90 



doubtedly the most durable, and of course more expensive. The weak 

 points in steel posts mentioned by the Ohio Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, poor quality of metal and too thin material, are being overcome 

 by some manufacturers. Greater care is being taken in the selection 

 of steel and the posts are being made heavier in cross-section, some being 

 of the same shape as a railroad iron. Such steel posts sell for about 

 45 cents each and are rated by the manufacturers with a durability of 

 15-25 years, although according to the Ohio Agricultural Experiment 

 Station, which made exhaustive observations on over 10,000 steel and 

 concrete posts, "this type of post has not been in use long enough to 

 judge of its merits". Galvanized iron posts, round in form, are made 

 which spread when driven into the soil, giving them a firmer anchorage. 

 These, which require no staples, cost 55 cents each and are rated with a 

 durability of 22 years. The manufacturers of galvanized steel windmill 

 towers are making posts of the "angle iron" variety, lighter than those 

 of the "T" form, which sell for 45 cents each, and they claim that some 

 of their windmill towers of the same material have been in service for 

 30 years. Makers of cast-iron posts claim that the purchase of steel 

 posts is a waste of money, and no one doubts the durability of cast iron 

 who has seen it used for underground water-pipes. As with untreated 

 and treated wooden posts, the relative value of steel or other substitutes 

 must be determined by comparing the average annual charges for the 

 various kinds, including the setting and renewal of the posts over a period 

 of years sufliciently long to afford a fair comparison. 



We were not able to get a reliable estimate as to the number of 

 concrete posts used in Illinois yearly. Although of higher price when 

 purchased than steel, they have the advantage that with proper molds 

 they can be made on the farm with farm labor. It has been demon- 

 strated that they need to be reinforced and even then, due to dift'erence 

 in composition of materials and faulty workmanship, they have not given 

 as good an account of themselves as expected. The Ohio Agricultural 

 Experiment Station places the concrete post in about the same class as 

 catalpa or white cedar, the later type used by the Big Four railroad show- 

 ing from 10-30 per cent disintegration in from 8 to 15 years. 



The existing information on the relative efTiciency of steel and con- 

 crete posts does not permit of the conclusion that they have as yet estab- 

 lished their superiority over either the durable species of post. timber 

 or the inferior species when properly treated. Substitution is yet ac- 

 companied by considerable risk and, as in other instances, is being brought 



