CLOSE FOREST UTILIZATION WITH A PORTABLE 



MILL 



By E. a. Zie;gler^ 



Since it is contended that it is difficult to obtain an accurate 

 account of utilization by a portable mill the following accurate 

 record of income and expense in an operation on the Mont Alto 

 (Pennsylvania) State Forest by Lewis E. Staley, Forester, may 

 be of interest.^ 



A tract of 17 acres of culled overmature and defective hard- 

 woods was cut with a stand of about 10 M board feet per acre 

 (actual mill scale with close cutting), consisting of chestnut, Red 

 and Black oak, with some Rock and White oak. These trees were 

 from 70 to 175 years old (not a high age for oak), but were in a 

 rather poor condition, due to the tract having been worked over 

 here and there for iron ore during past years and many trees 

 injured. There was an excellent reproduction of Rock and 

 White oak seedling trees about 10 years old and the removal of 

 the older trees released this. 



Utilization was begun by hewing railroad ties and utilizing tops 

 for cordwood. This was at once seen to be a wasteful process 

 and a portable sawmill operator was hired to work up the timber 

 by contract. A lath mill and shingle mill were included in his 

 outfit. 



At the outset it should be stated that the operation was located 

 on the edge of the Cumberland Valley about }i mile from a 

 branch of the Cumberland Valley Railroad, where an active wood 

 market exists. A local market took for fuel all cordwood and 

 slabwood that was not used for lath. The local market also took 

 the shingles, lath, some of the cull lumber, and house lumber. 

 Wagon factories within 50 miles took wagon stock, and car 

 lumber was shipped to Reading, 100 miles away. The entire suc- 

 cess of the operation, of course, lies in the market conditions. 



The portable mill was set up in the tract and showed costs as 

 follows from stump to car: 



* Director, Pennsylvania Department of Forestry, State Forest Academy, 

 Mont Alto, Pa. 



2 Pennsylvania Department of Forestry Report for 1907, pp. 56-60, for 

 a partial report of this cutting. 



465 



