SECIiETARYVS PORTFOLIO. 393 



quite scarce in all accessible places, where, indeed, it has to be ^vatcIled to pre- 

 vent depredation. It is largely applied for fencing, and as supports under the 

 corners of buildings, for bridge timbers, and other purposes where stren"-th, 

 durability and lightness are required, such as the sheathing and frames of 

 small boats or skiffs. 



The wood, being liglit and strong, also works easily under the tools of the 

 joiner, and when well seasoned, is very desirable for the inside finish of houses* 

 in its tint and grain it compares favorably with some of our finest native orna- 

 mental woods. One of its most promising applications, on account of its 

 durability, its peculiar constitution, presently to be mentioned, and the brief 

 period required to bring it to a useful size, is that of material for railway 

 sleepers or cross-ties. For this purpose, trees of twenty-five to thirty years' 

 growth are large enough to yield four or five ties. 



The peculiarity of the wood's growth just now referred to is this: The 

 exceedingly and unusually small proportion of alburnum or sap-wood, that part 

 of all trees which is most prone to decay — here reduced to the minimum, as 

 but one or two layers or rings of latest growth are of this character in the 

 catalpa; hence quite small trees, and even limbs, used as vine props and as 

 fence stakes, have been found to last a long time. In making cross-ties, 

 great economy may be practiced with this tree, because a log of twelve inches, 

 instead of being hewed into one piece, may be sawed into two, that will have a 

 wider bearing on the rail, while at the same time the convex side being next the 

 road-bed, is more readily fixed by tamping than if it had been sawed or hewed 

 to a flat surface. The engineers who have used this timber in railway con- 

 struction speak very highly of it, and say that it holds the spike sufiiciently 

 well. 



Durahility — Many instances are known of the great durability of the cat- 

 alpa, eren where exposed to alternations of wet and dry, and to the action of 

 the elements. The wood fibre seems to resist decay in a wonderful desfree ; 

 logs that have lain upon the ground for a hundred years are still sound, and 

 when sawed up the timber is free from rot, and will take a pretty good polish. 

 Fence posts that have done good service for half a century, and in one case 

 for three-quarters of that period, have been taken up in good condition, and 

 have been cut up and finished as specimens for distribution by Mr. E. E. Bar- 

 ney, of Dayton, ()., to whom belongs, indeed, the credit of now bringing 

 this valuable tree before the public, — an act of disinterested kindness to his 

 countrymen which is deserving of all praise. 



The marvelous stories, heretofore looked upon as travelers' tales, respecting 

 the durability of the trees near New Madrid, killed by the earthquake of 1811, 

 have recently been verified by ocular demonstration. In the portions of the 

 forests that were then submerged, and covered with water from three to ten 

 feet deep, the dead catalpa trunks are still standing, but they stand alone ; 

 every other tree of the sunken forest has decayed and fallen, leaving these re- 

 mains still standing in the water, and presenting the appearance of some 

 strength. Specimens have been secured for Mr. Barney, who Avill subject 

 them to physical tests and report the results in his forthcoming pamphlet. 



Of the railway that passes through this region, a jDortion had been laid with 

 catalpa ties, and has been in daily use for eleven years. These are still 

 sound, while the oak ties beside them have been twice replaced. They are 

 laid upon thesilty mud of that low bottom land, subject to overflow, and with 

 no gravel or metal for tamping, consequently they can never be absolutely dry. 



