242 The Farm Woodlot 



and the like, has rapidly decreased and, consequently the 

 price has constantly increased. 



Substitutes 



The price of some of these species has now reached a 

 prohibitive point that makes it necessary to find some 

 substitute, cheaper and yet as effective as possible. Steel, 

 cement, combinations of the two, and several other 

 materials have been tried with very little success, as a 

 general rule. The only really satisfactory substitute 

 seems to be inferior species of wood that have been treated 

 with some preservative to prevent decay. 



There are some places in which cement posts can be 

 used with advantage. They are so heavy that they 

 cannot be shipped very far, but when the cement can be 

 secured easily and the sand is found close by, the posts can 

 be made where they are to be used and will prove very 

 satisfactory. Their use should never be attempted where 

 there is any considerable amount of alkali in the soil, for 

 the alkali will eat out the cement and the post will very 

 soon crumble. 



Many such preservatives have been used in European 

 countries for many years with admirable success. Beech, 

 one of the least durable of woods, is treated in France and 

 the ties guaranteed for fifteen years. Salts of zinc and 

 copper are also successfully used. These experiments 

 were on European species and it cannot be predicted with 

 certainty what the results would be on American species 

 and under American conditions. It is probable, however, 

 that the results will be much the same. It should be even 

 more satisfactory in this country than in Europe, for we 



