108 A STUDY OF FOREST CONDITIONS 



The cost of manufacturing varies according to the size 

 of the mill, equipment, etc. Large mills can manufacture 

 more cheaply than the smaller ones, because they have 

 equipment for utilizing the slabs and other waste in shingles 

 and laths. The planing mill also lessens the cost by saving 

 weight in the shipment of lumber. Lumbering by small 

 mills often necessitates long hauls and requires a ready 

 local market. Hundreds of such mills in the State supply 

 the fanners with lumber and furnish employment for many 

 local residents. Undoubtedly there will come a time when 

 lumbering will be on a smaller scale than at present, when 

 small stationary or portable mills will be used, as is now 

 the case in many other parts of the United States. 



The logging of extremely rough country is expensive, 

 and it naturally is the last to be logged. It is often neces- 

 sary to make long hauls with mule or ox teams, and opera- 

 tions must be on a relatively small scale. With such con- 

 ditions conserv^ative methods are most easily put in force, 

 because the smaller trees will often not pay for the long 

 haul, and the absence of engines in logging eliminates the 

 most serious cause of fire. Methods of bottomland log- 

 ging vary with the location of the mill. In some cases, as 

 with Cottonwood along the Mississippi, the logs are hauled 

 by team to the banks of the river, where the mills are lo- 

 cated. Sometimes railroads are constructed into the 

 swamps from the river. The Irunber when manufactured 

 is shipped in barges to important points, as Cairo, Cin- 

 cinnati, or New Orleans. 



The cost of Cottonwood lumbering varies about as 

 follows : 



Per 1,000 b. F. 



Cutting and hauling to J:he mill. -.- $3 50 to $4 50 



Sawing - — 3 00 to 3 00 



Piling and loading on barge.. 50 to 1 00 



Total $7 00 to $8 50 



A certain percentage of willow is often cut with the 

 Cottonwood, but it is worth considerably less. Willow 

 stumpage is about one-third that of cotton-wood, which 



