ii2 FORESTRY 



state of the roads admits, the traction engine with wagons 

 usually works most economically. In Germany the four- 

 wheeled timber-cart is largely employed for transport ; it has 

 an advantage in that the front and back portions may be 

 detached and placed at either end of very long logs. When 

 this is done, the front pair of wheels bears the butt ends above, 

 while the back wheels support the upper parts, hanging from 

 the axle as a rule. 



Reference must also be made to forest tramways, or light 

 railways. These are usually in part fixed or permanent, 

 leading to regular railway lines or sawmills, and in part 

 portable. They are of narrow gauge, and the movable por- 

 tion consists of sections of twelve to fifteen feet in length, 

 a size which admits of ready shifting to the felling areas and 

 even to individual stems. In addition to their usefulness in 

 carrying timber, light railways are often of much aid in the 

 construction of ordinary roads, conveying sand, gravel, stones, 

 etc., cheaply and with expedition. To be remunerative, 

 however, the permanent line must have an assured traffic of 

 large quantities of material. Considerable capital is neces- 

 sarily sunk in the enterprise, and only rarely is it satisfactory. 

 In mountainous districts the difficulty of obtaining suitable 

 gradients renders permanent tramways impracticable ; and 

 among the lower hills, and in level country, roads are generally 

 available, and lead in more divergent directions than the fixed 

 railway can be expected to take. It is different with the 

 portable form of railway ; especially where a timber-growing 

 district is sparsely populated, the narrow-gauge line will be 

 found serviceable and economical. The short sections may 

 have a gauge of eighteen to twenty-four inches ; they are 

 easily carried by one man, and are connected without the 

 slightest difficulty. They adapt themselves readily to the 

 slope and surface of the land, so that very little preliminary 

 preparation is required. 



Of roads used for general traffic, the best are the mac- 

 adamised. They are much to be preferred to the causeway, 

 another permanent form of highway. Roads of less im- 



