8o8 
THE TROPICAL AQftlOULTURIST. 
[May 2, 1892. 
pal buyers were Gustav Brieg\eb, of Amsterdam, 
the Baunswick quinine works, and the Mannheim 
and Amsterdam works. (Mr. Briegleb is supposed 
to buy for one of the American factories, one of the 
beads of which attended the sales. It is his pur- 
chases that gave rise to the " syndicate of buyers " 
report a few weeks 8.go.)— Chemist and Druggist. 
~ ^ 
SCOTTISH ASSAM TEA COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
The Secretary of the CompBuy has issued the follow- 
ing to the shareholders:— " I have the pleasure to 
inform you that the total quantity of tea mi»de during 
season 1891 has amounted to 376,608 lb., which, al- 
though 26,562 lb. lees than the exceptionally large 
crop of the previous year, is still about 33,000 lb. in 
excess of the quantity made in 1889. Up to this date 
about 308,4001b. of the season's teas have been sold, 
producing a gross sum of £13,044, being an average 
price of fully 10|d per lb., as against lljd per lb. 
average realised for whole crop of the preceding year. 
Five invoices yet remain to be sold, and, taking thefe 
at or about Calcutta valuations, it is estimated that the 
total crop will produce a gross sum of about £15,750, 
as agsinst £18,600 gross proceeds of crop 1890. Com- 
plete accounts have not yet been received from India, 
but from the figures already available it is evident that 
the expenditure for 1891 will coosiderably exceed that 
of the previous year, the excess arising chiefly under 
the heads of " additions to machinery " and " cost of 
importing and recruiting new coolies." On the other 
hand, there has been a substantial gain (about £1,500) 
under the head ( f "exchange," and the rate for re 
mittanoess to India still continues exceptionally 
favourable. The latest accounts from the Gardens 
are of a satisfactory nature, all cold weather oper- 
wtions— such as hoeing, pruning, renewal of buildings, 
(to. — were well advanced, and everything wa3 beicg 
got ready for making a vigorous start with the new 
BeMOB.—H. and C. Mail, Feb. 26th. 
INCREASING THE LIFE OF WOODEN 
SLEEPERS. 
From a paper read by Mr. H. W. Eeed at the 
Ninth Annual Convention of the Boad Masters' As- 
sociation of America in August last, we learn that 
in the United States alone, more than 73 millions of 
wooden sleepers are used annually, and that the present 
timber areas cannot possibly continue to supply mora 
than half that qusntity. This has caused American 
railway engineers to devote more attention to the 
different methods by which timber can be preserved 
than has been the case in other countries, and Mr. 
Keed also points out that there are several methods 
of preserving the life of sleepers, besides the use of 
chemical preservatives. 
1st. "By selecting the most durable t'mber, and 
insisting upon the use of properly designed bearing, 
or base, plates whenever soft wood sleepers are used." 
The average life of black cypress sleepers is eight 
years, and of red cedar, seven years, when the rails 
are allowed to rest directly on the sleepers ; but when 
bearing plates are used, Mr. Reed estimates the life 
of the same sleepers at twelve years at least. When 
soft wood sleepers are used with double or bull- 
headed rails, their life may be increased from 50 to 
75 per cent hy using chairs with a very broad base ; for 
as we have pointed out more than once, sleepers of 
this sort are, in the majority of cases, crushed or cut to 
pieces long before they are worn-out or decayed. Any- 
one who will take the trouble to examine the oreosoted 
fir or deodar sleeepi rs taken out ot any Indian Kailway, 
as unlit for further me, will find that at least 75 
per cent are fairly sound with the exception ot a small 
portion on either side of the rail or chair-seat. In 
connection with this, we may point out that the chairs 
in use on all the large railways in Great Britain, are 
from 35 to 100 per cent, heavier than those in use on 
Indian Kailways ; and, consequently, they have a larger 
bearing surface, and do not damage the wood so much 
^ smaller cbaire. 
