lo Forestry Quarterly. 



The percentage of time-killing, or soldiering, indulged in by 

 woods workmen is surprisingly great. I hasten to admit, of 

 course, that many of their tasks are so heavy as to require fre- 

 quent rest periods. Nevertheless^ it is a fact that there are few 

 occupations in which the opportunity for soldiering is so great 

 as it is in logging. There are many jobs in which the principal 

 part of the men's time is occupied in "resting" and "waiting for 

 something to do." The foreman cannot be ubiquitous, and must 

 content himself in keeping things moving as best he can. The 

 workmen are scattered, too often they are irresponsible, and the 

 chances for soldiering are most attractive. 



Within the past few months great interest in Scientific Manage- 

 ment as developed in the remarkable work of Mr. Frederick W. 

 Taylor, has been displayed among manufacturers. The possibili- 

 ties of the Taylor system in its application to the various manu- 

 facturing industries has been given considerable study. 



Very little has been said or done, however, with reference to 

 trying out the system in the woods. In a recent address the assis- 

 tant treasurer of the Berlin Mills Company endorsed his doubt as 

 to whether scientific management could accomplish much in a 

 logging camp, mainly for these reasons : 



1. The generally unreliable character of the men employed, 

 dut to the fact that they are not men with families, but men with 

 the "floating" habit. 



2. The fact that in woods work the men are scattered about a 

 great deal, so that it is impossible to maintain a very close su- 

 pervision over them. 



It is admitted, however, that if Scientific Management were 

 established in logging operations the results would be no less 

 astounding than in other industries where it has been tried. It 

 does not seem to me that the two difficulties above cited are in- 

 superable. I purpose to outline some ideas as to methods of pro- 

 cedure in taking up the problem in a logging camp. Before doing 

 so it may be well to point out that such work requires a different 

 kind of training and intelligence than the ordinary woods foreman 

 possesses, and seems peculiarly within the province of the trained 

 forester. Therefore, graduates of forest schools, who should 

 always be alert for chances to show the usefulness of their train- 

 ing to lumber companies, would do well to inform themselves con- 



