264 FELLING AND CONVERSION OF TIMBEE. 



important. Every forest-depot should be so situated as to be 

 within easy reach of the timber-purchasers' carts, or other 

 modes of transport, and so that the neighbouring woods may 

 be liable to the least possible amount of injury in both the 

 clearance and transport of the material ; it must also be in an 

 open, airy or at least dry position, and should offer sufficient 

 room for the different classes of material to be arranged con- 

 veniently for inspection by intending purchasers and by the 

 forest staff. Wherever the logs have been barked, the depot 

 should also be shady, so that cracking may be avoided. 



Usually in plains, or moderately low mountain-ranges, the 

 material is brought to the nearest road, or where this is not 

 broad enough, into the forest bordering the road, including 

 the ditches. Blanks on the felling-area, or in the clear- 

 cutting system the felling-area itself, may be used as a depot, 

 if there is no immediate necessity for restocking them. In 

 higher mountain-ranges all the material from a felling-area 

 must be brought down into the valleys, to the top of a slide, or 

 to the banks of a stream. Usually this is done whilst the 

 timber-work is proceeding. 



Wherever great numbers of trees are felled yearly, it is in 

 the interest of the forest-owner to set-aside permanent timber 

 depots for the reception of the material from felling-areas, and 

 to place the logs on supports keeping them from contact with 

 the damp ground. 



4. Material to be Removed. 



In general, all wood should be removed from the felling-area, 

 the sale of which would at least cover the cost of removal, when 

 only the simple means at the disposal of the woodcutters are 

 used. 



All firewood and the smaller kinds of agricultural wood 

 should be removed always before a sale ; whether, or not, this 

 should be the case with the larger logs and butts depends chiefly 

 on the nature of the ground. If the felling-area is nearly 

 level, it is easy for the purchasers' carts to come up to the 

 stumps of the felled trees to load and convey the heavy pieces 

 of timber directly to their destination. If, however, the felling- 

 is on a slope, skilful woodcutters will find no difficulty in 