2nd. • 'Give proper attention to the speoifioation for , 
and inspection of, sleepers." Mr. Reed points out tha t 
although every Company has it4 own specifi-cation s, 
which require a certain width of heart, freedom from 
wind-shakes, rot, hollows, hplits, &c., it is customa y 
to allow slight variations from the specification, at-d 
that contractors will frequently take advantage of this 
variation unless the sleeper inspector exercises great 
firmness, and an unusual amount of good judgment. 
This is certainly a most important point, and it should 
always be distinctly stated in the agreement, what 
amount of variation is to be allowed, instead of leav- 
ing this to the discretion of the inspecting officer, as 
is too often the case. A difference of one or two 
inches in the length of a sleeper is not of much im- 
portance, but not more than half an inch difference 
in width should be allowed when broad gauge sleepers 
are being examined, and any that have large gum 
veins, hollows, or splits, should be rejected. 
Thousands of wooden sleepers are condemned every 
year as being unfit to remain in the road, solely because 
they are split in the centre to such an extent that 
there is no hold for the spikes : nhen such sleepers 
were accepted, the cracks were no doubt very small 
and these could have beeii prevented from increasing 
in size by putting an half inch bolt through the 
sleeper about six or nine inches from the end : two 
plates or washers, four inches square, and one-foarth 
of an inch thick, would also be required, and the 
whole could be made of scrap-iron. Dog-nails, bands 
of hoop-iron, and the many other methods which have 
been tried, are of no praclioal value, but split sleepers 
when properly eecursd in the manner above described 
last as long as sound sleepers and are quite as valuable. 
Even sound sleepers often split after they have been 
in use for a short time, and as the cost of the bolt, 
and washers, inclading the labour of fixing, would not 
be more than one rupee per sleeper 'if done at both 
ends,' it would perhaps be a saving in the end if all 
wooden sleepers were so treated before being put into 
the road as a preventive measure. 
The cost of maintenance is largely influenced by ihelife 
of the sleepers used, and if by securing the ends this can 
be increased by two years, it will certainly repay the 
cost of applying the bolts. 
Any sleepers that have more than half an inch of 
sap-wood either in depth or breadth, should be re- 
jeoted as unfit for main line use ; such sleepers deteri- 
orate very quickly, and often lose one-third of their 
original size within three or four years. 
3rd. " Sleepers should not be cat when aap is flow- 
ing freely. " From experiments made by Mr, Heed 
it was found that yellow pine sleepers cut during the 
months of January, February, and June (in South 
Georgia) had at least 20 per cent, longer life than 
sleepers out during other months. 
4th. " Sleepers should be properly seasoned before 
being used, and this oaii be best done by piling, so 
that a free circnlation of air can be n<Biutained 
through and around, thetn," Suggestions Hoa. 3 and 
4 are certainly deserving of more attention than they 
have hitherto received in this country. As a rule, 
Indian contractors out sleepers whenever labour is 
available, and this no doubt is the reason why sleepers 
of the same class, cut within a short distance of each 
other, give results so widely different. Wooden sleepers 
are often allowed to lie about in the forest for a 
month or two after being sawn, it there ia not 6u£5- 
ciont water in the nearest liver to float them in ; 
or, it the cart tracks (they cannot be called roads) are in 
bad order, but no regular procedure is followed ; and all 
contractors try to deliver the whole of their stock as 
f oon as possible after it is cut. When stacked at the 
depot they are usually laid so close together that 
only those on the outside of the pile get any fresh 
air, end when material is required fcr construction or 
renewals, sleepers are not allowed to remain at the 
depot longer than is actually necessary. To leave 
them exposed to the sun's rays would cause many to 
split, but cheap sheds with tiled or boarded roofs 
could be provided at a small cost, and it would then 
be possible to season them for a year or more, instead 
of insing them within six mouths from the date oa 
whoh the trees were out down, 
