210 



-■(iiic ;ui(l nil prnductivc' power is lost." And turtlicr ("ulhci-tson"' says that 

 ill suuthcastrru Indiana "contrary to what uii.irht liavr l)een snpposed, a 

 larger per cent, of the steep hill slopes has been cleared than the land of 

 the more level regions." In such a case as this just the reverse method 

 of clearing the forests as to location should have been followed for reasons 

 above stated. 



One of the ways in which large amounts of forest trees are destroyed 

 is foi- r;iilroad ties, and enormous nnmbers of them are re(|uire(l. I'>risbie" 

 states that "to build 71.000 miles of railway re(iuired ls4,(;00,000 ties. Ties 

 have to be reiilaced every seven years. As every one knows, railroad ties 

 are cut from young timlier. the trees being from eight to twenty inches in 

 diameter, and this demand strikes at the very source of our timber supply." 

 "The numlier of cross-ties in use oi, the railroads of the T'liitt'd States is 

 estiniiited to be about (GO.Oilii.ooo ; tlie numlier used annually tor repairs 

 and for extensions of track is estimated to be from i»0.000.000 to 110.000.- 

 OOO, requiring, we may say. the eiitii'e product of llOO.OOO acres of woodland 

 annually."'^ So rapid has been the consumi)tion of timber for ties and the 

 exhaustion of the supply so apparent that some years ago the rennsylvania 

 Railroad Comiiany began to plant trees from which later on to get its ties. 

 For railroads to do this is a ratlier late plan. Notwithstanding st)me views 

 to the contrary, iron ties ought to be used and probably will be used in tlie 

 future. About the year ISSS the fences of the I'nited States were \alue(l 

 at ".i;2,000,000,000." "and it" cost then "J(;iO0,O0O.0O0 annually to keep them 

 in rejiair."'" These and other causes aside from lumbering show the waste 

 of linibei- winch years ago could liav(> iieeii practically prevented by the 

 use of other ;ind better materials. In most instances if the timber removed 

 from llie land and wasted were now ;i\ailable it would exceed in value that 

 of tlie land. 



In I'.IO!) there were 4S.nii-'' saw mills being ojiei-.-itiMl in the T'nited 

 Slates. (>f these in 1010 tliere were l.olb' in Indiana. Tlies(> mills vary 

 niu<-h as !<• cap;icit\', but the daily output ol' .ill is enoinious. 'limber is 

 (oflay being cut into lumber that a (|uailer of a century ago in Indi.ana 

 would in man\- cases have been rejected as fuel. In addition w ,' have in 



"• Cjibert.son, Cilt-iii. I. f., p. (io. 



" Brisbie, James S. Tree^ and Treos-Plantint!:. 1888, p. !). 



"Fi,'!!] .Annual Kcport of the State Boanl of Forestry, lilO."), p. 20:i. 



|» Brisljje, James S., 1. c. p. 0. 



■"Klliott, Simon U. 'flic Inipmiaiil ■fiiiiluT 'I'icim of llie fnilcMl Stale-. IHI:'. p. 10. 



■■■'American I'Virc-l rv, liUo. 



