. 
LL, 1900.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 219 
Tons. 
Brought forward... an 1,518,000 tons 
AUSTRALIA— 
Queensland ws ret 96,000 
New South Wales x! 22,000 
Fiji Islands ne 20 35,000 
Sandwich Islands... ots 203,000 
New Caledonia ... res 1,000 
ait SAUD 
Asta— 
East India... aes .». 3,500,000 
China vt ox ..- 200,000 
Japan + x iy, 33,000 
Cochin China ie 0 20,000 
Philippines soe | BRA OTOD) 
Java ay a +1 556,000 
Siam x7 7 Pry 7,000 
Straits Settlements er 15,000 
559/000) 5 
AFRICA— "ae 
Egypt Ay re perme Ok O00 
African East Coast a 45,000 
Mauritius ... a sc 115,000 
Réunion ... ite as 36,000 
Other States x3 mets 2,000 
eee 000RES 
6,741,000 tons. 
Forestry. 
WASTE IN SLEEPER-GETTING. 
By A. J. BOYD. 
Wing 
Si the extension of our railways, the demand for sleepers has mereased 
al qnously, not only for new lines, but for replacing worn-out sleepers on the 
tailways. When it is considered that we have 2,797 miles of line working, 
that further construction will goon be undertaken, it becomes evident that 
conus quantities of sleepers are and will be required. Hach mile of rail 
a ains about 2,000 sleepers, and the demand: gives employment to a small 
dew. of bush workers, who are hard at work all the year round, merrily 
“tudine the forest areas, giving no thought to the time to come when suitable 
moer will be scarce or situated at long distances from the point of delivery. 
shi business of sleeper-cutting is productive of as much waste as that of 
ingle-splitting, with the difference that the splitter rejects hearts and backs, 
son’ Sleeper-getter the hearts only, and not those even if he can get small 
fee trees which will furnish two or three sleepers from each seven-foot 
pakth. Ironbark is frequently ‘‘pipy,” and care has to be taken to split the 
88 In such a way as to retain all the best outside wood, rejecting the unsound 
Tony» Which, however, usually contains very much sound timber, but not 
Vv °ad or thick enough for a sleeper. In this way quite one-fourth of a tree is 
bevted. Add to this loss the heads of the trees and often five or six feet of the 
Ro towards the head, and the waste will come to one-third of the whole, 
tt there is an additional waste in the choppings when the sleepers are dressed. 
inte y,in the case of ironbark, there is the bark, which is excellent as firewood, 
18 largely used by wheelwrights for heating iron tires, 
H 
