Qualities and Uses of the Woods of Ohio 
105 
pensive, wire has gradually taken the place of fence rails, fence boards 
and pickets. The demand for wooden fence posts is still large, and is 
likely to continue, because neither hedge fences nor cement or metal 
posts are yet generally popular. The value of wood for posts is based 
mainly upon durability when in contact with the soil. The most dur¬ 
able woods are desired. Men who have used fence posts all their lives 
are not agreed as to which are best. Not durability alone but adapta¬ 
bility to soil and climate, the rate of growth, freedom from insects and 
fungous diseases, and other factors must be considered. It is safe to 
say that where the following trees grow surely and thriftily no mis¬ 
take will be made in selecting them for post timber : Osage orange, 
yellow locust, red cedar, mulberry, white cedar, hardy catalpa, chest¬ 
nut, and black ash. Some species of oak and black walnut make good 
posts, but they are of slow growth and are too valuable for other pur¬ 
poses to be recommended. 
Crossties —Our railroads are great consumers of wood. Although 
the average life of a tie has been increased by the use of wood pre¬ 
servatives, the annual demand makes one of the heaviest drafts on 
our forests. The kinds of woods most largely used are oak, the yellow 
pines of the south, the Douglas fir, western pine, cedar, chestnut, 
cypress, tamarack, hemlock, and redwood. Less durable woods 
usually treated with preservatives are white pine, lodgepole pine, 
gum, spruce, and beech. 
White ash is considered one of the best, although when untreated it 
is less durable than cedar or cypress. Oak can be worked to a more 
uniform size and holds the spikes better than most other woods. 
Chestnut is slightly more durable than other woods but does not hold 
spikes as well. Cedar ties are not well adapted to heavy pressure, 
and are not usually used on sharp curves, unless protected by plates. 
Telegraph and Telephone Poles —The woods most in demand for 
poles are red cedar, white cedar, birch or tamarack and chestnut. Ex¬ 
cept the last named these species are not found in marketable quan¬ 
tities in Ohio, so they are brought in from outside the state, and the 
transportation must be added to the first cost. 
For the shorter poles yellow locust and catalpa are found satis¬ 
factory. Since there is likely to be a continuously increasing demand 
for these poles, with a steadily diminishing supply, plantations o/ 
these and perhaps other species could scarcely fail to yield a profit to 
