The Yale expositor., 1910-05-13

arrive. The melting ice turns its |
streams into the ruts during the day |
and the tank wagons are kept going |
all night to furnish ice in place Of
that which the sun has melted. When |
the weather gets too warm the road
soon disappears and that puts an end
to the hauling and likewise to the
cutting. When this happens earlier
than usual the first indications of a
breakup cause a general hustle and a
pretty race ensues to get out the tim
Der before the roads become useless.
Notwithstanding the good pay it Is
difficult to keep the men at work all
winter. From the cedar savage down
to the road monkey, the man whose
duty it is to keep the ruts free from
all rubbish, there are among the log
gers many nomads who drink heavily,
chew snuff and smoke strong pipes
and unconcernedly throw up one job,
knowing they can get another just as
good at the next camp. These roam
ers are known as camp inspectors
from their making the rounds during
the winter.
AS the renewals are estimated to
require nearly 100000 poles a year,
not counting the new poles put up,
the end of the cedar supply is In
sight The forestry department figures
that it will not last longer than fifteen
years and the most optimistic supply
men don't think there is more than a
twenty years supply ahead
Considerable damage is being done
to telephone, telegraph and electric
light poles by members of the wood.
pecker family. These birds originally
built their homes In the dead or dying
trunks or limbs of trees, but for some
reason best known TO themselves have
come to the conclusion that the
peeled pole offers better conditions for
home.
They have become so ravenous of
late that their depredations are at
tracing considerable attention among
those who are compelled to use guam.
titles of wooden poles. Their activi-
ties spread over wide portion of the
United States, notably in the south,
southwest and central west. Cedar
poles seem to be the ones most fire.
quently attacked. The birds bore into
them at any height from the ground,
and the holes which they make are
often two or three inches in diameter
and four or five inches deep. Such an
amount of wood drilled from a stick
Of timber which is carrying a load OF
wires naturally weakens the strength
of the line.
1t would, of course, not be a diff.
cult matter to exterminate these
birds. However, this is not desirable,
as they are among the most beneficial
forms of bird life native to this coun.
try, because they destroy large mum.
bers of insects which seriously dam
age forest and food crops. 1t seems,
therefore, that methods should be I'M
dertaken to compel the birds TO re-
vert to their former habit of boring
rather than TO exterminate them.
Frequent inquiries have been made
by the forest service in this connec-
ton, but the only information to date
which the government has been able
TO obtain Is that on a casual inspec-
ton of treated and untreated pole
lines in Louisiana. In that region Il
was found that poles which had been
impregnated with creosote oil were
not attacked by the birds, whereas
untreated poles under the same con.
ditions were very severely injured.
Whether or not creosote will pre-
vent such attack is not definitely
known, but the service is investiga-
ting this problem, and should this oil
prove a preventive it will fulfil
two-fold purpose: 1t will protect the
poles from decay and destruction from
animal life. In southern Indiana some
members of a traction company
] thought that they could prevent fur.
Their destruction of their poles by fill
ing the holes in the wood with stones.
The birds. however. simply drilled
around the stones and made the con-
ditions much worse. This apparently
does not seem to be a means of pre-
venting their depredations.