Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1909-02-24
SCARCITY or TIE TIMBER.

development OF the country Is a great
truth that is little understood by peo
pie outside OF railroad circles. The
putting engine that speeds az the rate
of a mile or more a minute over the
country Is a slave Co the two steel
rails that insure a smooth and safe
road, and these rails in turn depend on
the Old-fashioned wooden cross-tie
which holds them In place.
Yankee invention has not yet found
a substitute which has induced the
railroads TO give up wood. although
experts say that the day will surely
come when the country's forests will
no longer be called upon TO supply
the demand for ties. Up to the pres
ent time II seems that no other ma
terial has been found which has the
resiliency Of wood and which at the
same time causes less wear and tear
on the rails, fastenings and rOadbed.
The cOuntry's railroads during the
last two or three years used 10000
900 to ljO.OOO,OOO OF sawed and hewn
ties a year. The ideal tie timber is
white oak. which combines the quail.
ties Of durability. hardness, strength,
and close grain. II is not only ex-
cellent for ties. but is widely used in
ship building. for general cOnstruc-
ton, in cOOperage, in the manufacture
of carriages. for agricultural nipple
ments, interior finish of houses, and
for furniture. On account of this wide
use the supply has been greatly re-
duced and some OF the railroads have
been forced to pay almost prOhibitive
prices for ties, or to substitute other
and cheaper woods TO replace the
white oak ties rapidly disappearing
from their lines.
Over 40 per cent Of the ties recent
ly purchased by the railroads Of the
country are oak, according to latest
statistics of the United States Forest
Service. CrOss-ties of Southern pine
formed somewhat less than % per
cent. Douglas fir ties ranked third,
with approximately 10 per cent of the
total. Naturally the proportion Of
these two timbers will increase as the
supply Of oak dwindles. This is also
true Of cedar, chestnut, cypress, West
ern pine, tamarack, hemlOck. and
other trees which are coming into the
market as tie timbers.
Cedar which is very durable, has
been extensively used to take the
place OF white oak for ties, but II Is
so soft that IL is readily cut by the
rails. This necessitates the use of tie
plates and other protective devices
when cedar ties are used. AS the sup
ply of cedar is also running short Il |
Is necessary for the railroads TO seek |
further for new tie timber. One of
the woods which has all the requisites
Of a good tie, with the exception Of
durability, is the beech.
A beech tie generally consists large |
" Of sapwOOd, which partly accounts
for its lack Of durability, but, on the |
other hand, allows a thorough and |
easy preservative treatment In
Germany and France beech ties have |
been successfully preserved from de-
cay and are used very extensively. |
Beech is found widely distributed |
throughout the eastern part OF the |
United States, and at the present time
Is comparatively cheap and abundant |
II, therefore, the railroads whose |
lines are located In the regions where |
beech is abundant can make use OF
this wood treated with some suitable |
another source Of sup !
ply Of tie timber will be opened up.
Stumpage values have been increas-
ing so rapidly during the last few
years that many railroads have found |
IL necessary 10 modify their timber |
policy, and they yearly apply pre-
seryatives 20 a greater number Of ties
and 20 more kinds OF wood. Substi- |
tute woods naturally vary with differ
ent sections OF the country, but In |