Technics of Forestry. 



By J. CHAELES KING. 



No. III. 



{Continued from page 475.) 



It may be thought by some people to be of little consequence how 

 an axe, chopper, or bill is shaped, so long as it cuts : to a slovenly 

 workman, or one whose only aim is to get through a day's work 

 somehow, indifference is paramount ; but to a thorough workman 

 who is proud of his craft and the fulfilment of his duty to his 

 employer, his tools and their fitness for the work to be done is a 

 chief consideration, his extra trouble and added cost of tools are 

 quite secondary matters. 



I can recall with piide and pleasure the remembrance of sharing 

 the work and forethought with such toilers in the forest. Theirs was 

 the honesty of a sense of duty, not the " honesty is the best policy " 

 motive. Their honesty, irrespective of policy, made them disregard the 

 cost of the best tools, occasional delays, and long toiling walks through 

 sludge and snow, to do their work timely, fittingly, and thoroughly. 

 Their success was repaid in more ways than the one of mere wages, 

 for they made their toil lighter. Who that has worked a long day 

 in the forest does not know how an awkward, unsuitable tool tries 

 the toiler's frame, more than a handy fitting tool does ? The tool that 

 is heavy for the work, or awkward for the user, may and does miss its 

 stroke, and mars its user's purpose every now and then ; it is not the 

 fair cuts that try the worker's strength, but the misses that wrench 

 him across the loins and in the shoulders ; and when the work is 

 done with bad tools, the job. is a botch, about which a sloven does 

 not care, but whicli a true workman would feel ashamed to own was 

 his doing. 



Having seen such bad work done with unsuitable tools, and for 

 such work, having heard excuses as shallow as if policy without 

 honesty was the motive for it, is the reason why I dwell upon this topic, 

 so essential to the owners of forests as well as the iorester. 



Take the cuts of a bill used by a woodward at 7000 daily, with the 

 force of three pounds for each stroke ; this shows an accumulated 

 weight of nearly 9| tons. This force has to be adjusted so as not to 

 strain the thumb or wrist, which a bad cutting and awkward handling 

 bill would do long before this force was exerted ; the consequence is a 



VOL. I. 2 X 



