unquestionably many {
the cave-ins which crush the timber
and block the mine tunnels, ofte
causing many deaths, are due to moth
ing but wood decay.
THE work of treating mine timber
4 Is considered Of such Importance ths
one group OF men in the forest servie
/ gives It's entire attention to this sui
l ject Investigative work carried o
by this branch Of the service since
was organized has demonstrated thl
treating with an efficient preservativ
will prolong the life Of timber indt
hnitely Id places where before it WI
subject to a rapid decay, and the II
terest shown by the large consumer
OF timber and their eakerress to sui
ply the information that has been d
tanned to their own particular prol
lens has been widespread and indic'
tive Of the Dement'S Of wood preserv'