TECHNICAL    NOTE    number     135 
 
 UNITED   STATES    DEPARTMENT   OF    AGRICULTURE  FOREST    SERVICE 
 
 FOREST    PRODUCTS    LABORATORY 
 MADISON    0.    WISCONSIN  REVISED  DECEMBER     1952 
 
 SPLIT    POSTS   AND 
 
 Is  a  split  fence  post  as  durable  as  a  raund^fe-nxLe^jDost 
 This  is  a  question  frequently  asked  of  the  Forest  ProoT- 
 ucts  Laboratory.  The  fact  is,  either  post  will  last 
 about  as  long  as  the  other  if  they  are  of  the  same  species 
 and  contain  the  same  amount  of  heartwood.  But  if  the 
 percentage  of  sapwood  is  increased  by  splitting,  the 
 split  post  will  be  less  durable,  and  if  the  percentage 
 of  heartwood  is  increased,  it  will  be  more  durable 
 than  a  round  one.  Posts  of  spruce,  hemlock,  or  any 
 of  the  true  firs  are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  because 
 their  heartwood  and  sapwood  are  about  equally  dura- 
 ble. 
 
 When  posts  are  to  be  treated  with  creosote  or  other 
 preservative,  a  round  post  is  generally  preferable  to 
 a  split  post,  because  the  sapwood  of  most  species  can 
 be  treated  more  easily  than  the  heartwood.  The  heart 
 faces  on  split  posts  do  not,  as  a  rule,  absorb  preserv- 
 ative well.  Split  red  oak  posts  can  be  treated  because 
 the  heartwood  is  very  porous,  but  the  heart  faces  of 
 split  posts  of  many  other  species,  notably  white  oak 
 and  sweetgum,  resist  the  penetration  of  preservative, 
 even  under  heavy  pressures. 
 
 ZM  92359  F 
 
 Agr    ic  ulture-Mad  Ison 
 
UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 
 
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