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^ The Construction of Timber Flumes 



Timber flume eonstrui-tiou aiul fluming are discussed in a bulletin 

 reientiy issued by the Department of Asjrieulture. T)ie publication, 

 which is written by Eugene S. Bruce, the expert lumberman of the 

 Forest Sen-ice, considers the subject from the practical stand- 

 [loint of the logger who has to get his material out by these means. 



The V-shaped wooden flume is held to be superior to the box 

 or square-sided form, because it requires less water and, on the 

 average, less repairs than the other type, is better adapted to act as 

 a slide on steep grades, and offers fewer chances for jams. Concern- 

 ing a third type, the "sectional" metal flume, semi-circular in 

 form, the prediction is made that it will eventually come into wide 

 use. Such a flume is strong and light, and can be quickly taken 

 .-iliart and transporte<l from one place to another to be set up again. 



For handling railroad cross-ties, cants, poles, eordwood, and the 

 like, a flume with the side of the V 30 inches in height is large 

 enough. Tor handling logs, pilings, long timber, or brailed sawed 

 lumber, a height of from 40 to 60 inches is recommended. The best 

 angle for the A^ is put at 90 degrees. 



Flume lines should be surveyed with enough care to insure even- 

 :iess of grade, which should be kept below fifteen per cent wherever 

 possible, and the best results' are obtained with gra<les between 

 two and ten jjer cent. A careful preliminary survey, followed 

 Ijy a location survey, using a transit and level, will make it possi- 

 l)le to obtain a reliable profile map which will serve to show the 

 ]irospective operator what the grading should bo at different jioints 

 .•iloug his lino. 



Alnupt curvatures in a flume should bo avoided, for they are likely 

 to cause jams. Curves should rarely be permitted to exceed twenty 

 degrees. The longer the material to be handled in the flume, the less 

 abrupt should the curvatures be. It may be necessary to blast out 

 rocks and boulders, or projecting points of bluffs, or to trestle, or 

 oven tunnel, to eliminate abrupt curves or maintain an even grade. 



Some flumes are built with only the lining or inside of the box of 

 sawed lumber, the brackets or frames which support the sides of the 

 V being made from round pole wood flattened on one side, and the 

 sills, stringers, braces and trestling of small round timber or poles. 

 Sawed material is recommended for flume construction, however, 

 wherever it can be obtained at reasonable cost. 



The boxes or sections of a flume vary in length from six to twentj' 

 feet. Sometimes the boxes are made of only one thickness of 

 boards, but more often of two thicknesses with the joints broken 

 by varying the width of the boards. Sometimes, also, a single thick- 

 ness of boards is used, with battens spiked over the joints on the 

 outside in the sections between the brackets. In still another form 

 the battens are continuous. On curves the boxes should be shorter 

 than on straightaways, and the bents, arms, and braces correspond- 

 ingly closer spaced. In general, on curves of from six degrees to 

 ten degrees, the boxes should be jointed at least once in every twelve 

 feet ; on curves exceeding ten degrees and less than fifteen degrees, 

 every eight feet; and on curves of more than fifteen degrees, at 

 least every six feet. Very abrupt curves also require increased 

 bracing, in addition to shorter spacing of the arms and brackets. 

 Flumes should also be strongly reinforced at points where extensive 

 shipping is to be done or much material loaded into the flume 

 over the sides. 



If the storage facilities at the lower end of a flume are not 

 sufficient for all the material that can be handled during the period 

 in the spring when melting snow and early rains furnish an imusual 

 volume of water, the construction of small hohling resen'oirs or 

 catch basins at different points along the line is recommended. 

 These may be formed by damming up some small stream; or natural 

 ponds, favorably located, may be used for the purpose. In this way 

 such material as it is not necessary to handle clear through at once 

 can be diverted temporarily. A small artificial pond or reservoir 

 at the upper end of a flume in which to land or bank the material 

 to be shipped is also advisable, especially when handling logs, cross- 

 ties, or heavy manufactured material of anv kind. 



Telephones are recouunonded as adjuncts to the operation of a 

 flume. By their use a serious break or jam can be reported im- 

 mediately to the head of the flume to prevent further shipment of 

 material. A telephone also makes it possible to notify the men at 

 the upper end of the flume just what material to ship and when to 

 ship it. 



A flume recently built on Rochat Creek, near St. Joe, Idaho, is 

 cited as a good example of modern V-shaped flume construction. 

 This flume, which is unusually large and built to handle heavy logs 

 and long timbers, is said to have cost approximately .$8,000 per mile 

 for the five miles, including the cost of constructing a wagon road 

 ."•nd telephone equipment. Other flumes are cited costing from 

 .$2,000 to .$7,.10n a mile. 



Will Study Forest Utilization 



A combined study of the forest resources, from the standpoint of 

 utilization, will be made by the Department of Agriculture and the 

 Department of Commerce. Aluch preliminary work has already been 

 done by the Forest Service and the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic 

 Commerce. 



The supply of standing tindier in the country is su))posed to total 

 about :J,000,000,000,000 board feet and it is believed the annual de- 

 crease, by lumbering and otherwise, is appro.ximately 60,000,000,000 

 feet a year. At that rate the whole supply will be gone in fifty years. 



The amount of preventable waste is a subject of dispute. Some 

 place it at one half of the tree as it stands in the woods; but others 

 consider that figure too high. All agree, however, that the waste is a 

 serious matter. 



In the announced investigation, many related industrial and business 

 (juestions which bear upon this problem of national conservation will 

 have to be considered. The effects of speculation in standing timber 

 and of carrying charges on private stumpage upon lumber production 

 is one. The extension of markets for lumber and other forest products 

 and the marketing of material in new forms is a second. Competition 

 of lumber produced in other countries and of other materials used 

 for the same purposes is a third. And in this as in other large in- 

 dustries the distance between the producer and the consumer, and the 

 distributing agencies which step between and absorb a considerable 

 part of the retail price are factors which must be taken account of in 

 the interests both of consumers and of manufacturers. 



The whole subject presents a problem in applied economics which 

 is regarded by these two ilepartmeuts as well worth the earnest at- 

 tention of those branches of the government which have important 

 pronmtive functions in the field of agriculture, commerce, and indus- 

 try. 



A great deal of information bearing upon these problems has been 

 obtained. The Bureau of Corporations has compiled reports on the 

 standing timber of the countiy and the manufacture and marketing of 

 lumber. The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Conmieree has secured 

 data on foreign markets, the Bureau of Standards has made tests of 

 the quality of various timbers, and the Forest Service, through the 



vestigations of the Forest Products Laboratory, 



vork: 



mg 



many lines of more economical and more profitable utilization of 

 wood. The work now planned is to correlate this fund of information, 

 supply data stiU lacking, indicate the conclusions to be drawn, and 

 show how to apply them practically to existing conditions. 



The study will be conducted by the Forest Service and the Bureau 

 of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, other bureaus, such as the Bureau 

 of Corporations and the Bureau of Standards co-operating with such 

 promotive material as is available. It will not be a statistical inquiry 

 primarily, but a close analytical study of a number of the more im- 

 portant problems involved in the general situation. It will seek to 

 establish the essential facts relating to the supply, exploitation, and 

 marketing of timber, and to analyze underlying causes. It will aim 

 to deal helpfully with the various problems presented, and to indicate 

 as far as may be practicable any measures which should be adopted 

 bv the industrv itself or bv the iiublic in relation to the industrv. 



