74 



ARBORICULTURE 



serve as poles, lasting longer than almost 

 any other class of timber. 



"For ties the same is true as regards 

 lasting quality. There is only one serious 

 objection to this wood for tie purposes, 

 and that is its soft, yielding character. 

 With the heavy traffic, ever increasing, 

 this becomes a serious matter. It is be- 

 lieved, howrever, that proper tie plates will 

 do much to remedy this difficulty. The 

 cutting in of the rail in the tie shown on 

 Plate XXI is, after all. not excessive, 

 when compared with the redwood, for in- 

 stance. There seems to be no good rea- 

 son why a proper plate will not prevent 

 excessive rail cutting " 



I would here call attention to the fact 

 that all of the sample tics cjuoted are of 

 old forest growth, which, being softer in 

 all timbers, will not offer the resistance to 

 rail cutting as will young trees grown in 

 open plantations. 



About twenty-five years ago Mr. J. P. 

 Brown, then a civil engineer on the N. O. 

 and N. E. Railroad, became deeply inter- 

 ested in the subject of the renewal of our 

 forests by the planting and cultivation of 

 trees. Since then, purely from motives 

 of philanthropy, much of his time has 

 been devoted to the study and pursuit of 

 practical methods of forestry. While by 

 no means a man of one idea, his belief in 

 the superiority of the Catalpa tree for eco- 

 nomic use and his thorough study of that 

 species has resulted in his becoming gen- 

 erally recognized as the foremost author- 

 ity upon that particular tree. In his paper 

 read at a meeting of the National Road- 

 masters' and Maintenance Society, Mil- 

 waukee, Wis., September 9, 1902, he has 

 the following to say concerning Catalpa 

 spcciosa as a railway timber tree : 



" I. It is the most rapidly growing tree 

 in America that possesses economic value. 



" 2. A greater quantity of valuable 



wood may be produced upon a given area 

 in a specified time than from any other 

 American tree. 



" 3. The wood is the most enduring of 

 all our trees. 



" 4. It succeeds over a greater range of 

 territory than any other valuable tree of 

 this continent. 



" 5. Its habit of growth is upright, 

 with long trunk, where it has an opportu- 

 nity, thus differing from all other forms 

 of Catalpa. 



" 6. The chemical constituents of the 

 wood are so resistant of decay as to make 

 expensive artificial wood preservation en- 

 tirely unnecessarv. 



" 7. The roots are strong, vigorous, 

 large and deep, holding so firmly to the 

 earth that storms do not blow them over 

 [ never found a Catalpa to be blown over 

 by the wind. 



" 8. It is less subject to disease and at- 

 tacks of insects than any other tree of my 

 acquaintance. Only one worm, the Ca- 

 talpa sphinx, attacks it and that is easily 

 controlled by spraying, while the trees are 

 never seriously injured by the sphinx. 



'' 9. The wood has the same texture as 

 butternut, firm enough for tie purposes, 

 and holds a spike well. 



" 10. For inside car finish it is admi- 

 rably adapted, partakes of high polish, 

 has a handsome grain and is a superb 

 wood for furniture and inside finish. 



" ri. It is easily manipulated with edge 

 tools. 



" 12. Its strength is ample for all re- 

 quirements in railroad work." 



THK TNTERNATIONAI. SOCIETY OF ABORI- 

 CULTURE 



has an exhibit in the Forestry Building 

 at the World's Fair at St. Louis which 

 should be seen by all engineers and, in 

 fact, by any one at all interested in for- 

 estry. The exhibit demonstrates practi- 



