Current Literature. 75 



Prolonging the Life of Crossties. By H. F. Weiss. Bulletin 

 118, U. S. Forest Sen'ice. Washington, D. C. 1912. Pp. 51. 



Following are 'wcnty-five recommendations made by the Fore.-l 

 Service for prolonging the life of ties. 



"(i) The winter cutting of ties should be encouraged. It 

 leaves the forest in belter condition and the ties season with loss 

 danger of checking., insect injury, and decay. 



"(2) Preference should be given to sawed ties. These result 

 in less forest waste and permit in general a more uniform bearing 

 of the plate on the tie and the tie on the ballast. As a rule their 

 use does away with the necessity for adzing and avoids the 

 mechanical destruction resulting from an uneven bearing surface. 

 Moreover, more sawed ties can be loaded on a cylinder truck, thus 

 decreasing the cost of labor in the preservative treatment. 



"(3) As a general rule, all bark should be removed from ties 

 immediately after they are cut. If. however, they caseharden or 

 are otherwise injured they may be permitted to season with the 

 bark on, but all bark should be removed before the ties are placed 

 in the treating cylinder. 



"(4) If ties are to be adzed or bored, this should be done 

 before they are treated. 



"(5) It is almost always cheaper and better to use treated than 

 untreated ties. In localities where black locust, redwood, cedar, 

 and cypress ties are available it may be cheaper to use these un- 

 treated than to use treated ties. 



"(6) In selecting ties for treatment, preference should be given 

 to those which are hard and which absorb the preservatives 

 readily. Treated red oak, beech, maple, and gum ties will give 

 better service than treated chestnut, spruce, and white-pine ties. 



"(7) Since sapwood is just as strong as heartwood and much 

 easier to inject with preservatives, ties with a large amount of 

 sapwood, provided it is properly distributed, should be preferred 

 in preservative treatment to those with little or none. 



"(8) All ties should be thoroughly seasoned before treatment. 

 Of the various methods of seasoning, air seasoning is preferred, 

 because it is usually safer. If ties must be artificially seasoned, 

 they should be heated at low temperatures and lose moisture 

 gradually, to avoid serious checking. 



"(9) The sites selected for air seasoning should be free from 



