148 



LOGGING 



to yard timber, because logs are cut in long lengths, while in 

 northern New York single animals are usually employed because 

 the timber is cut in short lengths. The usual practice in other 

 legions is to use two or more animals. 



Single animals have been tried for skidding small second- 

 growth loblolly pine in the Coastal Plain Region, but because 

 of the heaviness of the wood and the enervating climate they 

 have not proved satisfactory. 



Fig. 29. — A Skipper Road on a West Virginia Operation. 



The second method is common in the rough sections of the 

 Appalachians and Pennsylvania, where horses are used for 

 snaking logs for distances not exceeding one mile. The logs are 

 brought down trails which are sometimes so steep that the ani- 

 mals must be returned to the woods by a more circuitous route. 

 A trail is made 6 or 8 feet wide, cleared of obstructions and 

 banked on the outer edge with skids to prevent logs from leaving 

 them. Swamps are corduroyed, streams bridged and rough 

 places covered with "skippers." These are timbers 8 or 10 

 inches in diameter and 12 feet long which are either placed zig- 



