RAILWAYS AND HOME TIMBER. 195 



timber is not proved to be better than the home-grown timber, 

 his company would certainly take all their sleepers from the 

 home merchants, but, of course, they would have to get all they 

 require. 



Mr Gilbert Brown then spoke as to the visible supply of 

 Scots fir in the north. He said there was much timber in 

 inaccessible places which could be brought down to the railway, 

 and gave as his view that there was 600,000 to 800,000 sleepers 

 visible and that if more remote lots were taken into consideration 

 another 250,000 might be added to this estimate. The latter, 

 owing to the high altitude in which they are growing and 

 the consequent difficulty of transport, cannot, at the present rate 

 offered for sleepers, be placed on the market. If, however, a 

 slight rise in price could be got, they could be dealt with, and 

 the benefits would not rest with the owners alone but also with 

 the railway companies, as the timber is well matured and of 

 splendid durability, and when cut up is more like pitch pine 

 than ordinary Scots pine, and is altogether vastly superior to the 

 quality of sleepers got from the Baltic. 



Mr Wilson of Auchinleck dealt with the supplies which could 

 be got from the west coast, Ayr, and the south-west of Scotland. 

 He said that there was not a great deal of Scots pine suitable for 

 sleepers in those districts, but that if a fair price was given a 

 larger supply would certainly be available. In the meantime, 

 the Glasgow and South-Western Railway did not use any home- 

 grown sleepers and this was one of the reasons why he had not 

 taken up the supplying of Scots pine sleepers. He used the 

 Scots pine which he bought for other purposes, but would be 

 prepared to use it for sleepers if the price showed a better profit. 

 He also stated that, if the railway companies had any real 

 sympathy with aff"orestation, there are many things which they 

 could use home-grown timber for, which they did not at present 

 do. 



Mr Wilson of the Highland Railway had great sympathy 

 with the objects of the deputation, but, from a business point of 

 view, he said it could not be expected that the southern railway 

 companies would pay more than they were bound to pay for 

 home timber in the open market. The question of home and 

 foreign sleepers did not really affect his company as they used 

 only home-grown sleepers. He said that it seemed to him that 

 one of the main points for the societies to consider was, whether 



