62 



that timber felled about June- July it, the most durable ; and it is very probably so, since the 

 air is then both dry and cold, a combination of favourable circumstances. Hartig attributes 

 the greater durability of the winter felled timber to the fact that it has time to dry on 

 the outside before the atmospheric influences become favourable to the development of 

 the various fungi of rot, the spores of which, though plentiful, remain dormant in the cold 

 of winter.* At the Cape, the felling season adopted begins in March, and ends in June 

 or July, according to the species. 



However, the time of felling influences the strength and durability of timber much 

 less than the mode and length of seasoning, and, in many countries, it is determined by 

 circumstances having no reference to the quality of the timber produced. Considerations 

 of labour and transport often cause, as in many parts of Germany, spring and summer 

 felling to be preferred. In Natal, transport is usually possible from October to May in 

 each year, and the felling season might conveniently be taken from the middle of Septem- 

 ber to the end of December, the wood being prepared and removed during the remaining 

 months of summer and autumn. 



MARKING OF TIMBER FOR FELLING. In each section which it is proposed to open, 

 the forest-guard, assisted by one or two natives, would mark during the close season the 

 trees that are to be cut during the subsequent felling season. This selection of trees is a 

 delicate and important operation, which requires to be done at leisure and with care. The 

 work of each guard should be arranged so as to provide ample time for the purpose one 

 or two months during the close season. 



To facilitate the selection of trees, the section is sub-divided into a number of narrow 

 plots, by means of small staff lines cut or blazed through the forest, and with the help of 

 any natural features or existing paths. Where they are used alone, the staff lines are cut 

 parallel and at intervals of from 40 to 80 yards, according to the density of the forest. 

 Each plot is then examined in succession, and the trees are selected, marked, measured, 

 and numbered consecutively, with numbers either stamped or painted on the blazed bark; 

 the diameter is taken to the nearest two inches, at three feet from the ground in the 

 case of seedlings, or at three feet from the stump in the case of shoots ; and the length of 

 serviceable wood is estimated to the nearest five feet. The diameter may be conveniently 

 taken with tapes graduated to give the girth of one side and the corresponding diameter 

 of the other. When including trees below the normal dimensions, the guard should 

 state what defect makes it allowable. Particulars of each tree are entered in a " section 

 book " kept by the guard. 



The cubic contents may be derived from the small table given in Appendix VI., the 

 volume of a squared log being taken to be equal to half .of that of a cylinder with^a 

 diameter equal to that measured at three feet from the ground, and a height equal to the 



* Nature, March 28, 1889, p. 513. 



