40 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



January 



developed along two distinct lines. 

 From an economic point of view it 

 should be managed to secure the best 

 returns from the sale of timber and 

 other forest products, consistent with 

 the maximum protection of the water- 

 sheds. It should also be made acces- 



sible to the public for its scenic attrac- 

 tions. Roads should be opened and 

 fish and game introduced. At the 

 same time from a scientific standpoint 

 the extraordinary interest of its unde- 

 scribed flora opens a splendid opportu- 

 nity for studies of tropical forest botany 



FORESTRY AND THE RAILROADS 



Wooden Tie-Plates are Successfully Being Used 

 Under Advice from the Bureau of Forestry 



T T PON the advice of the Bureau of 

 Forestry, the Gulf, Colorado and 

 Santa Fe Railroad eight months ago 

 began to experiment with wooden tie- 

 plates. These plates are intended to 

 protect the tie from wear under the 

 rail. They are cut the width of the 

 bottom of the rail and as long as the 

 tie is wide usually six or seven inches 

 and are kept in place by the weight 

 of rail, in a flat groove in the tie. The 

 results of the experiment are of much 

 interest both to the railroads of the 

 country and to those who have at heart 

 the cause of forest protection. 



The Santa Fe placed cypress tie- 

 plates one-quarter of an inch thick on 

 several thousand old and much-worn 

 cypress ties laid in its track north of 

 Galveston, Tex. After eight months 

 of constant use the plates are perfectly 

 sound and show practically not a trace 

 of wear. The officials of the road are 

 greatly pleased with the result of this 

 trial. 



The Bureau of Forestry will now 

 make similar experiments with red 

 gum, red oak, and beech tie-plates, 

 which will be placed in the tracks of 

 the St. Louis and San Francisco, the 

 Burlington, and the Northern Pacific 

 systems. These are all harder woods 

 than cypress, and are therefore less li- 

 able to wear under the rails, but are 

 much more subject to decay. The tie- 

 plates made from these woods will 

 therefore all be heavily creosoted. 

 This will make them about as resist- 



ant to decay as the untreated cypress, 

 while their much greater hardness will 

 better qualify them to resist the wear 

 of the rails. 



For a number of years cross-ties 

 have been treated with preservatives, 

 and tie-plates of iron have been used 

 to increase their length of service. 

 Tests are constantly being made by the 

 Bureau of Forestry to improve the 

 character of the preservatives and the 

 methods of their application, and to 

 enlarge the number of woods used for 

 railroad construction purposes. Ex- 

 perimenting with wooden tie-plates is 

 work along the same economical line, 

 in the interest of both the railroads 

 and the forests. The use of a tie-plate 

 prevents wear on the tie and adds 

 years to its service ; wooden tie-plates 

 are being successfully substituted for 

 the more expensive iron, and abundant 

 and cheaper woods, through preserva- 

 tive treatment, are becoming available 

 to take the place of scarce and expen- 

 sive woods. When a wooden tie-plate is 

 worn out a new one can be quickly and 

 cheaply inserted in its place. In Eu- 

 rope these plates cost but $2 a thous- 

 and, or $2 for every 500 ties, since two 

 are used upon each tie. Preservative 

 treatment keeps the tie from decaying, 

 the wooden tie-plate keeps it from 

 wearing, and the use of both will re- 

 sult in a huge economy for the rail- 

 roads, which will react favorably upon 

 our forests. 





