(IN COOPERATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, CONSUMPTION OF POLES IN 1906. WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1909 18558-Cir. 137-08 Previous to 1905, statistics upon the production of lumber and timber products were collected by the Bureau of the Census in connection with the decennial and quinquennial censuses of manufactures. To satisfy the urgent demand for more frequent reports upon these important products, the Forest Service collected statistics of the production in 1905. In order to avoid duplication of work and to insure uniformity of results, the Bureau of the Census and the Forest Service arranged in 1906 to cooperate in the preparation of annual statistics of forest products. The collection and compilation of the statistics of production in 1906, therefore, have been under the direct supervision of W. M. Steuart, Chief Statistician for Manufactures, and J. E. Whelchel, Expert Chief of Division, on the part of the Bureau of Census, and R. S. Kellogg, Chief of the Office of Wood Utilization, and H. M. Hale, Forest Assistant, on the part of the Forest Service. CONSUMPTION OF POLES IN 1906. The information in this circular concerning the consumption of poles during 1906 is based upon the number of poles purchased rather than the actual number produced during the year. It seems safe to assume, however, that the two were practically identical. Inquiries were sent out to more than 6,000 companies operating telegraph and telephone lines, electric light and power systems, trolley and street railway lines, and to railroad companies which operate their own telegraph or telephone lines. Practically all replied. The number of poles purchased during the year, as shown by these statistics, was 3,574,666, valued at $9,471,171 at the point of purchase. These figures do not include poles less than 20 feet long. Shorter poles are used for local lines and for temporary work, but they constitute only a small percentage of the total. WOODS USED. Table 1 shows, by kinds of woods, the quantity and value of round and sawed poles purchased in 1906. In both classes cedar ranks first and chestnut second. These two together furnish nearly nine-tenths of all the poles used, cedar supplying about three-fifths and chestnut over onee-fourth. TABLE 1.-Number and value of round and sawed poles purchased in 1906. In average value per pole at the point of purchase, pine stands highest. This is due not to greater intrinsic value of the wood, but [Cir. 137] to the greater proportion of large pine poles as compared with other kinds. Oak shows the lowest average value. The average price per pole for all kinds of timber in the United States was $2.65. Round poles brought an average of $2.63 and sawed poles $4.22 each. The higher cost of the sawed product is due chiefly to the additional labor and material necessary in their manufacture. Cedar and chestnut are the principal trees cut for round poles; pine and redwood the chief ones sawed. Redwood is seldom found small enough to use for round poles. The sapwood of pine decays rapidly; consequently a sawed pine pole from which the sapwood has been removed will last longer than a round one. The average per pole values of the different kinds of wood are interesting in a general way, but can not be used for exact comparisons because the different sizes of poles are not distinguished. The explanation for the apparently unreasonable discrepancy between the values of round and sawed cedar poles is found in the fact that all the sawed cedar poles are of small sizes. SIZES USED. Table 2 shows the quantity and value of the different kinds of poles, classified by length. It was found impracticable to attempt a classification by both length and top diameter, because complicated tables would have resulted. The first class covers all poles from 20 to 25 feet long, inclusive; the second those from 26 to 30, inclusive; the third those from 31 to 35, and so on. The last class presented embraces all poles 41 feet or more in length. TABLE 2.-Length of poles purchased in 1906. |