16 College of Forestry 



Cutting and delivering to the factory. 



Cutting is done by choppers who in many sections, par- 

 ticularly in Delaware county, look upon getting out the 

 annual cord wood supply in the winter as a lucrative means 

 of winter employment. The trees are cut up in fifty inch 

 lengths and hauled on sleds w^hen snow is on the ground or 

 on wagons directly to the acid plant. Hauls up to eight 'to 

 ten miles are fairly frequent. 



For cutting and stacking, the usual figure is about $1.25 

 to $1.40 per cord. Cutting is usually done by contract, and 

 where the wood is favorably sized and located for chopping 

 and the ground fairly level, cutting and stacking can be done 

 as low as $1 to $1.10 per cord by experienced choppers. The 

 maximum figure is about $1.50 per cord. The cost of hauling 

 varies with the distance and the character of the ground and 

 the road over which the load is hauled. One and one-half to 

 two cords are usually considered the maximum load under 

 the most favorable conditions. The total cost of wood deliv- 

 ered at the commercial plants is about $4 per cord. Esti- 

 mates obtained from all the ISTew York plants show that the 

 average value of cordwood delivered at the plants is $4.06 

 per cord. The maximum cost was estimated to be $5 per 

 cord at one plant. At another plant, the cost was estimated 

 to be $3.25 per cord, which was the minimum estimated cost 

 in the State. 



Seasoning. 



In all cases the wood must be seasoned for at least one 

 year before being used in the ovens or retorts. If used green, 

 the high moisture content is excessive and too much heat is 

 required to derive the product. At many of the plants it is 

 estimated that before seasoning, the average cord of mixed 

 beech, birch and maple weighs in the neighborhood of 6,200 

 pounds. After seasoning the average cord weighs about 

 3,800 pounds. The wood is used in the process with the 



