Preserving Timbkr. — The sleepers or ties of railroads are more exposed 

 to decay than timber in any other position, being fully open to the weather 

 above and to the earth beneath. Their durability is greatly increased, 

 however, by embedding them in gravel with perfect drainage. They will 

 last from twice to three times as long thus protected, by clean, dry, 

 coar^^e gravel, as when laid in wet clay. This fact shows the importance of 

 jn'oviding drainage for fence-posts, the portion of which at the surface of the 

 ground is nearly as much exposed to decay as railway sleepers. 



American Forest Trees. — Within ten years, says the Polytechnic, no less 

 than 12,000,000 acres of forest have been cut down or burned over in the 

 United States. Much of the timber is used for fuel, twenty-five cities being 

 on record as consuming annually from 5,000 to 10,000 acres each. Femes 

 use up much timber, and railway sleepers require the product of 150,000 acres 

 per annum. The amount of pine and lumber timber yet standing in the 

 forests of the timber states is estimated at 225,000,000,000 feet. The sum of 

 144,000,000 dollars is invested in the timber industry, employing 200,000 

 men. 



Fall op an Old Oak. — On Sunday evening, Dec. 30th, the fine old oak tree 

 in front of Hornby Hall, near Lancaster, decaying for a great number of years, 

 fell with a fearful crash, and quite alarmed the inhabitants of that quiet part 

 of the village. Some idea of the size of this tree may be gathered from the 

 following dimensions, namely: — Circumference at the bottom, 21 1 ft., and 10 ft. 

 from the base, 14 ft. ; at 18 ft., 9l ft. Total length, upwards of 60 ft. The 

 exact age of the tree oannot be ascertained, but it appears from a document 

 in the possession of John Murray, Esq., that 140 years ago it was a stately 

 tree, and even within the memorj' of the oldest inhabitants its vast arms 

 spread over and nearly covered the field in which it stood. 



Tree Planting in Califoknia. — Tree planting is receiving much attention 

 in the far west, and California appears to be going ahead in this useful pursuit 

 with her accustomed energy and success. The " blue gum " of Australia 

 {EucahjjJtus (jlohulus) seems to be the favourite tree with extensive planters, 

 Mr. James T. Stratton, of Alraeda County, having had planted more than a 

 year ago 130,000 trees of it, and the Central Pacific Railway Company 50,000 

 as a first instalment of a million they intend to plant along the line they 

 own, their immediate object being to increase the humidity of the region and 

 lessen the liability to droughts. Other railway companies and private indi- 

 viduals throughout the State are also planting largely the same valuable tree, 

 which promises to become in sub-tropic countries as useful and remunerative 

 to the inhabitants as arc the fir, larch, and pine in more temperate 

 climes. 



