PRACTICAL ARBORICOLTURE 
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TELEGRAPH POLES. 
Between Chicago and Denver, a distance of 1,050 miles, along one line o 
railway, there are 31,500 telegraph poles. They are set 170 feet apart, o1 
thirty to the mile. .\s there are considerably more than two hundred thousanc 
mules of steam railway in the United States, increasing in mileage each year 
and many roads have double lines of poles to accommodate the great number 
of wires required to transact the telegraphic business of the country, there are 
eight million poles in use on railway lines. 
When to this is added the poles used by trolley lines and by telegraph anc 
telephone companies we find an aggregate of fifteen millions poles in use 
if these should be replaced at once it would require 250,000 flat cars to trans: 
port them; eight thousand locomotives would be necessary to haul the trains 
which if continuous would reach 1,750 miles. 
If the poles were placed end to end they would reach more than three 
times around the earth at the equator. 
A large majority of the poles in use are of white cedar, Thuya occidentalis 
which grows in the swamps of northern Michigan, Wisconsin and in Can 
ada. Some are of Oregon Pine, a smaller number are of red cedar, Juniperu: 
Virginiana, while a limited number are sawed from Washington cedar 
Thuya gigantea. 
Tf the trees to replace the poles now in use were growing and forty coulc 
he obtained from each acre, it would require 370,000 acres to supply the pole: 
for one renewal. 
Were the seed already sown and started into growth, it would be A. D 
2050 when the trees would be of sufficient size to use for first-class telegrapl 
poles. 
There are few American forest trees which combine the qualities neces 
sary to make good poles: durability in the ground: great length of trunk 
freedom from large side branches which form knots: straight trunk with ; 
recular taper, holding the size to great height. 
The northern swamp White Cedar has long been considered the idea 
tree for telegraph poles, but so scarce are these hecoming that during the pas 
year or two many car loads of pine from Tdaho and Washington have hee 
shipped Fast to rebuild telegraph lines in both Michigan and \Wiseonsi 
where the cedar was formerly so abundant. 
The lone time required for cedar to grow into a size suitable for this pur 
