THE DEPLETION MYTH. A HISTORY OF RAILROAD USE OF TIMBER
This book is not a study of the depletion myth, i.e., the danger of the exhaustion of our timber supply, but rather is, as its subtitle suggests, a history of the use by the railroads in their heyday of one fifth of the timber production of the country. The author finds that no scarcity existed at any time, so far as railroad needs were concerned, nor indeed did the fear of famine affect price. Short life of the crossties led to experiments with various trees and after the First World War to experiments with chemicals, particularly creosote, to retard deterioration in the ties. These developments are traced in detail. This combination of familiarity with technical engineering details and a sophisticated economic presentation makes the study an outstanding success.
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Corporate Authors:
Harvard University Press
79 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA United States 02138 -
Authors:
- Olson, S H
- Publication Date: 1971
Media Info
- Pagination: 228 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Materials science; Railroad ties; Supply; Timber
- Old TRIS Terms: Timber supply
- Subject Areas: Economics; Railroads;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00046410
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: Journal of Economic Literature
- Report/Paper Numbers: Book
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Sep 18 1974 12:00AM