




USES OF YELLOW PINE. 41 
USES. 
The wood of western yellow pine is not durable in contact with 
the ground, and must be treated with a preservative before it can 
be used for ties, telegraph poles, or fence posts. Locally the chief 
uses are for lumber, mine timbers, lagging, stulls, and ties, The 
butt logs of dead trees, if thoroughly impregnated with pitch, make 
excellent fence posts. Settlers often use saplings for corral poles, 
since there is seldom a more durable species at hand. The use of 
wood from dead trees is becoming more extensive. <A stull from 
a dead tree, whether sound or blued, is stronger than one from a 
green tree, a fact not generally recognized by mine operators. The 
pitchy butts of western yellow pine are often used for fuel when 
cedar or juniper is not available. It has been estimated that the fuel 
value of 1 cord of western yellow pine equals that of four-fifths cord 
of average oak or 1? cords of cottonwood. 
PRESERVATIVE TREATMENT.? - 
The use of western yellow pine for construction purposes rests 
upon the question of its durability. As ties, poles, posts, or in other 
forms where the timber will come in contact with the ground and be 
exposed to the weather, its natural life will average only from two to 
four years. ‘To increase its service to a reasonable length, therefore, 
the timber must be treated with chemical preservatives. The deter- 
mining factors of the practicability of the impregnation of all woods 
are the per cent of sapwood and the degree of seasoning. The greater 
the proportion of sapwood the more successful will be the treatment. 
Tt is evident therefore that for poles, posts, or crossties western 
yellow pine is well suited for preservative treatment. The degree of 
seasoning will depend upon the time of felling, the method of piling, 
and the length of time the wood is held in storage. 
It is not within the scope of this bulletin to describe the various 
preservative treatments in use. These are all fully treated in Forest 
Service Circulars 101 and 104 and Bulletins 78 and 84. Before treat- 
ing any wood, however, it is necessary to inquire what will be the 
ultimate saving, and how this will compare with that resulting from 
the use of more durable species. The determining factors in answer- 
ing these questions are: (1) The initial cost of the timber; (2) the 
cost of placement or setting; (3) the cost of treatment; (4) the life 
of the untreated timber; and (5) the life of the timber when treated. 
In Table 22 are given the comparative results from a butt and an 
open-tank treatment with creosote of 40-foot poles of western yellow 
pine and red cedar in California. Interest on the initial investment 
is figured at 5 per cent. 



1 Prepared under the direction of Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wis. 

