1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



429 



tuted the series. The poles were of 

 two grades of oak and one grade of 

 southern pine. Part of the common 

 oak poles were trussed. Forty poles 

 were tested. The axles were of hickory 

 and maple of three designs, thimble, 

 skein, thimble skein trussed, and long 

 sleeve skein design, making forty- 

 eight in all. The object in this se- 

 ries was to obtain the comparative 

 strength of the two woods and of the 

 different constructions. 



The results from the spoke tests 

 show more than 50 per cent error in 

 the present grading system, which is 

 largely due to the traditional prejudice 

 and consequent discrimination against 

 red hickory. No red spokes are now 

 allowed in the A and B grades, yet 

 these tests show that a large propor- 

 tion of the red spokes now included 

 in the lower grades should be, because 

 of their strength and toughness, in- 

 cluded in the highest grades. The 

 resilience factor which is determined 

 by maximum load and toughness, 

 varies directly with the weight, show- 

 ing that the best criterion for judging 

 the utility of spokes is the weight. It 

 is also shown by the tests that weight 

 for weight, the red and mixed spokes 

 are fully as strong as the white ones. 

 Of defects serious enough to affect the 

 strength those near the center of the 

 spokes are considerably more damag- 

 ing than the defects near the ends. A 

 study of the tested spokes as they now 

 appear at the Purdue University lab- 

 oratory, would give much practical in- 

 formation to commercial graders. 

 These tests will be supplemented by 

 another series on spokes manufactured 

 of sound dead hickory which occurs 

 in considerable quantity in the South 

 and is not now used for this purpose. 



The tests on the wagon poles 

 brought out several important points. 

 The present manner of attaching poles 

 could be much improved since the con- 

 struction at the hounds is much weaker 

 than the pole itself. The present style 

 of trussing is of little value because 

 the truss is applied along the neutral 

 axis of the pole. The Southern pine 

 pole will support a greater maximum 



load than the common oak pole, but is 

 not as strong as the select oak pole. 

 With reference to load at elastic limit, 

 the Southern pine ranks first. The 

 failure in the oak poles generally oc- 

 curred near the hounds and were 

 fibrous and localized. Fractures in 

 the pine poles, on the other hand, ex- 

 tended over distances of five or six 

 feet, long pieces often breaking off 

 where a fracture occurred. These 

 poles were not of the best grade of 

 Southern pine, most of them having 

 the appearance of shortleaf pine and 

 being largely sapwood. The exact 

 species will be determined later, yet, 

 for commercial purposes this is com- 

 paratively unimportant because the 

 Southern pines are largely sold under 

 the name of "yellow pine" without 

 distinction as to species. 



Results from the axle tests have not 

 been sufficiently correlated to warrant 

 definite statements regarding them, but 

 it can be said that there is considerable 

 room for improvement in the present 

 method of trussing. 



Further testing work along this line 

 will be carried on during the coming 

 winter. A series of shaft tests on hick- 

 ory and red oak will be made, a num- 

 ber on eucalyptus axles, and some on 

 cultivator poles of red fir and long- 

 leaf pine. 



_ By Presidential procla- 



New Forest J , . , f 



Reserve mation, signed August 



10, a new forest reserve 

 has been created in south-central Mon- 

 tana, to be known as the Crazy Moun- 

 tains Forest Reserve, taking its name 

 from the mountain range which it 

 covers. The mountains themselves 

 are named from their rugged contours 

 and peculiar profiles. They rise to a 

 height of 11,178 feet above sea-level, 

 and to 5,000 feet above the surround- 

 ing foothills. Their heavy snowfall is 

 of the utmost importance to three river 

 systems ; the Yellowstone, the Mussel- 

 shell, and the Missouri, through Six- 

 teen Mile Creek. The new reserve lies 

 about midway between the Little Belt 

 Forest Reserve to the north and the 

 Absaroga Division of the Yellowstone 

 Forest Reserve to the south. The 



