346 



ARBORICULTURE. 



ville & Nashville is foremost. Beginning in 

 19IJ4 with ten medium-sized groves, it has 

 increased its holdings until in 1905-6, 400,000 

 trees were planted. Along its right of way 

 between Carmi, 111., and St. Louis, Mo., the 

 company is making a forestry test to de- 

 termine the advisability of growing catalpa 

 for ties. An extensive plantation has been 

 made, and the development of the catalpa 

 trees will lie carefully watched. They are 

 set about eight feet part and will 'be given 

 careful attention all along the line. This 

 company has great faith in the advantages 

 of catalpa for ties, since the wood is ex- 

 tremely lasting, holds spikes well, and is not 

 decayed by corrosion where metal comes in 

 contact with it. A catalpa tie will last twen- 

 ty years, and it requires onl^' that length 

 of time to mature a tree for commercial use. 

 The L. & N. also has a plantation near Pen- 

 sacola, Fla., one at Newport, Ky., and several 

 in southern Illinois. The Illinois Central, 

 Big Four and Southern Pacific roads also 

 have several of tne kind. 



The Santa Fe is entering upon the culture 

 of eucalyptus for its own use on a large 

 scale. It has bought a ranch containing 

 8,650 acres, of whicOi 300 have already been 

 planted with eucalyptus. The Southern Pa- 

 cific is said to be considering the matter of 

 establishing a similar eucalyptus plantation. 



The Canadian Pacific has commenced tree 

 planting extensively along its western lines. 

 Near the town of Wolseley, Assiniboia, it is 

 the intention to conduct experiments in 

 growing tamarack for ties, and at Medicine 

 Hat, jack pine and tamarack will be planted. 



The Pennsylvania system last year used 

 5,125,000 cross ties. This year it is planting 

 550,000 trees in its prospective forests, bring- 

 ing the total up to 2,250,000 now being grown 

 on 1,000 acres. It has selected catalpa, lo- 

 cust and oak as most desirable. The plant- 

 ing is done with great attention to scientific 

 detail, under the direction of Forester A. E. 

 Sterling. 



The Pennsylvania road expends about 

 $4,000,000 annually for cross-ties, and hy its 

 forestry and wood-preservative operations, 

 expects to materially reduce this big item. 



The Mexican Central uses about l,5r;0,- 

 000 ties every year, and always has standing- 

 orders for them in various parts of the 

 country. The company purchased a ship- 

 ment of 40,000 hardwood cross-ties brought 

 to Vera Cruz from Tasmania recently, and 

 will make a thorough test of them. It has 

 just placed a requisition for 3,000,000 hard- 

 wood ties to be used in repair work through- 

 out the republic. 



Mahogany is often used iby Cuban rail- 

 roads, as well as in other tropical countries 

 but 'Sir William Van Home has forbidden it 

 on his line. He considers it almost criminal 

 to cut small mahogany trees, and there is 

 an abundance of other timber in Cuban for- 

 ests suitable for construction purposes. 



Several experiments have been made witn 

 steel ties in this country, but as yet no defi- 

 nite decisions and results have been ob- 

 tained. In Europe some roads employ them, 

 Init conditions are entirely different from 

 those surrounding traffic in this country. 

 However, it has not been decided there that 

 metal ties are profitable, nor how durable 

 they are in comparison with wood. 



While it is scarcely probable that railroad 

 companies will engage in forest planting 

 lij.on a scale suflSciently large to meet ai 

 their requirements, it is important that they 

 plant trees in as large quantities as possible 

 upon their holdings, thus aiding greatly the 

 conservation of the standing timber of the 

 country, au'd affording a notable object les- 

 sen to other large property owners. 



Mackinac Island. Mich., July 29, 1907. 

 ]\[r. John P. Brown : 



I want to thank you for the g-ood work 

 you are doing. You are a puhlic hene- 

 factor. Only ill-health, I suppose, has 

 enabled me to read your Arboricultuke 

 lo-day, and I have been greatly interested 

 ]n the July number. I have read with 

 interest the articles, '"'Extinction of Amer- 

 ican Hickory,"'" "The Catalpa As a Lum- 

 l)er Tree.'" "The Tribute to Parker,"" etc. 

 Yours truly, 



H. H. Hanxa. 



PALO .VLTO. CALTFOEXTA. 

 '\\i. John P. Brown: 



I remember seeing you at the World's 

 Fair, St. Louis, four years ago. and I 

 thoug'ht you were quite an old man and 

 (|uite frail, and had no idea you would 

 live to this time. But you seem to be 

 fighting the l)atties of the tree just as hard 

 to-day as you were then, and I hojx) you. 

 nay liave success. 



.\re you fam'liar with the ra]):d growth 

 u ailc l)y son-e of Burbank's hyln-id wal- 

 nuts? Trees that are five feet five inches 

 jn ciicuniference, in fourteen or fifteen 

 years from seed. 



'i'hc fight you have made for the refor- 

 e-tat'on of vacant lands in the United 

 States I'as Inen something superb. 



Charles Moore. 



