A VOLUME TABLE FOR HEWED RAILROAD TIES 



By James W. Girard and U. S. Swartz 



The United States Railroad Administration has changed the speci- 

 fications for cross-ties. Formerly the railroads had (as a rule) two 

 grades of ties ; the new rules specify five grades, which, for hewed ties, 

 must conform (within certain margins) to the following measurements: 



No. I. 6"x6"x8' 

 No. 2. 6" X 7" X 8' 

 No. 3. 7" X 7" X 8' 

 No. 4. 7" X 8" X 8' 



No. 5. 7" X 9" X 8' 



The substitution of five grades for two complicated the problem of 

 appraising the stumpage. With only two grades, it was comparatively 

 simple to arrive at a stumpage price for each grade or to establish a 

 flat rate. With five different grades to consider, however, and a differ- 

 ent selling price for each grade, arriving at a stumpage price became 

 much more difficult. It was clearly impracticable to figure the costs of 

 logging separately for each grade, and consequently the fixing of a 

 stumpage price for each individual class was not feasible. Such a plan 

 had the further disadvantage that the Government was unable to settle 

 with the purchaser until after an inspection of the ties had been made at 

 the railroad. 



A flat rate has many advantages from the Forest Service standpoint 

 and is entirely feasible, provided it is possible to determine the per- 

 centage of the various grades of ties which any given tract of timber 

 will produce. It was obviously impossible for any cruiser to determine 

 accurately these percentage figures without the assistance of a table 

 based on careful measurements. The use of such a table in determining 

 a flat stumpage rate was premised on and supported by the policy 

 established for the Montana District of the U. S. Forest Service, to 

 make no tie sales where the purchaser was unable or unwilling to 

 utilize the entire contents of every tree cut for ties of any grade per- 

 mitted by the specifications. In other words, the district refused to 

 recognize any limitation upon the number of low-grade ties to be sold, 

 except that imposed by the form and size of the trees in the stand. 



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