20 
Indian Forest Records. 
[VoL. IX 
attack by white ants. These timbers are very similar in structure to 
Douglas Fir, which it is well known is difficult to treat, but which can 
be satisfactorily treated if first dealt with by incision machines and then 
boiled in vacuum. There appears no reason to doubt that Indian Spruce 
and Silver fir could be treated in the same way and provided proper 
penetration of the creosote is attained that these timbers may prove 
satisfactory. 
(ii) Douglas Fir Creosoted in America and sent to India. 
Two hundred creosoted Metre Gauge Douglas Fir sleepers were laid 
as an experiment in the Assam-Bengal Railway near Moriani in March 
1916. The reason for mentioning this experiment is to draw attention 
to the striking results obtained by laying 100 sap up and heart down and 
100 vice versa. Of the former 2 sleepers remain in Class ‘ A,’ 87 in Class 
‘ B ’ and 11 in Class ‘ C,’ while of those laid sap down and heart up 82 
are in Class ‘ A ’ and 2 in Class ‘ B,’ 5 in Class ‘ C ’ and 3 are rejected. 
The striking advantage of laying the sleepers sap down and heart up, 
corroborates the writer’s contention, which is dealt with in detail on page 
30 of Indian Forest Records, Vol.YI, Part IV, and of which an illustration 
is given on the opposite page of that report. The practice of Indian 
Engineers is to reverse the process in the case of untreated sleepers and 
to lay them heart down and sap up, which is undoubtedly correct, as 
untreated sapwood is far more likely to deteriorate than untreated heart 
wood. On the other hand there can be no doubt that with a treated 
sleeper it is best to lay sap down and heart up, and especially when 
dealing with pine woods, for the reason that the sap takes up more of 
the antiseptic than the heart and at the same time splits more if exposed 
to the sun, while with the heart up a harder bearing surface is presented 
for the rail seat and spikes. 
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