20 The Colorado Experiment Station. 
The holes in the posts are formed by No. 6 wires being placed 
in the post while it is soft. These wires are called “Tie Hole Pins.*’ 
(See cut.) They are removed from the poured post after the ce¬ 
ment has set for 24 hours. The pins are removed from the tamped 
posts immediately before the molds are removed. 
The following table shows the comparative holding strength of various 
wire fasteners, as determined by the tests: 
WIRE FASTENERS 
(See description of same.) 
KIND 
OE 
POST 
No. Ebs. 
Required 
to Pull 
Fastener 
REMARKS 
Ordinary 1 % in. staple 
New 
Cedar 
425 
Ave. of three pulls. Staple was well driven 
into post. 
Single special tie 
Cement 
520 
Ave. of 2 pulls. Fence wire broke. 
Double tie 
Cement 
510 
Ave. of 2 pulls. Fence wire broke. 
Double staple 
Cement 
245 
Ave. of 3 pulls. Staples pulled. 
No. 14 wire plain single 
tie 
Cement 
115 
Ave. of 2 pulls. The wire untwisted. 
No. 14 wire around post 
Cement 
110 
Ave. of 3 pulls. The wire untwisted. 
Cast staple holder with 
ordinary 1% in. staple 
driven into it 
Cement 
85 
Ave. of 2 pulls. Staple pulled out of holder 
Cold shut-link in single 
staple 
Cement 
83 
Fink opened in every case,. Ave of 3 pulls. 
TAPER OP POSTS. 
To obtain the maximum strength with the least amount of ma¬ 
terial, the cement post must be so shaped as to have its greatest 
strength at the ground line. 
While it is easy to make a post which tapers from the bottom 
to the top it requires somewhat more material than is necessary and 
it is smaller at the ground line than at the base. Thus the gradual 
taper not only uses more material than is necessary, but it reduces 
the strength at the place where it is most needed. 
By making the post of uniform size from the base to the ground 
line, no material is wasted. The post may then be tapered from the 
ground line to the top. 
Many of the posts which are being made now taper only one- 
half inch on each side from the base to the top. It has been found 
that in a 5~i nc h post which projects 4 feet above the ground, a 
taper of one inch on each side from the ground line to the top, in¬ 
sures almost equal strength throughout. This design gives more 
strength with less material than those with the continuous taper. 
