ARBORICULTURE 



169 



Some Facts About Telegraph Poles. 



Between Chicago and Denver, a dis- 

 tance of 1,050 miles, along one line of 

 railway, there are 31,500 telegraph poles. 

 They are set 176 feet apart, or thirty to 

 the mile. As there are considerably 

 more than two hundred thousand miles 

 of steam railway in the United States, in- 

 creasing in mileage each year, and many 

 roads have double lines of poles to ac- 

 commodate the great number of wires re- 

 quired to transact the telegraphic busi- 

 ness of the country, there are eight mil- 

 lion poles in use on railway lines. 



When to this is added the poles used by 

 trolley lines and by- telegraph and tele- 

 phone companies we find an aggregate 

 of fiften millions poles in use. If these 

 should be replaced at once it would re- 

 quire 250,000 flat cars to transport them, 

 eight thousand locomotives would be nec- 

 essar}' to haul the trains, which if con- 

 tinuous would reach 1,750 miles. 



If the poles were placed end to end 

 they would reach more than three times 

 around the earth at the equator. 



A large majority of the poles in use 

 are of White Cedar, Thuya occidentalis, 

 which grows in the swamps of northern 

 Michigan, Wisconsin and in Canada. 

 Some are of Oregon Pine, a smaller 

 number are of Red Cedar. J 11 ni penis Vir- 

 giniaua, while a limited number are 

 sawed from Washington Cedar. Tliiiya 

 gigantea. 



If the trees to replace the poles now in 

 use were growing and forty could be 

 obtained from each acre, it would re- 

 quire 370,000 acres to supply the poles 

 for one renewal. 



Were the seed already sown and 

 started into growth, it would be A. D. 

 2050, when the trees would be of suffi- 

 cient size to use for first-class telegraph 

 poles. 



There are few American forest trees 

 which combine the qualities necessary to 

 make good poles : durability in the 

 ground ; great length of trunk ; freedom 

 from large side branches which form 

 knots ; straight trunk with a regular 

 taper, holding the size to great height.* 



The northern swamp White Cedar has 

 long been considered the ideal tree for 

 telegraph poles, but so scarce are these 

 becoming that din-ing the past year or 

 two many car loads of Pine from Idaho 

 and Washington have been shipped East 

 to rebuild telegraph lines in both Michi- 

 gan and Wisconsin, where the Cedar 

 was formerly so abundant. 



The long time required for Cedar to 

 grow into a size suitable for this pur- 

 pose. 100 to 150 years, is discouraging 

 to investors who might wish to plant 

 trees or hold forest property for the 

 world's markets. 



The Tennessee and southern Red 

 Cedar is more durable, but is now very 

 scarce, besides it is too valuable for lead 

 pencil timber, and is of very slow growth. 



The Juniper found in the dismal 

 swamp also possesses the qualities of a 

 good pole tree, but is quite scarce. 



The specifications for telegraph poles 

 demand timbers of unusual length, vary- 

 ing from 24 to 50 feet, having a diameter 

 of 8 to 10 inches at top. They are set 

 in the ground 4^ to 6 feet. 



Transportation is a great item of ex- 

 pense on poles. One car at Salt Lake 

 City, from Michigan to Oregon Short 

 Line Railway, contained 66 poles weigh- 

 ing 33,000 pounds, the freight being $4 

 per pole. 



Upon any good farm land in the mid- 

 dle states, the Catalpa Speciosa may be 

 grown in sixteen years to a size suitable 

 for telegraph poles, and for the largest 

 size in twenty years. 



Four or five times as many can be 

 grown on an acre, systematically planted, 

 as arc secured in the northern swamps. 



They may be grown near the points 

 where they are to be used, and thus 

 avoid excessive transportation, and when 

 once placed in position on the line re- 

 quire to be renewed but twice in a cen- 

 tury. 



It will cost to produce such poles of 

 Catalpa less than $r each, an investment 

 which should attract the attention of 

 business men as safe and profitable. 



