50 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



of liinliors lieiclofori^ rOKiii'iloil as scarrely wmtli viittinf; tor that 

 jmrpose. Practioully every tree that ^rows in this (•oiintry, if largo 

 eiioiigli. is good for ties, if treated. If very soft, like Imckeye, aspen 

 and white pine, plates ran he nsed nmlcr the r.iils to prevent rapid 

 wear. 



Viewed in that lin''', the tie situation is not partionlarly diseour- 

 aging. Some of tlie old tried wood.s are beeoining searee, bnt dozens 

 of others heretofore hardly nsed are available with the aid of the 

 treating tank. A praetieally clean sweep can be made of all trees 

 on a fraet. provided they are of suitable size. That will brin;; ties 

 to the tracks which heretofore were left as an encumbrance on cut- 

 over land. Utilization will be closer, waste will be less. It will not 

 be a question of findiuf; new sources of tie material, but of making 

 better use of well known sources. It costs more to treal a tie than 

 to use it untreated, and for that reason woods which naturally last 

 well will continue to be sought; but when they can no longer be 

 found, or cannot be procured except at a price exceeding that of 

 cheaper woods Ihat liave been <;iven treatment, the cheajier woods 

 will come in. 



The time will doubtless arrive in tlie United States, as it has al- 

 ready come in France and Oermany, when ties will be cut from 

 [danted timber; but that time is a good while in the future. A little 



plantirij; has been done, an<l is being done, but for many years the 

 railroads must look to natural woodlands for ties. Nature is still 

 able to plant trees in this country a good deal faster an<l more cheaply 

 fli:in man can do if. but nature needs man's hel]i in caring for them 

 after they are planted. 



Some of tlie species which hold out promise as sources of ties be- 

 cause they grow rapidly, reproduce readily, take preservative treat- 

 ment easily and have extensive ranges, are loblolly pine in the South 

 and white pine in the North; willow oak in the South and red oak 

 in tlie North; and the cottonwoods and willow in the South and 

 Miildle West. These are not the only ones, l)ut they are important. 

 Rapid growth and gooil trunk form are essential. Loblolly pine in 

 particular is remarkably promising because of its wide range, vigor- 

 ous growth, dense stands, jihenomenal rejiroduction and the value of 

 the wood. Willow oak on fertile southern land grows nearly as fast 

 as loblolly. It is in the red oak class. Black willow on good land 

 grows as fast as either. 



In the far West the tie problem is not serious. The pines and 

 firs already of tie size are sufiScient for all needs for many years; 

 but, none the less, preservative treatment is as essential there as in 

 the Kast ; and it may be safely |iredicted that before many years 

 few untreated ties will be laid anywhere in this country. 



> Sj«;;ii:m«roa^fflimM H^tK^ma ^^ 



The ebony is one of the most widely diffused and at the same 

 time one of the rarest woods in the tropical and sub-trojiical jiarts 

 of the world. It is true that a few species of which our American 

 persimmon {Diospyros virginiana) is the best known, occur in the 

 temperate zone, but as .a rule ebonj' is a tropical product. Enor- 

 mous quantities of this valuable wood come from Ceylon, India, 

 and other parts of the East Indies, but it is now becoming rare. 

 During the last twenty-five years ebony has been exploited more 

 or less extensively in parts of equatorial Africa. Several different 

 kinds of woods not belonging to the ebony family are now being 

 brought from Africa into the European markets, but this is because 

 the region where true ebony abounds has not yet been opened up. 



The true ebony tree, which the natives call evila {Diospyros 

 ebenuDi), occurs abundantly in French Congo. It is found also in 

 Cameroon, where it has been exploited more extensively than in 

 French Congo. Early travelers who visited points on the west coast 

 of Africa found ebony in great profusion, and it is said to be par- 

 ticularly plentiful in the Province of Gaboon of French equatorial 

 Africa. It does not grow on low ground near the coast, but occurs 

 farther inland all along the ridges and hills which in Gaboon run 

 north and south. Central Gaboon, where this species attains its 

 best development, is the territory lying between Libreville, which 

 IS the principal seaport town of French equatorial Africa, and 

 Franceville, an inland town on one of the tributaries of the Congo 

 river. This region is very hilly and is cut up by numerous small 

 rivers, some of which flow north into the Ogoue and a good many 

 flow south into the Congo river. 



Gaboon lies within the belt of virgin tropical hardwood forests, 

 having an average annual rainfall of about seventy inches. The 

 forests here are exceedingly dense, forming impenetrable jungles 

 along the streams and rivers. The ebony is found intermixed with 

 a great many other forest trees, many of which may be classed 

 among the precious woods. It is found in greater abundance at 

 the tops of the hills and becomes gradually less plentiful as one 

 approaches the streams in the valleys below. The natives have 

 not yet exploited much of this wood, but they know its value as 

 * an article of export. Cam wood (Baphia nitida) is very plentiful 



along the water courses throughout this tropical evergreen belt of 

 vegetation. This is the wood imported into Europe and America 

 for dyeing or coloring. 



The ebony is one of the finest and most graceful trees of the 

 African forests. Its lea\es are long, sharp-pointed, dark green, and 



hang in clusters proiUu-ing a very dense shade Its bark is smooth 

 and dark green. The trunk rises straight and clean of branches 

 to a considerable height, often from fifty to sixty feet. Speci- 

 mens may frequently be seen which have a diameter of five feet 

 at the base. The mature ebony tree is always found hollow, and 

 even its branches are not always sound. The sapwood is white 

 and in an average tree it is from three to four inches thick. The 

 heartwood, which forms the ebony of commerce, is jet black. The 

 young trees are white or sajipy to the center, and even where they 

 attain a diameter of nearly two feet the heartwood is streaked 

 with white. Trees less than three feet in diameter are not cut 

 down. 



Generally three or four trees stand together, and none others 

 within a little distance. Ebony gatherers will have very little 

 trouble in finding suitable trees to cut, but they experience the 

 gravest difficulties in getting the lumber to a place of shipment. 

 The logs cannot be floated, because even the thoroughly dried wood 

 is heavier than water. The only local use for ebony, which is very 

 limited, is for making the rudely shapeil divinities, several of which 

 mav be found in every native village. 



Lumber Outlook in China 



In the upbuilding of China there is a good field fur American 

 lumber, and a demand will soon be felt for railroad tie material. 

 Although Japan holds a good place in the tie market on account of 

 her proximity to north China, in her own native chestnut and oak, 

 yet there is room for outsiders, especially in creosoted ties, f'reo- 

 soted Oregon pine is already coming into the Chinese market at 

 $1.1.5 a tie. South China will require the more durable and lasting 

 creosoted tie on account of its wet climate. For general building 

 lumber the ordinary Chinese houses are now using native wood to 

 a great extent. However, near ports and harbors a quickening de- 

 mand is beginning to be felt for interior finish and flooring. 



The lumber tariff on imports into (,'hina has been about seventy 

 cents a thousand board feet in tie material. The costs for unload- 

 ing ships, etc., include a river due of one-fifth of one per cent ; 

 lighter charges $1.80 per 300,000 board feet ; stevedoring, about 

 forty-two cents a thousand. On the average it costs about $2.85 

 a thousand feet to get lumber into the yard. Town deliveries vary 

 in cost from thirty to seventy cents a thousand, -and loading railway 

 cars, about twenty cents a thousand. Such, in brief, are the figures 

 from China as sent in by a lumber merchant at Hongkong. 



