42 PRACTICAL ARBORICULTURE 



weight of heavy trains pass over them. There must also be such thickness, 

 or body to the tie as will sustain this weight under all circumstances, and not 

 only is there great strain upon the ties when a train rolls over the rails smooth- 

 ly, but in freight trains there is a continual jarring and bumping of heavy 

 loaded cars against each other, together with frequent lunges from one side of 

 the road to the other as heavy cars change direction with the curves. 



All this strain must come upon the ties and the fastenings which con- 

 nect them to the rails. If these be rigid bolts securing inflexible rails to un- 

 yielding ties, not only must they gradually loosen and give way, but such at- 

 tachments are far more difficult to replace and repair, and more expensive 

 than the spikes which are at present employed. 



Wooden ties have sufficient flexibility, and are more capable of main- 

 taining a firm hold upon the spikes which secure the rails, and as it is neces- 

 sary to replace ties, level the track and make other repairs quite often, than 

 would be the case with metal ties. This work can be done with ordinary 

 labor at less expense than with metal, and without loss of time. 



Distances are so great in America that ordinary railway lines are com- 

 pelled to economize in every branch of construction. Nearly every road is 

 bonded to European capitalists, and a large percentage of earnings are re- 

 quired to pay interest and expenses, so that it will be many years hence before 

 even the wealthier companies will seriously consider the subject of metal ties. 



So long as the smaller oaks may be obtained at a reasonable price, rail- 

 way companies will continue to employ oak ties ; and when necessity compels 

 the use of pine, as now throughout the Southern States that wood will be used, 

 or redwood in California, although it wears rapidly, and only when timber is 

 totally exhausted in America will metal be substituted. 



It is well, therefore, to look the matter squarely in the face, and con- 

 sider how they shall be supplied. It is an important subject for reflection for 

 the officials who manage long lines of railway, and stockholders who must 

 provide the means for this purchase. 



One acre of land containing timber suitable for railway ties, say twelve 

 to fourteen inches in diameter, may, if standing thickly, as in a forest planta- 

 tion, contain three hundred trees capable of being made into three ties each, 

 or nine hundred ties per acre. A tract of 100 acres supplying 90,000 ties, 

 sufficient for thirty miles of track, and worth at present rates $36,000, and 

 such trees can be grown in twenty years. 



As there seems to be no probability of timber products being of less value 

 a score of years hence than at present, unless the government radically 

 changes its policy with regard to forest lands, it does seem a profitable invest- 

 ment for capital to plant forests so as to provide an ample supply of woods 

 for railway uses and for manufacturers. 



