1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



99 



which is necessary and because repair- 

 ing is constantly called for. Timber 

 of the required quality is produced in 

 the Middle West by hardy catalpa, 

 black locust, and Osage orange. 



Catalpa makes an excellent growth 

 on deep, porous, fertile soil, but only 

 on such soil. Five or six inch posts 

 should be ready to cut in about ten 

 years. In regions immune from the 

 locust borer black locust will yield sat- 

 isfactory returns from soil in which 

 catalpa would fail, and for this reason 

 it is adapted to a wide area where 

 the rainfall is light. Under ordinary 

 conditions, locust should produce fence 

 material in fifteen years. 



Osage orange also is not exacting in 

 its soil requirements. It is being ex- 

 tensively planted for hedges and wind- 

 breaks, from which a considerable 

 yield Of fence posts may be obtained. 

 It makes satisfactory growth on dry 



soils and reaches post size in from fif- 

 teen to twenty years. 



Several other species, such as white 

 willow, European larch, Russian mul- 

 berry, and red cedar, are also being 

 grown with good results, but none of 

 them is better fitted to supply fence 

 posts than those first named. 



The Forest Service fully recognizes 

 the importance of fence posts in farm 

 economy and the great demand for" 

 suitable timber. Studies of the growth 

 and durability of various species have 

 been made, and the limits of the com- 

 mercial planting range of each has 

 been more closely defined. Rapid- 

 growing species which are not durable 

 have been studied to determine some 

 form of preservation treatment which 

 will increase their durability. Further 

 work along this line will undoubtedly 

 add largely to the list of species which 

 can furnish the desired product. 



A NEW SAVING IN THE TURPEN- 

 TINE INDUSTRY 



Further Economy Effected in Experiments Made by the 

 Forest Service, which Introduced the Cup and Gutter System. 



'T' HE recent experiments of the For- 

 est Service, designed to conserve 

 the life of turpentine trees, gives 

 promise of remarkable success. It is 

 believed that the improvements tested 

 in these experiments will, in addition 

 to prolonging the life of the trees, 

 greatly increase their total yield of tur- 

 pentine. 



When the cup and gutter system of 

 turpentining was introduced by the 

 Forest Service some three years ago, 

 the economy which it secured led to its 

 adoption on a large scale by southern 

 turpentine producers. What lends this 

 system its great value is the fact that 

 it does away with the old practice of 

 "boxing," which consists in cutting a 

 deep cavity or "box" at the base of the 

 tree for the purpose of catching and 



holding the resin which flows from the 

 chipped "face" of the tree trunk above. 

 In place of the "box" an earthenware 

 cup, of the same capacity, is fastened 

 to the tree. To this the flowing resin 

 is directed by means of metal gutters. 

 The disuse of the "box" effected a 

 twofold gain first, a saving of the 

 deep, fatal wound in the base of the 

 tree, and consequently a conservation 

 of its vitality ; and second, much less 

 waste in the gathering of the product, 

 with a greater yield of turpentine and 

 better grades of resin. 



While this decided, improvement 

 spared the tree very considerably, the 

 method of chipping "faces" to stimu- 

 late resin flow remained unchanged. 

 This in itself necessitates a deep 

 wound, which, it is believed, exhausts 



