2 4 2 



fuel wood. Bucking usually requires 

 from one-tenth to one-fifth of a log- 

 ger's time. 



In the woods, the under limbs often 

 are left on to furnish support in buck- 

 ing. Blocking may be necessary to prop 

 ends of the logs to avoid pinching the 

 saw or to keep the wood from splitting. 

 Such a prop is called a "dutchman." 

 Sometimes sawing is done on the un- 

 der side to avoid pinching the saw. A 

 peavey, or log jack, comes in handy to 

 put the pieces into sawing positions. 

 Working alone, the bucker should 

 work on the upper side of logs, or block 

 them to prevent rolling. 



When the main tree stem is to be 

 made into a variety of products (saw- 

 logs, pulpwood, piling, fuel wood, and 

 posts) according to the utilization and 

 markets, the terms "integrated log- 

 ging" or "integrated utilization" are 

 used. That is often accomplished by 

 skidding the entire merchantable length 

 to the skidway, landing, or assembly 

 point, and doing the bucking there. 



It is helpful to have the stem off 

 the ground during bucking; that is 

 done at the skidway or the landing by 

 rolling the material on skid poles. 



If the log has to be peeled, the bark 

 is most easily removed in spring and 

 early summer, immediately after fell- 

 ing. Some of the products from which 

 bark is removed are fence posts, poles, 

 piling, ties, building logs, and, some- 

 times, pulpwood. The type of peeling 

 tool to be used depends on the species 

 of wood, size of timber, and season of 

 year. Some of the peeling machines 

 now available are rather costly and are 

 not adapted to small jobs. Occasionally 

 peeling is done to recover the bark for 

 industrial uses. 



Splitting is usually necessary for 

 fuel wood, stave bolts, large fence posts, 

 and the like. Splitting mauls, wedges, 

 and hammers are used. For stove- 

 length fuel wood, portable splitting 

 machines, previously mentioned, are 

 efficient. Outlets and markets for prod- 

 ucts to be split should be well known 

 or contracted for before performing 

 the work. 



Yearboo^ of Agriculture 1949 



Railroad ties made in the woods are 

 usually fashioned with a broadax and 

 cut to specification. 



The slash limbs, tops, and debris 

 accumulated from the felling and limb- 

 ing operations may have to be gotten 

 out of the way of the skidding opera- 

 tions. They should be left so as not to 

 be a serious fire hazard or a handicap 

 to the remaining trees or seedlings. In 

 general, slash should be chopped to 

 lie flat on the ground so it will decay 

 more rapidly. Under certain condi- 

 tions, it should be piled and burned. 



THE SKIDDING EQUIPMENT needed to 

 move products from the stump to an 

 assembly point depends on the size, 

 length of product, skidding distance, 

 lay of the land, soil conditions, season 

 of year, and how the logs were felled. 



Animals or machines supply the 

 draft power needed to move the prod- 

 ucts from the stump to skidding termi- 

 nal skidway, landing, or the assembly 

 point. Often a horse or a mule can 

 handle small products economically 

 over short distances of several hundred 

 feet. Large material and longer hauls 

 require a team or tractor. 



A peavey, to pry and lift log ends 

 and roll the products at the skidway, 

 landing, or assembly point, makes the 

 lifting work easier. 



A 12- to 15-foot skidding chain or 

 wire-rope choker (with a slip hook to 

 circle and hold the log and attach the 

 free end to the rigging of the draft 

 power) makes up the necessary skid- 

 ding outfit. Log tongs and grapple 

 hooks can be considered optional. 



Extra items, which it may pay to 

 buy, include various skidding aids such 

 as skidding pans, the yarding sleds, 

 wheeled bummers, the logging scoots, 

 wagons, and log carts. 



SKIDDING, OR YARDING, is the first 

 movement of products from the stump. 

 Usually they are dragged over the 

 ground to the skidway, landing, or as- 

 sembly point. 



It pays to give considerable thought 

 to skidding in order to do the job eco- 



