42: 



ARBORICULTURE 



TOPEKA STREET TKI«:ES. 



At Oakland, a suburb of Topeka, Kan- 

 sas, in 181)0, Geo. W. Tincher i)lanted a 

 largro number of catalpa trees for the 

 town I'oiiipany. which was laying out 

 this adition. 



The trees were from seed sown in 1882, 

 transplanted in 1883, and grown in a 

 crowded nursery until 1890. The first 

 eight years, therefore, were in a thicket, 

 and little progress was made. The trees 

 were 2Y2 inches thick Avhen finally set 

 on the street lines. I\Iany of Ihese trees 

 would now, after thirteen years' time, 

 make from one to four railway crossties. 

 The cutting back at transplanting caused 

 a branching habit, with low heads, there- 

 fore the trees are not suited for tele- 

 graph poles, nor w'ill they make much 

 lumber, but have good bodies eight or 

 nine feet in length to first branches. 



We measured some of the trees as fol- 

 lows: 



No. 1— Diameter one foot from 

 ground, 22 inches ; at eight fe^'t high, 15 

 inches. 



No. 2— Diameter one foot from 

 ground, 24 inches ; at eight feet high, 17 

 inches. 



No. 3 — Diameter one foot from 

 ground, 28.3 inches; at eight feet high, 

 18.7 inches. 



These trees were grp'^n and in full 

 leaf October 20, while cottonwood, box 

 elder and other trees had shed most of 

 their leaves. 



That the seed was sown twenty-one 

 years ago is of no consequence, for the 

 loss of time in transplanting, heading 

 back, and dwarfing in crowded nursery 

 was very great. One year trees set at 

 same time are as large. The fact must be 

 remembered that these trees, during the 

 thirteen years past, have had ample room 

 for root expansion, not 4x4 foot plant- 



ing. 



Xegleet to sever side branches has 

 e.-iused low growth, yet some are very 

 slfaight and upright. Sawed into cross- 

 ties GVwx8 inches Sy^i feet long, tree No. 



1 would make two acceptable ties. No. 



2 will make three crossties, while No. 3 

 is of sufficient size for five ties, one be- 

 iiiu-- IVdiii main branch. Here is a fair 

 basis from which to determine timber 

 growth for tie purposes from the ca- 

 talpa. 



RAILWAY ACCIDENTS. 



A few days ago a train was wrecked 

 in Colorado and another in the city lim- 

 its of Indianapolis, both of which were 

 horrible in their results. Once in a long 

 time such accidents occur, and always 

 will there be repetitions so long as fal- 

 lible human beings forget to perform a 

 duty, or the devil, in human garb, re- 

 moves the i-ail fastenings for the pur- 

 pose of robbery. 



One of the roads mentioned sends one 

 hundred and fifty trains on their jour- 

 ney each day, or 54,750 passenger trains 

 during the year. In the United States 

 there of 1,184 railways which start 500 

 million passengers trains on their mis- 

 sions every year. Once in a while some- 

 thing goes wrong, a train is wrecked, 

 somebody is killed. Out of five hun- 

 dred millions of passengers carried, one 

 is hurt by an accident. 



The editor of Arboriculture has trav- 

 eled, in the sixty years of his life, five 

 hundred thusand miles, yet has never 

 seen a serious accident. In these times 

 of excitement-loving j)eople, and report- 

 ers on the alert for anything which will 

 fewl this a])normal desire for sensations 

 of our i)eople, each accident is sent over 

 the wires and publislied in hundreds of 

 pai)ers, and too often a simple affair is 

 inagnified into mammoth proportions. 



It is safer to ride upon the railways 

 of the country than to work in any fac- 

 torj' or labor upon one's farm. 



