February t, 1890.} THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST*. 
S37 
EAILWAY SLEEPERS : STEEL AND 
TIMBER. 
Supplies op Wooden Sleepers from the Baltic 
and Australia and from cur Local Forests : 
The Best Timber-trees to Grow in 
Ceylon. 
We fear that Karri and Kauri will continue to 
be confounded, notwithstanding the wide difference 
between a Eucalyptus and a Pine. Baron von 
Mueller seems to have been acquainted only with 
the white-wooded variety of Karri, but even of 
this kind he stated that it was particularly in 
request for large planks, for spokes and felloes 
for ship-building and even for masts, and that a 
baulk of this timber which had been exposed in 
the wash of the tides at ape Leeuwin for 26 years 
continued sound. In " Timber Trees and Timber," 
Laslett, however, does not speak favourably of its 
use for ship building or architecture in England, 
but it is probable that injury to the texture in 
felling was the objection to the samples sent. Its 
power to resist the influences of our soil and at- 
mosphere will soon be decided, for the Karri sleepers 
from Western Australia have been in the ground 
for nearly a year now. The botanical name 
of Karri is Eucalyptus diversicolor, and the syno- 
nym E. collossea indicates the enormous size to 
which it attains. 
The Kauri pine, on the other hand, is botanically 
Dammara Australis, and we are not aware that 
timber from this grand tree has ever been tried in 
Ceylon. Ships went to New Zealand for masts of 
it, long before the islands became British Colonies. 
It has been known to measure 180 feet in height 
and 17 feet in diameter of stem, the age of such 
a tree being estimated at seven to eight centuries. 
It is used for masts, for decks of ships and for 
numerous other purposes, from bridges to sound- 
ing boards of pianofortes, and stethoscopes, 
and is reckoned one of the most durable of 
the conifers. It is easily worked and takes a 
high polish. The tree yields vast quantities of 
gum which makes an almost colourless varnish. 
This very valuable tree ought to be tried in our 
mountain regions. 
But Karri and Kauri are not the only trees 
whioh are confounded. How many of us are 
aware of the distinction between our two in- 
digenous trees Dambu and Damba? The first 
was noticed in our Friday's issue as botanically 
Hemigyrosa canesccns, prevalent in our dry zone, and 
likely to answer well for railway sleepers. Damba 
(merely another form of " Jambu," whence Jambu- 
dwipa) is botanically classed by W. Ferguson under 
the MvRTACEffi, and is, of course, one of our numer- 
ous Eugenias. The tree is well-known to planters 
in our higher forests as yielding, next to the red 
doon, the best shingles. The colour of the timber 
is a deep red. Mr. W. Ferguson, in placing the 
Damba under MyRTACEffi, wrote of it, after having 
desoribed several Syzigiums : — " The Damba S. a 
good sized tree producing a fragrant gum and 
useful timber, is a species of this genus, if it be 
not S. Gardneri of Thwaites. The other species 
are also likely to produce good timber." 
The upcountry tree is distinctly known to the 
natives as the Dambaoaha and the name is prominent 
inDimbula on physical features, such as the Damba- 
gastalawa river, which, rising on Horton Plains and 
lpaping in grand oasoades over the cliffs above 
Elgin estate, flows through Molesworth's "Railway 
Gorge" ; also the Dambagastalawa mountain whioh 
is a well known "trig, point." Planters may occa- 
sionally use the form Dambu for this tree, but we 
6S 
can find no Dambu in dough's Dictionary except 
as a name for a jackal or a thii g partially burnt, 
and as the Elu forrr of Jambu. In Trimen's list 
of Ceylon plants ihere is neither Damba nor Dambu, 
but only Dan or Hin Dan, for Eugenia caryophyllxq, 
and Maria Dun for E. jambolana, the Tamil Naval. 
For Hemigyrosa caneseens Trimen gives no na'ive 
name.— Philologically, jambu, dambu, damba and dan 
are mere variations of the same word. It is the Forest 
Department, therefore, which for the first time, we 
suppose, has applied the native term Dambu to a 
dry zone tree, Hemigyrosa caneseens, belonging to 
an order, Sapindacem, which has no affinity to the 
Eugenias. We, naturally, under the circumstances, 
changed Dambu into Damba, and wrote of the 
upcountry Dambagaha, But in a proof submitted 
to him, Col. Clarke carefully replaced Dambu as 
the nativ" name and substituted for our note '■ Dambu 
(not Damba) is a well-known tiee in the dry 
zone and should do well."' It is beyond doubt, 
therefore, that the officers of the Forest Depart- 
ment have satisfied themselves, that Hemigyrosa cane- 
seens is known to the Sinhalese as Dambu, although 
our Botanists, from Moon to Trimen, have failed to 
notiie the fact. 
So much for Dambu and Damba, which, closely 
allied in nomenclature, are widtly separated in 
natural order. 
We now proceed to notice the " Sleeper " Com- 
mittee's Report. 
The Committee on railway sleepers commenced its 
sittings on May 22nd, 1889, and reported, with 
copies of the evidence taken, on 12th October fol- 
lowing. The members were CoL Clarke, Surveyor- 
General ; Mr. Pearce, General Manager, Ceylon 
Railways ; and Mr. Waring, Chief Resident 
Engineer, Haputale Extension. The immediate 
objeot of inquiring into the quality and cost of a 
consignment of Karri {Eucalyptus diversicolor) 
sleepers received from Australia was speedily 
attained, the verdict being strongly in favour of 
the sleepers, the timber of which, when polished, 
closely resembles mottled mahogany. This we 
know, from a walking-stick of the timber, presented 
to us by Mr. Davies, from whom the consignment 
of sleepers was received. Mr. Stables, then em- 
ployed on the Haputale railway extension, gave 
the Committee the results of hia experience in 
India, as placing Karri sleepers in the first rank, 
even before teak, while Mr. Davies of the Govern- 
ment Faotory spoke well of the sleepers, only saying 
that they ought to have been better seasoned. This 
remark, although there was really little occasion for it, 
led the Committee very properly to recommend 
arrangements for examining consignments of sleepers 
before being shipped for Ceylon on account of 
Government. This question of seasoning, the 
importance of whioh oannot be too much insisted 
on, formed part of the inquiry with reference to 
local timber. Mr. Davies was of opinion that logs 
ought to be allowed to lie in the forest one| year 
before being sawn, while another witness thought 
that three months' seasoning of the log and three 
months more of the sawn timber would suffice. 
No reference was made to the system of seasoning 
in water which is so frequently adopted in Ceylon, 
and we suppose with ' benefit in the case of most 
timbers ? We suspect much of the Baltic fir which 
comes to Ceylon in the shape of sleepers is imper- 
fectly seasoned or not at all before being oreosoted. 
The tar odour of course repels white-ants, no 
matter how the sleepers are stacked ; and one of 
the main objections made to the Karri sleepers 
was, that, stacked on ground swarming w,th 
wbite-ants, the insects attacked them, set king out 
weak places, of which they found but few. Onca 
in the " way " (the railway line), unoreosoted 
