6 BULLETIN 234, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 3. — Annual cut of lodge-pole pine for lumber, 1909-1911. 



State. 



1909 



Annual cut. 



1910 



Annual cut. 



Increase 

 over 



previous 

 year. 



Annual cut. 



Increase 



over 



previous 



year. 



Wyoming 



Colorado 



Montana 



Idaho 



All other States. 



Board fed. 



11,886,000 

 6, 730, 000 

 2,567,000 

 1,228,000 

 1,322,000 



Board feet. 



13,205,000 



9,572,000 



2,308,000 



934,000 



543,000 



Per cent. 



11.1 



43.7 



17.3 



123.9 



158.9 



Board feet. 



13,294,000 



15,038,000 



3,348,000 



779,000 



535,000 



Total 23, 733, 000 



26,634,000 



12.2 33,014,000 



Per cent. 



0.7 



57.1 



40.7 



114.5 



U.5 



24.0 



1 Decrease. 



POSTS AND POLES. 



Large quantities of lodgepole pine are cut for fence posts and rails 

 for local use, but at present the species is not generally employed for 

 telegraph, telephone, or power line poles. Lodgepole pine, however, is 

 in many respects an excellent pole timber. It is straight, with a taper 

 of approximately 1 inch in 8 feet, about the same as that of western 

 red cedar, and when air dried is 19 per cent stronger at the elastic 

 limit and 12 per cent stronger under maximum load than a cedar pole 

 of the same circumference at the ground line. The poles must, of 

 course, be given a preservative treatment if they are to last any length 

 of time. Poles treated with creosote by the open-tank process are 

 estimated to have a life of 20 years or more, against 5 years when 

 untreated. Even treated lodgepole, however, would be a cheaper 

 pole material than untreated western red cedar in central and eastern 

 Montana and in many portions of the region between the Rocky 

 Mountains and the Mississippi River, owing to its lower stumpage 

 value and greater accessibility. Table 4 shows the cost of treated 

 lodgepole pine, in contrast with that of untreated cedar, for a tele- 

 phone line near Butte. 



Table 4. — Comparative cost of treated lodgepole pine and untreated western red cedar 

 telephone poles near Butte, Mont. 



Treated 

 lodgepole. 1 



Untreated 

 cedar. 



Cost per 7-inch, 25-foot pole, f. o. b. Butte 



Cost of treatment 



Cost of hauling and setting 



Total cost in place 



Life in service 



Annual charge 3 



Annual saving per pole by using lodgepole pine 



$0. 



.60 



5.00 



6.33 



■'12 yrs. 



$0,527 



. I.'iS 



?•:. •:." 



.00 



10 vrs. 



<M. US.-, 



1 Treated with 4 pounds of creosote per cubic foot; penetration of 1.29 inches. 



■ Estimated. 



3 Calculated by the formula — 



? ._ -«Xl OpnX.Op 

 l.0pn—l 



Where ^equivalent annual charge; R ■—initial expenditure; .0p=rate of interest ; ?i=--term of yoars. 



