028 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



tain a higher proportion of sapwood than the sawed post, 

 and the larger the proportion of heartwood the longer 

 the post will likely last. Every forested region has cer- 

 tain woods more durable than others, and these are pre- 

 ferred for fence posts. The following woods are re- 

 garded as good post material in regions where they 

 can be had : 



Yellow or black locust occurs in the middle Appa- 

 lachian region. This tree's range has been widely ex- 

 tended by planting. 



Incense cedar and redwood abound in California and 

 in southern Oregon. The posts are always sawed or 

 split from large trees and the sapwood is rejected. 



Osage orange or bois d'arc grows in Texas and Okla- 

 homa. The sap is very thin, round posts are not objec- 

 tionable, and those sawed or split are not often seen. 



Chestnut ranges from Connecticut to Georgia, and 

 the posts are sawed, split, or round. 



White oaks of more than a dozen species are made 

 into posts in practically all parts of the United States. 

 The posts are nearly always sawed or split. 



Black walnut heartwood is very durable, but the sap- 

 wood is nearly worthless for posts. Black walnut was 



VIRGINIA RED CEDAR 



This tree is known as the Virginia red cedar, but at the present time 

 more of it is cut for posts in Texas than in Virginia. It grows in all 

 southern states, and in Tennessee much of it was formerly split for fence 

 rails, but it is no longer used in that way. Few woods resist decay bet* 

 ter than this cedar. 



never largely 



usedi or posts. 

 M u 1 b erry 



heartwood is 



durable and 



posts from 



1 a r ge trunks 



last well, but 



the trees are 



not abundant. 

 M esq uite 



and several 



other legumi- 



n o u s species 



of the South- 

 west have thin 



sapwood, very 



durable heart, 



and make 



good posts, 



though the 



boles and 



branches are 



usually very 



crooked. 

 South ern 



red and white 



cedars, and 



northern 



white cedar 



or arborvitae, 



are extensive- 

 ly used for 



posts and are 



shipped far 



from the re- 

 gion where 



they grow. 

 C a t a 1 p a 



lasts well, and 



since most ca- 



talpa posts 



are cut from 



planted trees, 



the range of 



this wood covers most states in the Mississippi Valley, 

 and also in other regions. The principal original range of 

 catalpa was restricted to the lower Ohio Valley. 



The question as to what wood is most durable as fence 

 posts has not been decided. Both the wood and the 

 situation must be taken into consideration. Locust and 

 Osage orange are rivals for first place, if situations are 

 the same ; while in the dry climate of California, incense 

 cedar and redwood last a long time. In the southern 

 country they have called cypress the "wood eternal," 

 under the assumption that decay has little effect upon it. 

 It lasts a long time, but not forever. 



The practice of treating fence posts with preservatives 

 to hinder decay has become extensive and is on the in- 



IDEAL TREE FOR RAIL SPLITTERS 



Millions of fence rails have been mauled from such 

 oaks as this. The pioneer fence builder picked the 

 largest, finest trees because of the case with which 

 they could be split and of the symmetrical rails 

 produced. Heartwood was wanted, and large trunks 

 contained relatively more of it than small. 



