LOGGING METHODS 419 



tract several times, removing certain products at a given cut- 

 ting. Chestnut telephone, telegraph and electric light poles 

 are taken out first. Piles are often cut from the tops of pole 

 timber, if there is a market for this class of material. If there 

 is large oak, ship timbers are generally removed next, being cut 

 in long logs which are later sawed into flitches at the mill. The 

 remaining timber is then converted into saw logs, the trees 

 being utihzed down to a 6-inch top diameter. 



Crossties, which are cut in 8-foot lengths in the woods and 

 sawed into squared and pole ties, are made in large quantities 

 from short-bodied trees and large limbs. 



Following the removal of all saw material comes the cutting 

 of cordwood. The residue, down to hmbs one and one-half 

 inches in diameter, may then be cut up into material for char- 

 coal manufacture. Near favorable markets practically all of 

 the wood is utihzed, except small branches. 



The sawmill plant is set up in the immediate vicinity of the 

 operation where an open space can be secured for log and lumber 

 storage and where a water supply for the boiler is convenient. 

 Camps are seldom established. 



The felling crews, which work several days in advance of skid- 

 ding, are composed chiefly of foreigners and from one to two 

 saw crews of three men each are required. A three-man crew 

 consists of a spotter and two fallers. The spotter selects the 

 trees to be felled and notches them, lays off lengths on the felled 

 timber, and aids the fallers in swamping. Saws and axes are 

 used for felhng. The wages for a spotter are about $2 per day 

 and for fallers from $1.50 to $1.75. A three-man crew will fell 

 and buck from 4000 to 5000 feet daily. The contract price for 

 felling and log-making ranges from $1.25 to $2 per thousand 

 feet. 



Pole cutting is done by contract at a cost of from i to i| 

 cents per running foot for felling and peeling. Peeling can be 

 done more readily in summer and pole-cutting contracts can be 

 let at that season for about 25 per cent less. Some buyers, 

 however, refuse to take summer-cut timber because of the 

 greater liability of insect attack. 



