258 LOGGING 



sters when performing swamping work which is usually distaste- 

 ful to them. 



The timber cut from a right-of-way may be used for saw 

 logs, culverts, trestles, bridges, corduroy and for filling in low 

 places to reduce the amount of earth required for fills. Material 

 of merchantable value both from green and " dead-and-down " 

 timber is cut into saw logs and either scattered or piled on skid- 

 ways along the right-of-way outside of the grade line. 



On main lines and spurs all stumps should be removed from 

 the roadbed unless they are on the site of a proposed fill and will 

 be covered with at least one foot of earth; or so located that 

 they will not furnish a bearing for any part of the track; or the 

 character of the ground is such that the removal of the stump 

 during wet weather will cause a soft spot which cannot be kept 

 up during the rainy period. 



Where the stumps are to be covered with earth they are cut 

 off near the ground. Those on the right-of-way outside of the 

 roadbed may be cut at any convenient height. The removal of 

 stumps is usually accomplished by blasting with powder or 

 dynamite, by grubbing or by burning them out. The cost for 

 the former ranges from 30 cents to several dollars per stump, 

 and for grubbing from 6 to 8 cents for each inch of diameter. 

 Small and medium-sized trees can best be removed by cutting 

 all roots from 3 to 4 feet from the base of the tree and allow- 

 ing the weight of the crown and bole to aid in pulling out the 

 stump. 



In the South clearing the main line right-of-way, including 

 the grubbing of stumps on the roadbed, can usually be done 

 by contract for $25 per acre. During 1910 a contract was let 

 in northern Louisiana for a 100-foot right-of-way, at a price 

 of $100 per mile. This included the felling of all timber and 

 the cutting off at the ground of all stumps on the roadbed, 

 but not their removal. The contractor received in addition, 50 

 cents per thousand feet for all merchantable material cut into 

 saw logs. A 40-foot right-of-way in this region can usually be 

 cleared and stumps on the roadbed removed for $90 per mile, 

 and a lOO-foot right-of-way for $150 per mile. 



