MASSACHUSETTS WOODLANDS. 19 



of the poorer specimens were taken out, allowing light to enter and 

 encouraging the growth of any seedlings. 



Wherever a good reproduction had started around or underneath 

 any of these large pines, better known to lumbermen and foresters as 

 the " pasture pines," they were removed, taking care to destroy as few 

 of the smaller or young trees as possible. 



Through the entire work there were not any hard-and-set rules which 

 could be followed entirely, for there was here and there a problem 

 which could be decided only on the spot. Around the edges of the 

 stand, thinning if carried on at all was not very heavy, since it was 

 thought that too much sun and wind would be admitted from the sides. 

 The presence of a ledge outcropping and lying very near the surface 

 in one instance resulted in a very light thinning, since it was thought 

 that the stand on it was liable to windfall. Other local problems were 

 treated in like manner, but as a rule the main ideas were not deviated 

 from. 



THE OPERATING. 



Every tree to be removed was blazed with a hatchet, in order that 

 the choppers might not make any mistake. In marking, care was 

 necessary in order to mark those with which there would not be any 

 difficulty in felling. Oftentimes it was necessary to remove trees where 

 some difficulty could not be avoided; yet there were also times when a 

 little foresight would obviate any trouble and still allow good specimens 

 to remain. A little time was sufficient to mark an area which would 

 take some time for the choppers to cover. 



The choppers were most efficient in gangs of three. One man, going 

 ahead, would under-cut tree just above the ground and on the side 

 towards which it was to fall. It is remarkable to observe the skill 

 some men have in directing the tree through any small opening by the 

 right position of this under-cut on the tree. The other two men fol- 

 lowing him would saw just above and on the opposite side of the 

 under-cut until the tree fell. It was the first man's duty now to trim 

 the tree of its side branches and mark the tree into logs with lengths 

 most economical for it to be sawed by the other two men. 



This system sounds bunglesome to relate, but, once started, one man 

 should not be interrupted or in the way of the others, and under 

 ordinary conditions the work would be about equally portioned. 



Frequently a tree was found so wedged in between its neighbors, 

 their limbs interwoven, or so balanced in regard to its necessary felling 

 direction, that some means was required to give the tree a start before 

 it would fall. This was overcome in large trees by wedging the stump 

 and bole in the saw-kerf, or in small trees by directing the men to throw 

 their weight against the tree. Other methods were: picking up small 

 trees and carrying them away at the bole in the opposite direction they 

 were to fall; felling other trees against the one which does not start; 



