American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1916-05-18
TIMBER ON RIGHT OF WAY.


otauts 10 ttOuolhss MANY SO-Cdlltu
practical men" do not think so; but
1t is true, Just the same. The hard
headed business men who manage the
Chicago. Burlington & Quincy railroad
have found that the two things go
together. They have been studying
for ten years the conservation OF the
timber resources from which they
must draw their supplies and within
this period they have planted two
hundred thousand catalpa trees along
their right of way which in time viii
yield sufficient timber to mainrain the
road as 1t run through the cultivated
area and at the same time add i'm
mensly to the beauty of the route, thus
combining the two elemets OF econo-
my and beauty In a way to impress
the popular mind M promote the
public good. So successfully has this
railroad been in the rorestation Of its
right Of way that 1t has assembled
fifty thousand additional trees which
will be planted the present spring and,
pursuing this policy which promises
surprising results. doubtless the whole
line of road In time will be bordered
on either side by luxuriant trees en-
HANGING the beauty OF the changing
landscapes, supplying refreshing shade
from summer heat to the travellers on
their way and serving as windbreaks
when in the winter time the storm
king hold sway, and all the time grow
ing timber to make the roadbed smooth
and safe.
The right of way of the railroads
i'm the United States covers an i'm
mense acreage. Estimating that this
right OF way is forty feet wide. a
mile of road occupies very nearly Ave
acres, OF to be more exact 4.S5 acres,
of which about two acres are the
roadsides. This can that over five
hundred thousand acres of land in
the roadsides along the right of way
of the railroads In the United States
might be used by the roads after the
Burlington plan for the creation Of a
railroad forestry reserve to the large
advantage of the roads and the bene-
fit Of the public. The railroad road
sides are In a sense wasted land and
very little has been done to improve
them and as timber Is growing scarce
and crossties are increasing In cost
1t might be possible for the railroads
to turn their idle acres to practical
account. If 1t would be a good thing
For tho ratlrnala IN nInnt trana ulnpQ
their lines why would II not be an
equally good. or better, thing for the
people who build the public roads OF
the country to plan for the planting
Of trees along these roads? Expert
ence and observation have shown that
earth, gravel and macadam roads. and
1t stands to reason that the growing
Of trees along the public roads would
remove In a degree this menace. In
England where the humidity Is great
and the annual amount OF sunshine
rather low, trees are not desired along
roads because they tend to keep them
too moist; but In most parts OF the
United States trees are desirable be-
cause they would prevent the roads
from becoming too dry.
Then there Is the idea OF beauty
which should appeal to the feeblest
artistic sense The roads most trav-
elled In foreign lands and the scenes
most attractive In our W country
are the tree-shaded thoroughfares de-
signed for use but adorned with beau
ty and the great sylvan solitudes
where the hills and valleys are clothed
with forests. Look at the condition
Of the roadsides along any OF the pub
lie highways In this country and con
trast 1t with what II might readily
brush were only cut away and In theii
place trees were planted for both ust
and beauty. Compare the average
good highway with the average goot
railway. The highway and the rail
way are much the same In structura
form, each consisting Of a well-draia
ed foundation supporting a mass o
broken stone or gravel carrying thu
wearing service, In the one case iroI
rails and In the other some smootl
covering. The great difference be
tween the good railway and the goo'
highway is not In these particulars
however, but In the care with which
the remainder OF the right Of way Il
guarded. The officers OF the rail
way charged with the maintenance o
the road are required to do the thing
that would reduce this cost TO tn
minimum. They keep the right o
way clear OF distractions that woul'
interfere with the safe operation O
the trains, they keep the bitches a
the side OF the tracks clear 81 tina
the roadbed might not be undermine
by standing water, they keep tn
slopes Of the roadway trimmed 81
that weak places might not deyelo
under cover OF dangerous yegetabl
growth. On the other hand the ditche
aiong the highways receive practicel
ly no attention. They are suppose
to keep the roadway drained but a
a rtIa IN In Tho ynnfp thnu ara clint