BULLETIN 549,. U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



Fire kinds of wood supplied over 81 per cent of the total number 

 of ties reported purchased in 1915. These were the oaks, southern 

 pine, Douglas fir, cedar, and chestnut. 



While there seems to be no trend toward the use of any one species, 

 more oak was reported than any other kind of wood. This is doubt- 

 less due to the fact that oak has the requisite strength and hardness 

 for ties and is available in many localities in large quantities. White 

 oak is also desirable because of its durability, and red oak because 

 satisfactory preservative treatment can be given it. Oak, including 

 both red and white, supplied 49,333,881 ties, or 50.8 per cent of the 

 total number reported purchased. 



Yellow pine was second in importance, contributing 14,115,681 

 ties, or 13.43 per cent of the total number reported. This species is 

 largely used because of its availability and cheapness, and, in the 

 case of longleaf pine, its durability; the strength of longleaf pine 

 adds to its desirability. Shortleaf and loblolly pine do not make 

 altogether satisfactory ties, but are used largely because they are 

 relatively cheap and take a satisfactory preservative treatment. 



Table 1. — Number of crossties reported purchased, 1907 to 1911 and 1915, by kinds oj 



wood. 



Kind of wood. 



1907 



All kinds. 



i 97, 106, 651 



135,053,000 



148,231,000 



123, 751, 000 



112,466,000 I 153,703,000 



Oak 



Southern pine 



Douglas fir 



Cedar 



Chestnut 



Cypress 



Eastern tamarack 



Western yellow pine. 



Lodgepole pine 



Western larch 



Beech 



Maple 



Hemlock 



Redwood 



Gum 



Birch 



All other 



333,881 

 115, 681 

 950, 910 

 122, 103 

 548,352 

 478, 612 

 606, 794 

 402, 836 

 316,819 

 251, 304 

 173, 490 

 069, 547 

 859, 662 

 563, 685 

 485, 466 

 465,815 

 361, 694 



59, 508, 000 

 24, 265, 000 

 11,253,000 

 8,015,000 

 7, 542, 000 

 5, 857, 000 

 4, 138, 000 

 2,696,000 



68,382,000 

 26, 264, 000 

 11,629,000 

 7,305,000 

 7, 760, 000 

 5,396,000 

 5,163,000 

 4, 612, 000 



57,132,000 

 21, 385, 000 

 9,067,000 

 6, 777, 000 

 6, 629, 000 

 4, 589, 000 

 3,311,000 

 6, 797, 000 



48,110,000 

 21, 530, 000 

 7,988,000 

 8, 172, 000 

 8, 074, 000 

 3, 457, 000 

 4,025,000 

 3, 093, 000 



1,109,000 

 1,189,000 

 3,686,000 

 1, 820, 000 

 1, 293, 000 



798,000 



773,000 



3, 468, 000 



2, 165, 000 



1,621,000 



195,000 



158,000 



2, 642, 000 



2,088,000 



378,000 



192, 000 

 151, 000 

 , 120, 000 

 871, 000 

 262, 000 



2, 682, 000 



2,895,000 



2, 603, 000 



3,421,000 



61, 757, 000 

 34, 215, 000 

 14,525,000 

 8,951,000 

 7,851,000 

 6,780,000 

 4,562,000 

 5,019,000 



52, 000 



2,367,000 



2,032,000 



15,000" 



5,574,000 



1 Mileage of railroads reporting ties represent 78.46 per cent of total mileage, 

 former years not obtainable. 



Mileage represented for 



Individual quantities were not given for the number of western 

 larch, lodgepole pine, and birch ties reported prior to 1915. It is 

 probable that the figures for western yellow pine included those of 

 lodgepole pine in former years. Larch might also have been tabu- 

 lated with the tamarack statistics. In 1915 the number of lodgepole 

 pine and western larch ties purchased was over a million each. 



Table 2 shows the number of crossties reported purchased by the 

 steam railroads, electric railways, and light, heat, and power compa- 

 nies. The total number of crossties reported purchased during 1915 

 by the steam railroads was 88,498,655, or 91.13 per cent of the total 

 reported by all classes of purchasers. White and red oak and south- 



