414 Forestry Quarterly. 



ground about five feet apart. About eight ties are placed across 

 these forming the first tier. Other tiers are then laid upon these, 

 the ties of each tier being at right angles to those of the tier 

 below. The piles contain about fifty ties each and are placed 

 two feet apart. The piles are placed as close to the edge of 

 the water as possible, and not more than five piles back from 

 the river, to prevent carrying the ties considerable distances 

 when they are put in the river in the spring. 



Each contractor furnishes or rents his own yard. One con- 

 tractor yarding about 50,000 ties this year paid $50.00 yard 

 rent, or $0,001 per tie. However, as the majority qif ithis 

 year's ties are yarded on rich agricultural land which is under 

 irrigation, this is believed to be slightly above the average an- 

 nual cost of yarding. 



Sawn Ties — Woods to River. 

 Sawn ties, at present, are being made only from Western 

 Yellow pine and Douglas fir. The entire operation from the 

 felling of the timber to the delivering of the tie at the river 

 is covered by contract with one contractor, who in turn lets sub- 

 contracts for the cutting and hauling of the saw-logs to the 

 mill and the hauling of the ties from the mill to the river. 



Logging. 



The logging does not differ from that of any other small 

 operation in Northern New Mexico. 



Felling, Limbing, and Bucking. 



These operations are usually covered by a single contract. 

 Only 1 6- foot logs are cut for which the choppers receive $0.75 

 per M. feet, Doyle scale. 



Skidding and Hauling. 



Skidding and hauling are included in one contract. On some 

 of the steep slopes it is necessary to skid as much as an eighth 

 of a mile. The length of haul varies from one-fourth of a 

 mile to three miles. The average haul is about one and one- 

 half miles, for which $3.00 is the average price paid. 



Milling Equipment. 



The contractor uses a portable mill having a daily capacity of 

 about 10 M. feet B. M, The mill is composed of one 45-horse- 



