SALT LAKE PRESERVES TIMBERS 



IN REPLACING a railroad trestle that, although fifty years had passed 



recently burned, along the north since the poles were cut off, the old 



shore of Great Salt Lake, engineers butts were perfectly sound, 

 have just found that the piles are Telephone and electric companies in 



still perfectly sound after forty-three the Salt Lake valley have used the local 



years of service. Looking for the cause, salt for preserving poles. When set up, 



since these were only of local pine and about 75 pounds of salt is placed around 



fir, they found the timbers were impreg- the pole on the ground. This method 



nated throughout with salt from the lake, cannot be used, however, when the pole 



k-At another point on the lake, eighteen is on or near a lawn, or in any place 



inch piles, set twenty-nine years, are where vegetation is desired, 

 similarly preserved with salt, which has It is pointed out that the reason why 



penetrated to their very center. Tim- the waters of Salt Lake act as a strong 



bers in the Southern Pacific trestles preservative, as distinguished from ocean 



across Salt Lake, placed in 1902, appear waters, is because the lake water is so 



to be as good as on the day when the much saltier, being practically a saturate 



piles were dri.ven. They have been pre- solution. Preservation with salt is of 



served well above water line by the salt no use in ocean piling against the attack 



dashed on to them by the waves, a of teredos and other marine borers, 

 fact apparently anticipated by the Experts in the Forest Service who have 



engineers who built the trestles. been investigating the preservative 



The first transcontinental telegraph treatment of timber, offer the suggestion 



line, built before the railroad, extended that ties and poles which have been 



west from Salt Lake City through the immersed for some time in the waters 



prosperous mining camps of Eureka, of the lake ought to be impervious to 



Austin and Virginia City. When the decay, if the salt is not leached out by 



railroad was built, the telegraph line the action of the elements. It has been 



was transferred to follow its right of suggested that this can be guarded 



way and the old poles sawed off at the against, for example, by painting the 



ground. An engineer who recently butt of the pole with a coat of creosote, 



examined the butts left in the ground in which will keep out the moisture and 



the salt desert near Fish Springs, found keep in the salt. 



CARE OF SHADE TREES 



THE Tree Committee of the Laurel a village improvement society which 



Hill Association, Stockbridge, prides itself on being the pioneer of 



Mass., has evolved a plan for such societies, 



arousing interest in the systematic The village main street is 100 feet 



care of the village shade trees which wide and flanked on either side by a 



commends itself to other commiuiities. row of trees. Elms predominate, sup- 



The plan is outlined for the guidance plemented by maple, ash, linden and 



of others : pine. 



In order to plan more intelligently The largest of the elms is 17 3/^ feet 



for tree planting and tree removal, the in circumference at a height of three 



town of Stockbridge has had a chart feet above the ground and is probably 



of its village trees plotted to scale. about 160 years old. 



The work has been done with the In addition to the chart, the com- 



approval and authority of the selectmen mittee has issued a pamphlet for local 



and the tree warden by the committee distribution outlining briefly the num- 



on trees of the Laurel Hill Association, ber and varieties of the village trees 



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