Appendix 1. 
STRUCTURE OF CERTAIN TIMBER-TIES; BEHAVIOR AND CAUSES 
OF THEIR DECAY IN THE ROAD-BED; 
TOGETHER W ITH EXPERIMENTS ON THE ADHESION OF SPIKES. 
By P. H. Dudley, 0. E. 
The extensive railway system of the United States will this year re- 
quire G0,000,000 ties for repairs, and as the lines are yearly extended 
the number required for this purpose will be increased. Expressed in 
board measure this represents approximately 2,1G0,000,000 feet, a large 
quantity, though, for our great country, only comparatively so; for 
could the supply be cut indiscriminately, and from all kinds of timber, 
our forests would continue to meet the demand for years to come. But 
the supply is limited to special kinds of woods, and ties are cut chiefly 
from trees 10 to 12 inches in diameter and from thirty to sixty years 
old. This is one of the serious phases of the question ; for this con- 
sumption of young and thrifty trees reduces the future supply of tim- 
ber faster than would otherwise be the case. 
In the Eastern and Middle States the supply of timber adjacent to 
railways has been largely exhausted, ties for these roads coming from 
forests some distance away; and, with the price constantly advancing, 
how they will procure ties a few years hence is a serious question with 
railroad officials. But few railroad companies are in position to grow 
their future supply of timber, and if they were, it would be twenty-five 
years before they could derive much benefit from such a course. 
CHECKING UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION OF TIMBER BY PRESERVA. 
TION OF TIES. 
The railway companies can at once take more effective measures to 
increase the durability of the ties they must use, and thus to check the 
present consumption of such great quantities of timber. In former 
years many efforts were made in this country to preserve ties by artifi- 
cial processes ; but the cost was so great and timber so cheap, while the 
results were only partially successful, that for the time being all methods 
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