LUMBERING. 29 



There is apt to be considerable variation in the items of expense. 

 Timber lying on streams may bring $1.50 stumpage; that accessible 

 only by rail is cheaper, but the cost of transportation often reaches 

 $1.50. Estimates for the cost of engines, line, and road vary from 50 

 cents to $1 per 1,000 feet B. M., but probably the latter figure is more 

 nearly correct. The scarcity of accessible timber makes private log- 

 ging roads necessary in most instances, and these cost from $5,000 to 

 $10,000 a mile. The expense for railroad per 1,000 feet B. M. depends 

 upon the amount of timber rendered available and is exceedingly vari- 

 able. The length of the haul and the character of the ground make a 

 considerable variation in the outlay for wire- rope. The following 

 table, based upon an actual pay roll, shows the cost of operations in a 

 camp which ships logs by rail and water to a distant mill: 



Table 5. — Cost per thousand feet. 



Labor getting logs to car $2. 50 



Shipping to boom 1 . 30 



Booming and rafting 08 



Scaling _ . _ 035 



Returning boomsticks 07 



Mill discount 11 



Wear on outfit 50 



Total ; 4. 595 



This is exclusive of stumpage, which in this instance was 50 cents 

 per 1,000 feet B. M., the timber having been purchased several years 

 ago. The same timber is now worth about $1. 



It would thus appear that with Hemlock logs at $4.50, or even $5, 

 there is little profit in logging them. It is to be remembered, how- 

 ever, that a portion of the expense of lumbering, such as the cost of 

 a railroad, is necessary in order to lumber the Fir, and thus can not 

 be charged altogether against the Hemlock; and when, as is often the 

 case, no account was taken of Hemlock when the timber was pur- 

 chased, the cost of stumpage is also eliminated. 



The difficulty of driving butt logs, because of their weight, deters 

 many lumbermen from handling Hemlock. This difficulty varies 

 greatty, and in many localities is of no importance. Hemlock near 

 the coast is heavier when green than the Hemlock of the uplands, and, 

 since river driving is also commoner there, gives the most trouble. 

 Were the demand regular and extensive, however, means of avoiding 

 this difficulty would doubtless be devised. A market for Hemlock 

 bark would probably make it profitable to peel the logs in summer, 

 and they would then dry out sufficiently to be driven successfully. 

 There would then, however, lie the danger from the boring-beetles, 

 which have alreadv been mentioned. 



