12 FELLING THE TREES 



(0) TREE-FELLING MACHINES. They are largely used abroad to obtain the stump of a tree 

 together with the bole. 



I. The "Nassau machine" consists of a 4-inch plank 10 inches wide into which regular steps are 

 hewn, and of a pole about 25 feet long, with a curved pike at the small end, and squarely bound in iron 

 at the big end. Half a foot above the big end the pole is perforated so as to receive a 1' .,-inch round 

 steel pin. The square base of the pole is placed on a step of the plank which is put flat on the ground, 

 some 12 feet from the tree. The pole is inclined at an angle of about 50 degrees against the plank. The 

 pike is securely placed in the bole of the tree. By means of two crowbars, the base of the pole is 

 moved, step by step, toward the tree. 



The "Buettner machine" adopts the principle of the Nassau machine. It consists of a large jack 

 driven by two powerful hand cranks; it pushes, inclined at an angle of 45 degrees, a strong pole, some 

 20 feet long, against the tree. This machine is now largely used in European countries, in lieu of the 

 Nassau machine. It is impracticable with trees having over two feet diameter. 



II. The "wood devil" has been used for centuries in Switzerland. .-X rope or cable is fixed in the 

 top of the tree to be felled, and a chain is fastened around a stump in the direction towards which it is 

 to be felled. To this chain is attached a long lever, bearing a chain and hooks on either side of its 

 fulcrum. The lower end of the rope is secured to another chain, the links of which are meant to receive 

 the hooks. Moving the lever, to and fro, the hooks are inserted alternatingly in the chain-end of the rope, 

 advancing two or three links at a time. 



The instrument is cheap, simple, and powerful; at an angle of 45" the rope has the maximum 

 of power. 



PAR.\GR.\PH V. 

 FELLING THE TREES. 



Under "A" and "B" are described the chief "methods" of felling. 



(A) OBTAINING BOLE WITHOUT STUMP AND ROOTS:- 



I. By exclusive use of the axe. handled from one side only in cutting small trees, in thinnings and 

 in coppice woods. 



II. By exclusive use of the axe, cutting two kerfs on opposite sides. The first notch, on side toward 

 which tree is intended to fall, made from 4 inches to 6 inches lower, must penetrate the center of the 

 tree. Avoid felling toward the direction in which the tree leans. 



Advantages of this method are the facts that one tool and one man only are required; that the bole 

 is easily directed; that the logs obtain proper noses; that trees like hickory and redoak, notably in cold 

 weather, are less liable to break and burst in falling, leaving long splinters on the stump. 



Disadvantages are loss of bole, amounting to from 4"„ to 8"„ and loss of time and labor in large 

 timber. This method of felling is still used in Maine, Quebec, Ontario. 



III. By hewing "out of the pan," a method used for valuable heavy boles. Uncertainty of fall is 

 counterbalanced by a gain in the length of the bole. The bole thus obtained is said to show less heart 

 shakes. 



IV. By using the two-handed cross-cut saw alone, without the help of the axe, a method not advisable 

 for the reason that the fall of the bole cannot be directed. 



V. By joint use of cross-cut saw and axe. The axe (in redfir, axe and saw combined) cuts a kerf on 

 the falling side, the depth of which is ' 4 to ' , of the diameter, and the innermost point of which lies 

 on a level with the saw kerf (in redfir, four inches below the level of the falling-side saw kerf). When 

 the saw begins to pinch, drive wedges behind the back of the saw. Withdraw the saw when the tree 

 begins to shake heavily and force it to fall by wedging. Be sure to fully sever the "corners" of the kerf, 

 so that the falling tree turns on a streight hinge. Tough -barked trees are girdled before the saw is applied. 



