The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-04-09
HOW THE SANTA - is
WILL R0lNE TIE aa0af EM

I HOW The SANTA IL ]
WILL SOLVE TIE PRo1LEM
The Santa Fe Is .pTepari1g. for an
ergencles IN tie Mboden tie, 2 .estion
and is planting large forest in Cali.
fornia for this purpose WIEN the sup
ply. OF natural ties fails elsewhere.
Practically all the ties used in Okla
homa, Texas, Indian territory and in
Kansas on the Santa Fe come from
the pine forest of east Texas. The
ties used in California and Arizona
are from the redwood forests of Cali
~fornia and the VOC for ties used in
Illinois is brought from the forests of
Wisconsin and Michigan.
Full details of the forestry work
being carried out by the Santa Fee in
California have been received by L. C
Hill, the Santa Fe horticultural ex-
pert in Texas, in whose department.
the work would fall if the road should
decide to make experiments in Texas
tree growing. The necessity for tree
and forest planting may come sooner
than most people imagine, say Mr..
Hill, and the Santa Fe win be fully
equipped with all necessary informa-
ton. The statisticians have already
figured out the length of time the for
ests of Texas will last under the pres
ent and estimated future consumption
and the railroads are falling in line
with plans for replenishing he sup
ply.
Will Plant Eucalyptus.
Mr.. Hill says the tie and timber
department has adopted the eucalyptus
and is planting seedlings of that tire
/ on a tract of 700 anrac nf q ranch that
embraces nearly 5000 acres of land.
The eucalyptus was selected after
careful consideration and because 1T
presented the features desired in tim
Der for this purpose, and in every
manner seemed to embrace more Of
the things that qualified it as being
more suitable than any other kind of
tree. Two principal reasons for its
selection were that the wood it the
hardest of any ever used for railway
ties and the tree grows more rapidly
han any other forest tree.
Seven hundred acres of this anc
will be planted each "a for twelve
years, shortly after which time the
first batch of the 700 acre tract that
is now being planted will be ready for
harvest. Each succeeding year there
after a tract of 700 acres will be ready
for cutting. After the first round is
completed it should not be long before
the second round or cutting is ready
Every tree is grown from a e
and every plant is transplanted into
shallow boxes when it is about an inch
above the ground. These shallow
boxes hold 100 young trees and are
stored in Hath houses until they are
three or four inches high, when they
are ready for the field. 1t takes from
three to four months from the time
the seed is planted till the young
plant is ready to be set out in the field
the final planting being done in the
months from February to May.
The first tract of 700 acres is being
planted now and by the first to the
middle of May the work will have
been completed. When planting was
begun during the first week in Febru-
airy, 1926, 900 young seedlings were al
ready in boxes awaiting the proper
time to be set out in the field. Seed
lings will continue to be raised so
that the first of May yer 100000 of
the young plants will have been raised
and handled. 1t is estimated That full
ly 95 per cent of the seedlings will
take root and grow at the first plant
ing. Those That die will b replaced
and no space will be wasted.
mclnOO OF FIdHIin9.
The method of planting the seed
lings is interesting. They are set out
in rows eight feet apart and five fee
apart in the rows according to mod
ern methods. A machine is driven
along a marked line, carrying a large
barrel filed with water, and with two
rear seats for the men who do the
planting or placing of the young seed
lf1gs in ne proper place in the rows,
the shallow boxes containing them
being carried conveniently at hand
on platforms.
AS the machine is driven along it
marks a line for the next row auto
m~atically makes a trench or hole II
the ground every five feet, where the
tree is to be planted, and drops some
water into it n rings a gong to
yarn the men on the platforms in
time to place the young trees in the
hole, which they do alternately. A
man follows behind to watch the op-
Grafton and TO press earth aroun the
stems.
Very little care is required during
the first two or three years. They
will be watered from a tank two or
three times each year and thoroughly
cultivated, after which it is expected
that they will do without any further
attention. They are grown close to
getner TO insure straight and perfect
ru1ks without branches. All danger
of growing crooked or branching will
have passed after a few years and
every other tree in each row will be
cut out and used for fence posts,
leaving the trees ten feet apart in the
rows that are originally planted eight
feet apart. Thus about - 0 trees will
be grown on each acre, and it is cal
culated that after fifteen years growth
each tree will yield six ties. making
about $500 ties~SeI acre. APPROX
mately 100000 ties will be harvested
every fifteen years at a total estimat-
ed cost of not more than one-third the
present market price.
For SAL or TRADE