22 



BULLETIN 321, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICTJLTTJKE. 



red cedar posts which are used in the corn belt area have to be shipped 

 from the Southern States, and their cost to the farmer is steadily 

 advancing. To sum up the fence-post situation, it would seem that 

 the decrease in the supply of timber suitable for use as posts and the 

 increase in cost of this timber to the farmer will in the near future 

 make it advisable to use a substitute for wooden posts or to treat the 

 cheaper woods with a preservative material that will serve to prolong 

 their life. 



Table 6. — Average cost by areas and the average life of various 



posts. 



kinds of fence 





Average 

 life. 



Average 



cost in all 



areas. 







Average cost 



in each area 







- 



Area No. 1. 



Area No. 2. 



Area No. 3. 



Area No. 4. 



Kind of post. 



So 



to 

 u 



$ 



So 



CO 



"3 



O 



So 



S 



o 



So 



gs 



1 



So 



gs 



CO 



1 



5 



1 





789 



464 



557 



88 



48 



97 



94 



1.749 



60 



1,242 



41 



67 



9 



10 



19 



15 



69 



22 



41 



29.9 



23.8 



20.5 



17.4 



15.5 



15.3 



14.8 



14.3 



11.5 



11.4 



11.2 



10.5 



10.3 



9.1 



8.9 



8.8 



8.6 



7.0 



6.2 



774 



465 



574 



82 



45 



90 



91 



1,709 



56 



1,218 



37 



64 



9 



9 



17 

 15 

 58 

 24 

 33 



22 



24 



29 



19 



17 



15 



15 



18 



13 



12 



18 



9 



8 



12 



14 



12 



10 



7 



7 



105 



501 



346 



45 



15 



10 



91 



642 



6 



333 



12 



6 



7 



3 



11 



6 



17 



6 



1 



25 

 26 

 29 

 20 

 17 

 16 

 15 

 18 

 15 

 14 

 23 

 16 



8 

 20 

 15 

 10 

 11 



7 

 12 



326 

 21 

 97 

 25 

 17 

 54 



24 

 22 

 31 

 17 

 17 

 15 



320 

 23 



104 

 12 

 13 

 26 



17 

 18 

 27 

 15 

 18 

 15 



23 

 14 



27 



18 





18 





21 









10 



18 















459 



11 



389 



7 



26 



2 



6 



6 



5 



2 



10 



2 



18 

 13 

 11 

 22 



8 

 8 

 8 



10 

 9 



10 

 8 

 7 



374 



39 



421 



3 



7 



i9 



12 



12 



11 



9 



274 



16 



Walnut 







75 

 15 

 25 



13 





12 





9 



























Elm 



4 

 15 



8 

 25 



15 



10 



4 



7 







Ash 



24 



10 







Willow 



5 



9 









42 



11 



131 



48.0 

 36.3 

 29.9 



121 



15 



219 



30 

 35 

 30 



53 



30 



48 



29 



19 



4 



54 



31 

 38 

 30 



1 



11 

 3 



35 

 35 





82 



30 



71 



29 



30 







PRESERVATION OF FENCE POSTS WITH CREOSOTE. 



Decay of wood is brought about by the presence of fungi which 

 live on the tissues of the wood. For the development and growth of 

 these fungi certain conditions are necessary. Their growth requires 

 heat, air, moisture, and a supply of food. It will be noticed that in 

 the rotting of a fence post that part of the post which is at the 

 ground line and just below the surface of the ground is the most 

 affected. This is due to the fact that at this point all conditions are 

 favorable for fungus growth. There is an abundance of air, moisture, 

 and heat. In order to prevent decay it is necessary to remove one or 

 more of the conditions necessary to the fungus growth. 



The purpose of treating timber is to remove the conditions favor- 

 able to the growth of the fungi which cause decay. The moisture 

 content of the timber may be reduced by placing a waterproof coating 

 over it. Many experiments have been carried on, both by the Forest 



