CHAPTER XVI 



TIMBER SLIDES AND CHUTES 



Slides are channels used chiefly for transporting logs, although 

 pulpwood, crossties, firewood, etc., may be handled in this 

 manner. There are two general types; namely, earth shdes 

 and timber slides, both of which are often combined to form a 

 single slide. 



They are in frequent use in Pennsylvania, the Appalachians, 

 Idaho, Montana, the Northwest and, to a limited extent, in 

 New England and New York. 



Slides are built down the valleys of streams or down the slopes 

 of mountains but they can seldom be constructed profitably 

 across watersheds because the cost of spanning depressions is 

 too great. They vary in length from a few hundred feet to 

 several miles. They are chiefly employed in mountainous 

 regions, although they are occasionally built in a flat country 

 for transporting logs for short distances. 



Earth Slides. — An earth or ground slide is used for short 

 distances on steep grades where the soil is free from rocks 

 and debris that would hinder the movement of logs. It is a 

 furrow which is made by dragging logs over the proposed 

 route. If the earth is easily stirred no previous preparation 

 may be necessary, otherwise the soil must be loosened in places 

 by a pick. 



An improved form called the "trail slide," consists of a furrow 

 made in a manner similar to a ground slide, with the addition 

 of a continuous "fender" skid on the lower side of the trail. 

 These skids are from 12 to 18 inches in diameter and are 

 fastened together by a lap joint pierced with a 2-inch wooden 

 pin, or with a §-inch iron spike. The joint may or may not be 

 supported on a cross-skid. Fender skids are kept in place by 

 heavy stakes driven into the ground on the outer side. Slides 



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