ARBORICULTURE 



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twenty-one years of age, and should be 

 producing- four times their present rate 

 of lumber making. They are only at a 

 point where the growth is fine for posts 

 and small telephone poles, while they 

 should be producing large poles and rail- 

 road ties. These forests are not situated 

 on the best land, it being at the time of 

 their establishment a high open prairie 

 with no protection from the prevailing- 

 south wind during most of the growing 

 season. At the same time we have many 

 thousand of Catalpa trees growing in 

 Kansas that will average one inch in 

 diameter for each season's growth since 

 they were planted as seedlings. 



POST AND POLE STOCK. 



I believe the development of the mid- 

 dle West during the next twenty-five 

 years will call for millions of posts and 

 small telephone poles for the progressive 

 farmer, who- must of necessity be con- 

 nected with the local telephone company 

 at his county seat. The lasting qualities 

 of the Catalpa make it especially valuable 

 for such purposes. It is one of the 

 easiest trees grown, and I see no good 

 reason why millions of them should not 

 be grown for the above and many other 

 reasons. 



Topeka, Kan. GiiO. W. Tincher. 



SAFETY IN DOUBLE TRACKS. 



The Editor of Arboriculture, in his 

 numerous journey ings by boat and by 

 rail, crossing and recrossing the conti- 

 nent in every direction, more than two 

 hundred thousand miles, has been so far 

 extremely fortunate in not having met 

 with any serious accident in all these 

 years of travel. Yet it was with a 

 special feeling of perfect safety that the 

 recent trip was made from Chicago to 

 New England over the Lake Shore & 

 Michigan Southern and the New York 

 Central railways, where all the tracks 

 are double, and for a large part of the 

 way four tracks. 



There is no equivalent which can be 

 considered where safety, speed, comfort 

 and convenience are in our balance of the 

 scale. 



It costs a vast sum to build, equip and 

 maintain one line of railwav with modern 



c(|uipments and construction, but upon a 

 thoroughfare of such importance as to re- 

 quire four parallel tracks over which the 

 numerous trains must pass to accommo- 

 date the w^onderful freight and passen- 

 ger traffic between the W'est and East, 

 the additional expense is far beyond the 

 knowledge of the ordinary layman. 



The numerous trains, passenger, mail, 

 freight and express, and the various em- 

 ployes in office, field and shop, would ap- 

 proximate the population of some of the 

 states, yet these are supported, with their 

 families, by this great railway system. 



The highest rate of speed attainable 

 may be maintained with safety, since the 

 tracks are always clear, and one need not 

 think of what might hap])en should some- 

 one forget his duty. 



For many miles at a stretch the smooth- 

 ness of the tracks and solidity of the road- 

 bed are so perfect, that but for the puffing 

 of the engine, or passing of other trains 

 on parallel tracks, one would not know 

 that the train is in motion, yet we are 

 covering fifty miles each hour for this 

 entire distance. 



To the busy man, whose minutes must 

 all be accounted for, if he succeeds in 

 accomplishing the work projected, speed 

 is of great importance, yet when this is 

 secured with every element of danger 

 removed, as far as human agency can 

 devise, and a trip to the eastern cities and 

 return may be made with no greater 

 fatigue than would be incurred at home, 

 then there is a pleasure in travel which 

 was not realized a few years ago. 



The New York Central, Lake Shore 

 and vast net work of railways under 

 this one system are well managed, keep 

 apace with every improvement, and sup- 

 ply the traveler with every convenience 

 and luxury of a well-appointed hotel, 

 while flying a mile a minute through 

 space. 



IOWA ARBORICULTURE. 



The influence of Professor Thomas H. 

 Macbride in Iowa is seen by the range 

 of subjects discussed, and ability and 

 forcefulness of the speakers selected at 

 the recent meeting of the Iowa Park and 

 Forestry Association at the State House, 

 Des Moines, December 8 and 9. 



