Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-08
GROWING TREES FOR TIES
Practical Efforts Undertaken to Meet
"a Pressing Need of the
Future.

The section OF timber that
lies imbedded between the rails until rooted
up and burned. too old for service, has as
sumed a vast Importance in the estimation
OF practical railroad men. for the forests
from which come the trees that are cut
into ties are becoming exhausted, and the
prices of this material are being advanced
to such an extent that some radical steps
have become absolutely necessary. The
Pennsylvania railroad is the pioneer in the
departure that 1t is thought will solve the
problem.
A large piece of farm land belonging to
the company at Morrisville has been set
apart for a forest reservation, and here,
under the direction of the forestry depart
ment of the railroad. millions Of Seeding
plants are being nursed into a sufficiently
robust life to allow for their removal to
other lands belonging to the company,
where they can be permitted to take their
chance of growing to maturity.
The trees selected for this plantation are
those which have proved to be the most
desirable for railroad ties. There are acres
of oak seedlings, chestnuts, cstalpa plants.
black locust, Scotch pine, Austrian pine,
Douglas fir and other trees that are Of the
right material for cutting up into railroad
ties.
Besides these trees there are a vast num-
Der of seedlings that have never been tried
for the purpose to which it is intended to
put these trees when they reach maturity.
but which might prove even superior for
that purpose to the trees that have always
been selected. These seedlings are being
grown for the purpose of providing the
railroad with a variety of trees so that ex-
eriment can be made in the future TO de-
termine which particular tree is actually
the best for securing the all-lmportant rail
on the company way.
1t will be forty years or 50 before the
trees that now are in a Seeding state will
have attained a growth sufficient 10 justify
the forestry department in cutting them
down for formation into railroad ties. The
plan 10 to nurse the seedlings along at the
forestry reservation until they are sulli-
Gently big to permit transplanting. They
will then be taken UP and roplanted.ln some
Of the many vacant lanes owned BY the
railroad.
The seedlings will be planted SIX feet
apart and will then have to take thur
chance Of surviving. The fostering care Of
the forester cannot follow them further.
AS they will be planted on ground belong
ing TO the railroad, on which no one VIII
have a right to trespass it is probable that
most of the trees VIII reach maturity ana
will eventually f4lfih their destiny, becom-
ing railroad ties.
The railroad companies possess immense
stretches Of territory along the line OF the
permanent ways, ground that has peeh az
auired perforce because a right OF way
could not be secured without buying extra
land, and farm land and other real estate
that has been purchased because 1t was
seen that the company would some day
need il for one Of the variety OF uses TO
which a railroad can put vacant Spaees
along its lines.
The reservation here was ono OF those
vacant stretches, and when the forestry
department took It in hand 1t required the
sarv cos NJ a small army Of Italians to re-
deem the land from a state OF wilderness
,,Le confusion. Now everything on the
n,antation ia I'm scientific order, ana ths fine
hand of the skilled forester is evident IN
every line of the Seeding
phia Record.