Harvesting the Small Forest 



243 



nomically and with little damage to 

 the future woods crop. Careful plan- 

 ning means less delay. Under normal 

 operations it has been estimated that 

 delay time takes up 40 percent of the 

 working day. Poorly constructed skid 

 roads account for 15 percent of this. 

 Battered rocks, mud holes, as well as 

 broomed stumps are unnecessary ob- 

 structions in the skid trail. Obviously 

 skid trails should be wide enough for 

 the draft power and products to clear 

 on curves. Strategic location of skid- 

 way sites and skidway construction also 

 are important to loading and hauling. 



Dragging over the ground is called 

 ground skidding. Teamsters should 

 always work on the uphill side of the 

 log and never attempt to ride a log 

 being skidded. There is danger of being 

 struck or crushed by the logs as they 

 are dragged through the woods. The 

 danger is greatest when curves and 

 roughness of the skid trail may cause 

 the logs to roll or swing unexpectedly. 



For pulpwood, posts, and fuel wood 

 (where roads are suitable), it is often 

 practicable to load right on the means 

 of final transportation and eliminate 

 the skidway stop. This is called "hot" 

 logging. 



For ground skidding small logs and 

 poles, where a single horse or mule with 

 harness and rigging is the draft power, 

 a skidding chain with a slip hook is 

 about all that is needed. For large tim- 

 ber that requires a team of horses or 

 tractor, some additional equipment is 

 needed: Skidding tongs, grab chains 

 or "dogs," and a hammer to drive the 

 "dogs" or hooks into the wood and re- 

 move them at the destination. 



Pulling logs by the small ends and 

 beveling or nosing them with an ax 

 helps in skidding. Maintaining skid 

 trails and roads in good shape usually 

 reduces skidding costs. Especially for 

 animal skidding the trails should be 

 arranged to take advantage of gentle 

 slopes. Large logs that slide too fast 

 can be snubbed by wrapping chains 

 around them. 



The construction of the skidding ter- 

 minals, the skidways, rollways, and 



landings, affects the output of skidding 

 and later loading out of the products. 

 At least two long, straight logs or skids, 

 strong enough to support the logs, 

 poles, and piling, are necessary. They 

 are slightly inclined to make the roll- 

 ing toward the loading point easy. 

 When it is necessary, the logs, poles, 

 and other products can be piled or 

 decked on skidways by using skid poles 

 and peaveys. Care must be taken to pre- 

 vent the pieces from rolling and in- 

 juring the workers. 



If the volume of timber, ground con- 

 ditions, and skidding distance warrant, 

 equipment might well be provided for 

 raising the front end of the log off the 

 ground. A sled, known as the go-devil, 

 or even a wooden crotch, is used for 

 the purpose. They can be made in the 

 workshop. 



Another handy device to prevent 

 logs from nosing in the ground is a 

 pan, which can be made of boiler plate. 

 The front end of the log rests on the 

 pan. Yarding sleds, drays, logging 

 scoots, log carts, and wheeled bum- 

 mers are other types of equipment for 

 more distant skidding to keep the front 

 ends of logs off the ground. Plans for 

 making all these can be had from the 

 Department of Agriculture. Equip- 

 ment for skidding large timber over 

 greater distances usually includes fac- 

 tory-made mechanical or hydraulic 

 log carts, arches, and logging sulkies; 

 all of them require the high-powered 

 tractors. The jeep has also been put 

 into service for logging small tracts. A 

 logger in Indiana put an A-frame arch 

 skidding-unit trailer mounted on dual 

 wheels on his jeep, attached a crosscut- 

 saw rack on the left rear fender, and 

 installed a rack for a power chain saw 

 over the right front fender. 



Some savings in logging costs are 

 realized by skidding long logs, even the 

 entire tree length to a merchantable 

 top. That requires rather straight skid 

 trails, more power, and generally uni- 

 form ground conditions. At the skid- 

 way, roadside, or mill, the long pieces 

 are cut into proper lengths more ad- 

 vantageously and economically than 



