4IO LOGGING 



OPERATION 



The amount of water required for a flume depends on the size 

 of the box, the grade and the amount of leakage. On steep 

 grades a flume requires less water than on low grades because 

 the flume box becomes a wet slide and the logs run freely with 

 very little water. The age of the flume and the care with 

 which it is maintained largely determine the amount of leakage. 

 Forest Service officials found that on the Allen flume in Mon- 

 tana which carries from 5 to 12 second feet of water the leak- 

 age averaged 0.3 second feet per mile. They estimate that the 

 average leakage in a flume in good condition, carrying 5 to 10 

 second feet of water, will approximate 0.45 second feet per mile. 



Water is admitted from ponds or branch flumes at the head 

 of the main flume and also from feeders or troughs located at 

 numerous points along the route. These feeders run from the 

 main stream or some of its branches. If the water supply is 

 limited, every effort is made to keep the flume box tight to 

 prevent waste. This is not so essential, however, where water 

 can be turned in at frequent intervals. 



The products are placed in the flume boxes by various means. 

 Sawed lumber and crossties are usually shunted into the flume 

 from an incline at the tail of the mifl. Pulp wood and acid wood 

 are frequently rolled or thrown into the box from skidways or 

 floated in from ponds; while logs may be rolled in from skidways, 

 floated in from artificial storage ponds, or elevated by log loaders. 

 The use of ponds is the simplest and cheapest method, while 

 the use of a log loader is the more expensive. 



Flumes are operated by crews that feed the flume; by runners 

 who are stationed at points along the route where jams are apt 

 to occur; and by laborers who handle the product at the ter- 

 minal. The runners usually carry a pick-a-roon to aid in han- 

 dling the floating material. The size of crew required depends 

 entirely on the character of the flume, those with many curves 

 and low grades requiring the most runners. 



On the Allen flume in Montana, which is about 16 miles long, 

 thirty flume tenders are required for handling about 3500 mining 

 stulls and logs daily. Four men feed the flume and twenty-six 



