October i, 1890. 



Garden and Forest. 



483 



that single end. For example, there is no need of giving any 

 description of the winter-buds of trees, for the key can only be 

 used with the leaves. No mention of their Mowers is made in 

 the case of several trees, and perhaps it is enough to say of the 

 flowers of the Sassafras, "greenish yellow, in clusters, May, 

 June," or of the Yellow Willow, " blossoms, May." But such in- 

 formation is not very specific or satisfying. We may not unrea- 

 sonably hope, however, that one who has taken the pains to 

 identity a tree by means of thisartificial guide will continue his 

 investigations until he learns something of it besides its name. 

 The truth is, however, that very few people comparatively can 

 identify half the trees in our woods or by our roadsides, and 

 this book will render a worthy service by helping all who fol- 

 low its plain directions to call our familiar trees by their proper 

 names. 



Professor N. L. Britton has been followed as the authority 

 on scientific nomenclature. 



Report on the Substitution of Metal for Wood in Railroad 

 Ties. By E. E. Pviissell Tratman. Published by authority of 

 the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington. 



This report has just been issued by the Forestry Division of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture as "Bulletin No. 

 4," and while it has a special interest for railroad managers and 

 engineers, it will be found of value to all intelligent people 

 who give attention to the subject of forestry in general as one 

 of the necessary economies of modern civilization. Mr. Trat- 

 man, who made this investigation on the consumption of ties, 

 obtained his information by addressing the managers of 

 various railroads at home and in foreign countries, and they 

 furnished full information in reply to numerous circulars 

 and letters. The report covers some 350 pages, besides many 

 careful illustrations, so that it will be impossible to give any- 

 thing like a summary of the information given. It is sufficient 

 for the present purpose to say that probably there are now in 

 the world 30,000 miles of railway laid on metal ties, which 

 amounts to nearly sixteen per cent, of the total mileage of the 

 world, exclusive of the United States and Canada. These 

 figures show not only the great importance of the subjectcon- 

 sidered, but they show also that in other countries this subject 

 has long ago passed the experimental stage in which it still 

 remains in this country. 



Of course the use of metal ties is in the interest of forestry 

 and in the interest of the timber resources of the country, but 

 it is also in the interest of the railways, because it reduces the 

 expenses of maintenance and increases the safety of operation. 

 Mr. Tratman concludes, therefore, that the introduction of 

 metal ties will be a benefit to the forests, to the railways and to 

 the public. The indirect value to the country and to our for- 

 ests of this change to metal ties can only be realized when we 

 consider the large amount of forest-supplies that are used in 

 railway construction. Probably the railways use not less than 

 one-fifth of all the timber consumed in the country. But what 

 is of more importance, the material represented in this con- 

 sumption is drawn largely from thrifty young growth which is 

 the promise of the future, so that the timber crop is used be- 

 fore it lias reached its most profitable age and largest produc- 

 tion to the acre. Besides this, the most durable and valuable 

 timbers only are desired, and consequently the forest-areas 

 from which these kinds are culled must deteriorate in quality, 

 the inferior ones being left to dominate and exclude more 

 valuable kinds which are thus placed at a disadvantage by the 

 unintelligent action of man. That this is true is proved from 

 investigation in the forests of Kentucky, where White Oak 

 represents forty per cent, of the natural growth, while after the 

 timber has been culled the new growth contains not more 

 than five per cent, of this valuable railroad timber. 



The great bulk of the tie material is now cut from second 

 growth, especially in the eastern states, and young timber that 

 will make only one tie, or at least one tie to the cut, is 

 called for in most specifications. This careless consumption 

 of the best parts of the new growth must injure the future 

 forest ; for we draw in this way upon the fund which we 

 should hold in trust and should allow to accumulate for the 

 next generation. We do worse, indeed, because we do all we can 

 to depreciate the value of the investment by injuring its quality. 



