174 FELLING AND CONVERSION OF TIMBER. 



cutters' widows and orphans. If these societies are to be real 

 incentives to a steady labour-force, they must dispose of 

 sufficient capital and offer real and sufficient help in times of 

 need. Several of these funds are very substantial concerns ; 

 as at Clausthal in Hanover, in the Sihlwald belonging to the 

 town of Zurich and other localities. There is now a general 

 Imperial Fund for the whole of Germany to provide insurance 

 against accident, and pensions in old age for workmen of all 

 classes ; from this fund the best results may be expected. 

 In Bavaria, by a State decree of the 26th December, 1898, 

 this now includes allowances to forest workmen in cases of 

 sickness. 



SECTION II. WOODCUTTERS' IMPLEMENTS. 



Although custom, experience, and skill may to a certain 

 extent supply the want of good implements, it cannot be 

 denied that, in every industry, not only more but better work 

 can be done with good tools than with bad ones. This must 

 necessarily be the case in forestry, and the more so, the less 

 skilful and experienced are the woodcutters who are employed. 

 The supply of good implements is, therefore, an important 

 object for the forest-manager which he must always keep in 

 view. 



Woodcutters' implements are classified according as they are 

 used for hewing, sawing, splitting or grubbing-up the wood. 



1. Hewing Implements. 



Hewing implements include felling-axes, trimming-axes 

 and the billhook. The two former are heavier than the last, 

 and are used with both hands on large timber, whilst the 

 billhook is used with one hand only, for cutting saplings and 

 brushwood. The two kinds of axes differ, in that the former 

 is sharpened symmetrically on both sides of its edge, and is 

 used for converting wood in the rough ; the trimming-axe 

 is used for shaping the wood, it has an unsymmetrical edge, 

 nat on one side and sloping on the other. 



Axe- heads of both kinds are made out of oblong pieces of iron 

 which are beaten thin at the ends, and then bent to form an eye 



