USE OF THE FOREST 161 



In getting out logs for lumber it is usually better to 

 fell the tree with the crosscut saw, cutting as near to the 

 ground as possible. In the white-pine districts contracts 

 commonly call for stumps eighteen inches or less in height, 

 and there is no good reason why, in logging good oak, 

 ash, etc., any man should make a three- or even four-foot 

 stump, and thus waste at least ten per cent of the best 

 part of the tree. These large stumps, moreover, become 

 breeding places for insects and harbor fungi, and thus are 

 a menace as well as a loss. 



In measuring and marking oft" the logs a great deal of 

 waste may be avoided if the woodsman has clearly in 

 mind what kind of goods he wants to make of his timber. 

 For all small jobs it pays well either to do it oneself oi" 

 else to engage an experienced man and give him clear 

 instructions as to what should go into saw-logs, ties, 

 poles, etc. 



The skidding is mostly done by dragging the log on 

 the ground. Especially for hardwoods men use a "' go- 

 devil," or simple sled, often made of a crotch or fork of 

 two large liml)s. Where this is done one end of the log 

 is placed on the sled and thus prevented from striking 

 against many obstacles. 



The work of loading and of hauling to the mill varies 

 for different localities. In cold, snowy districts this is 

 done most cheaply on sleighs ; in other localities, with 

 wagons, which of course is far more expensive. 



