Decay of Poles.

Progress, Volume III, Issue 8, 1 June 1908, Page 262

Decay of Poles.

The Universal Pole and Post Preserving Company, of Circleville, Ohio, engages in a novel means of preserving the footings of poles from decay. The method of the company under their patented process is to remove the earth around the pole to a depth of about 16 in. Then all the decayed wood is scraped or cut away with special tools, and a hole is bored to the centre of the pole to discover if the centre is sound. If the centre of the pole is hollow, this is filled with a chemical in solution with water. An asbestos and asphalt jacket of special manufacture is then placed round the pole, leaving a space between the jacket and pole of about one inch. This space is filled with a composition of germicidal chemicals mixed with sand, and the top is sealed and a good finish is placed upon it with cement. The appliance is more indestructible than the pole, and together with the chemicals will protect the pole for a period of many years. The chemicals applied to the pole will kill the fungi and destroy the enzymes, and at the same time will harden the wood. Poles treated seven years ago show no infection at the present time. The jacketj acket is so durable that, at the end of a given number of years, the contents can be freshened by the injection into the space between the jacket and pole occupied by the sand of a new supply of fungicide.