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tion of the rates of freight they can prevent an undue export to the 
treeless sections of the country, or check materially the lumber indus- 
try of certain localities. In this way prices are kept down and a show 
of seeming abundance is maintained which does not in the least prove 
the supply to be adequate, but merely Shows that the great number of 
people engaged in this industry are willing to haul ties to the railways 
over distances steadily increasing as the timber nearest the lines is cut 
off. Immense quantities of tie-timber are thus cut down and delivered 
to the railways at prices below its real value. At the time the leading 
lines west of the Missouri Eiver were constructed s extensive tracts of 
White Oak timber were laid waste in the Western States. And. the 
same process is going on throughout the White Cedar regions of the 
North, from which immense quantities of ties are thrown on the lumber 
market. These channels of supply, based solely on considerations of 
monetary profit, will continue to bring to market the forest wealth of 
many sections of the land, but in many instances, and at a time not far 
distant, nature's bountiful supply will be exhausted, and the reckless 
system of forest clearing will of necessity be a thing of the past. Many 
parts of the country, once well supplied with valuable timber, have 
passed through the process of " improvement," but to-day feel quite 
keenly the loss sustained in former years. 
Aside from railway supply, a notable diminution of forest wealth is 
beginning to be felt by many industries depending for raw material on 
certain valuable kinds of timber. Approaching scarcity is plainly in- 
dicated by steadily advancing prices, and by the difficulty already ex- 
perienced in the manufacturing centers of obtaining the desired mate- 
rials. Hail way managers acknowledge quite candidly that the present 
condition of the supply cannot last for an indefinite period, as many 
leading centers of production are now practically exhausted, necessi- 
tating transportation over far greater distances than heretofore. 
The discussion of substitutes for wood in railroad construction thus 
becomes a subject of great interest to the railway world, as it can be 
predicted with certainty that necessity will soon force the roads travers- 
ing the treeless plains to seek a substitute for the wooden tie. The 
modern steel tie, which thus far has given great satisfaction on Euro- 
pean railways, will undoubtedly find extensive adoption in the railway 
system of America. There are, however, two expedients, already 
widely discussed and experimented with in this country, by which this 
pressure upon the most valuable forest products may be sensibly re- 
lieved. The one relates principally to railway interests ; the other ap- 
peals to the intelligence and enterprise of the people at large. They 
are, first, the adoption of means of preservation by which many kinds 
of timber heretofore rejected in railway construction, and therefore 
still in great abundance in many sections, may be made valuable ; 
second, the planting and cultivating of the most valuable timber trees 
on a scale commensurate with future demands. In support of this pro- 
