308 SALE AND TRANSPORT OF PRODUCE 



made into gunpowder ; and, as regards Alder, some of the 

 bark at any rate should always be chipped off, soon after it 

 is felled, so as to hasten the drying, and preserve the timber. 



As soon as the bark will " run " about the end of April 

 and beginning of May 1 the trees are felled and barked. 

 Before being felled, each tree is tested to see if the bark 

 will " run," and a strip of bark, about 3 feet long, is removed 

 from all the way round the base of the tree ; then the tree is 

 felled and the bark ripped off. 



At the time of barking, only such branches are trimmed 

 off the trees as is necessary to enable the men to remove the 

 bark. The trimming-up or rounding-up of the timber 

 must wait until after barking operations are over ; for no 

 time must be lost, as the bark will only run for a few 

 weeks. 2 



The bark is cross cut with a handbill (one edge of which 

 is straight, the other curved) all the way round the stem or 

 branch at short intervals of about 3 feet if on the butts, and 

 perhaps 18 inches on the smaller branches; and then one 

 longitudinal cut is made along each section. Then a barking 

 iron or chisel is inserted along the longitudinal cuts, and the 

 bark ripped off. If the bark will not come away, it should be 

 gently tapped with the " flat " of an axe or a wooden mallet. 

 But the small profit in barking renders it impossible to spend 

 much labour on bark that will not easily run. The less 

 tapping the better, as it injures the bark. The bark always 

 runs better during warm, damp, muggy weather ; and better 

 in the morning and evening than during the daytime. 



Occasionally, as in the Forest of Dean, the trees are 

 barked when still standing. In this case the men ascend by 

 means of ladders, strip the bark and throw it down. 



The only advantage of this method is that the trees can be 

 felled in the following winter, and so escape being felled when 

 the sap is in them. But the extra expense involved, and also 



1 This is in the South of England. In the North it will be much 

 later. The sessile Oak is often a little later than the pedunculate. 



2 There is, however, a second and third flow of sap at later periods ; 

 but it is very rare for trees to be barked at these dates. 



