83 



of it, which, with cordwood even more than with logs, depends upon the 

 character of the landings. 



There are now very generally employed steam loaders ; hoisting en- 

 gines with outhaul ropes running over drums, which pick up the logs 

 alongside the track. Various devices are resorted to to facilitate the pass- 

 ing of cars and to locate the loader with reference to cars and landing 

 places. 



In the "Barnhart" and in the "American" Loader this is accomplished 

 by having rails laid on the cars on which the loader travels, pulling itself 

 'along as needed, the latter on two short portable sections of track, the for- 

 mer on permanent track. Such a loader of the Barnhart type as used in 

 the College forest, will pick up and load from 600 to 800 logs per day, the 

 logs being banked to within 100 feet or so from the track. It is able to 

 move on a pivot in all directions, and the character of the landing place is 

 of little importance. 



In the "Decker" log loader the clearing of the track for bringing emp- 

 ties to the loader is accomplished by allowing them to pass underneath the 

 loader over a three-rail section of track, which rises from the main track 

 and is carried by the loader on its lower story. 



In forestry work, where the care for the young aftergrowth must be 

 taken into consideration, modification of the methods of procedure will be 

 required. They are, however, directly applicable where clearing with arti- 

 ficial planting is practiced, or where the strip system is used, which con- 

 sists in clearing strips and securing the reproduction by seeds from the 

 neighboring old timber which is left standing. When the forester shall be 

 a fully recognized and established institution in Canada we may 

 expect that he will develop these methods of exploitation to suit the addi- 

 tional requirements of silviculture. 



In mechanical engineering, also, there is still a wide field unoccupied, 

 the development of which would aid the business of the forester. We are 

 still relying on brute force for felling trees, sawing them into logs and cut- 

 ting and splitting cordwood. Attempts to apply steam or electric power 

 in tree felling have so far failed to bring out any practical method. There 

 are now on trial cordwood cutting machines, but they are so far only ap- 

 plicable for very special conditions which can be rarely met. 



In entirely different direction is engineering skill demanded, and a 

 special line of forest engineering has developed in connection with the re- 

 clamation and reforestation of sand dunes and denuded mountain sides. 

 Tlhis has been especially developed by the French foresters, the French 

 government having spent many million dollars in covering the lands and 

 sand dunes of Gascony, and in safe-guarding Southern mountain ranges 

 against torrential action induced by deforestation. This forest engineer- 

 ing is now practiced in all countries where forestry is developed and the ne- 

 cessity for this work has been recognized. 



