LOGGING METHODS 435 



Topography and Bottom. — The region in which extensive 

 operations are now conducted is rugged with narrow valleys 

 and steep slopes, covered in many places with massive boulders 

 that are a hinderance to logging. Mountain laurel is abundant 

 throughout the forest and necessitates heavy swamping. 



Felling and Log-making. — On operations where hemlock bark 

 and logs are utilized the bark peelers fell, bark and cut the 

 boles into logs during the months of May to August, inclusive. 

 During the remainder of the year the felling crews, consisting 

 of a chopper and two sawyers, go through the forest felling and 

 cutting into logs the remaining spruce and hemlock trees. The 

 hardwoods are cut after the softwoods to avoid the loss through 

 breakage that would occur if all of the timber were felled at one 

 time. Trees are cut to a stump diameter of lo inches and the 

 boles to a top diameter of 8 inches for saw logs, and 4 inches 

 for pulpwood. A crew of two men will fell and make into logs 

 from 15,000 to 20,000 feet of spruce and hemlock, daily. Two 

 knot cutters are often members of the felling crew. Their duty 

 is to snipe the ends of the logs and to remove the hmbs from 

 them. 



Skidding. — Skidding is done largely with animals. Roads 

 or trails are cut from the valleys up to the tops of the ridges and 

 the logs are dragged down in tows either over skipper roads or 

 pole slides. A team on a skipper road will handle from 5000 to 

 6000 feet daily on a haul of j-mile. Slides (p. 230) are common 

 in some sections and are built from a few hundred feet to a mile 

 or more in length. 



The cableway system of power logging is in occasional use, 

 and on some operations single-line snaking machines are em- 

 ployed for dragging logs for distances as great as 2500 feet. 



Transportation. — On many operations the logs are hauled to 

 the mill on narrow- or standard-gauge railroads. The narrow- 

 gauge roads are frequently of the stringer type. The railroad is 

 usually built up the main "draws" or valleys. Spurs are sel- 

 dom constructed because of the heavy expense. 



Inclines are common and occasionally aerial trams are em- 

 ployed. 



