April 1902.] The Hardy Catalpa. 117 



marketing, so that, with careful management, $400 per acre can be realized at 

 present by taking off everything. On this basis, the plantation would yield an 

 income of fifty dollars per acre per year. I expect to treat most of my plantations 

 in the above manner, as the returns will be quicker and larger than by growing 

 large trees." 



It is the opinion of both Mr. Yaggy and Mr. Tincher that, by the 

 time a catalpa tree reaches a size large enough to make railroad ties, 

 it will be too valuable for lumber, or for telephone or telegraph poles, 

 for it to be profitably cut up into ties. That, however, is a matter 

 that cannot accurately be forecasted. 



CATALPA FOR TIE TIMBER. 



The question of obtaining a suitable tie timber is becoming a most 

 vital one to the American railroad companies. This is sufficiently in- 

 dicated in the report of the committee on ties of the American Rail- 

 way Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association, issued March, 

 1901, as follows : 



"Up to the present time each railroad company has found it best and most 

 economical to use in its tracks cross-ties made from those timbers which are 

 nearest to its territory and therefore the most available and economical. The 

 value of these woods is consequently pretty well known to the adjacent railroad 

 companies at the present time. For instance, it is well known to the companies 

 operating in the Eastern, Middle and some of the Western states that a life of 

 eight and nine years is obtained in main tracks for white oak ties, and that they 

 are the best ties which they can obtain. The Canadian roads are restricted to 

 the use of cedar and hemlock for the most part, the Southern roads to yellow 

 pine, and the Western roads to mountain pine and redwood. 



"The Eastern and Middle states roads are now finding that they are com- 

 pelled to go farther each year to secure the valuable white oak ties, and that at 

 the same time the price is steadily increasing, indicating a growing scarcity of the 

 supply. They will, therefore, make inroads on the timbers considered less valua- 

 ble for cross-ties, such as yellow pine, hemlock, cedar, tamarack, mountain pine, 

 and redwood, which additional consumption reduces the available supply for roads 

 now using these timbers, and hence the tie question is becoming of importance 

 to all the consumers. 



"A great deal of attention to the forestry of the tie question has been given 

 in Europe, and as practice in Europe is very often the forerunner of what will 

 ultimately be done in this country, the government division of forestry is already 

 doing valuable missionary work in that line. 



"The subject of metal ties has received so little attention in this country, and 

 the cost as compared with wooden ties is so great, that this does not appear at 

 present to be a live question." 



According to the "Statistical Abstract of the United States" for 

 1899, page 380, there were in operation in the United States in 1899 

 191,310 miles of railway. 



Taking from the report above quoted statistics furnished by thirty- 

 six representative lines, having a total trackage of 43,458 miles, the 