Many considerations of this sort are brought out in a sug- 

 gestive introductory note by Mr. Fernow, from which we quote 

 the following : 



" It has been shown repeatedly that our annual consumption 

 of wood products at present exceeds double the amount of 

 wood material that can possibly reproduce itself annually on 

 the area covered with wood growth, It is, therefore, of na- 

 tional interest ami within the line of work of this Division to 

 call attention to the necessity of husbanding timber supplies, 



and to furnish all and any information that may lead to a more 

 economical use of these supplies or a substitution of other mate- 

 rial where this is practicable. While such economy is desira- 

 ble in all directions, it is especially so in regard to 'tie-timber, 

 since, for this purpose, the promising crop of the future is 

 utilized prematurely— and that of the best quality and of the 

 most valuable timbers. Furthermore, it should be known 

 that for those who furnish these supplies for the railroad com- 

 panies there is but small, if any, profit in the trade. The ties 

 are in most cases brought to the railroads by holders of small 

 wood-lots, and the price paid is hardly more than fair com- 

 pensation for labor in making and hauling them, no value 

 being placed upon the material itself. 



" It has been suggested that railroads could be induced to 

 substitute metal for wood only when it could be shown that an 

 increase in the price of wooden ties is imminent. But from 

 this report it appears that the price paid for ties in many local- 

 ities is now even lower than it was formerly, notably in the 

 north-eastern states. Yet it would be a mistake to argue from 

 this, as a general proposition, that more timber is in the coun- 

 try than before, that forest-supplies are in excess of demand, 

 and that prices are going to decrease continuously. 



"The law of supply and demand as affecting the price of this 

 commodity is vitiated by other conditions which influence the 

 price. It is the excessive offer compared with the require- 

 ments, rather than excess of actual visible supplies available 

 for the long run, that places the purchaser of this commodity 

 in position to dictate the price, the offer coming from many 

 holders of small parcels, who have no knowledge of general 

 market conditions, and hence cannot take advantage of a 

 comparison between actual supplies in view and demand for 

 the present and future in adjusting the price. 



" A timber crop, unlike an agricultural crop, is capable of 

 being harvested at various stages of development. Timber 

 fit for ties may be cut at any time, from the twenty-year-old 

 sprout of the coppice to the old growth of the virgin forest, 

 and the offer of the crop in this shape may be excessive at any 

 time without necessarily indicating an over-abundance of 

 forest-supplies in general and for the long run. The acci- 

 dental simultaneous arrival at an age when the timber is fit 

 for ties of a new growth over a large area may also in a given 

 region make supplies appear plentiful, and, therefore, for a 

 time reduce the price ; but this present over-supply and reduc- 

 tion of price must necessarily be at the expense of a future 

 short supply and increase of price. Another reason for an 

 apparent over-supply of tie timber may be found in the open- 

 ing up of new sources of supply on such roads as are capable 

 of extension, while the old roads, with no new fields to enter, 

 will necessarily experience a constant advance in prices with 

 decreased offers, and will be the first to have recourse to 

 metal on account of cheapness. 



" It should also be known that, within limits, a railroad 

 management has it in its power to keep the price low by rais- 

 ing freight rates, so as to make the exportation of tie timber 

 from its territory unprofitable. The condition of the tie 

 market, then, cannot be the only, or even the main, criterion 

 as to when the time for substituting metal has arrived, even 

 from a financial point of view. 



" But it is not a consideration of initial cost that makes the 

 substitution of metal ties desirable and profitable. Itissuperi- 

 ority of track, permanence of road-bed, safety, reduced cost of 

 maintenance, and hence ultimate saving and economy, that 

 recommend the metal tie, as the experiences in foreign coun- 

 tries have proved. 



" A curious lack of accurate calculation is often seen when 

 comparisons are made on the balance-sheet between various 

 systems of construction. If initial costalone is considered, all 

 financial questions arc settled by the amount of cash on hand, 

 but the question with stable corporations is whether tempo- 

 rary saving in initial cost is preferable to greater initial expendi- 

 ture where it ensures decreased outlay for maintenance and 

 deferred expenditure for renewal. 



" From a simple calculation it will appear, for instance, that 

 a road using ties for which it pays fifty cents, and which last 

 eight years — like white Oak in many sections — can afford to 

 pay $1.20 for a metal tie lasting thirty years (the presumed life 

 of such ties) and be sure ofsavingat least theamount required 

 for the renewals of the Oak ties during thirty years ; or, by 

 doubling the life of the Oak tie to sixteen years by means of 

 preservative processes, we may pay thirty-five cents for such 

 process and still find an advantage on the balance-sheet." 



The Bulletin also contains a paper by Mr. Fernow on the 

 consumption of forest supplies by railroads and practicable 

 economies in their use, to which, as well as to some details of 

 Mr. Tratman's work, we hope to refer in a future issue. 



