20 



OUR VANISHING FORESTS 



ment of modern creosoting methods it was often 

 customary to dip the butt end of the post into crude 

 oil and then set fire to it, the consequent charring of 

 the wood furnishing a protective coat. Today, 

 however, the fence post maker sets up a couple of 

 creosote barrels connected by an iron pipe leading 



Without wood many of our important mining industries would be 

 forced to shut down. 



over a fire. He thrusts the posts vertically into the 

 liquid, heats it, and then by allowing it to cool ob- 

 tains the most thorough permeation. The ordinary 

 farmer may in this way treat his own product at a 

 cost of about ten cents per post, and at the same 

 time he may be sure that his posts will give a maxi- 



