TREE FELLING AS A SPORT 



By W. Oilman Thompson, M. D. 



A FORM of labor which from the stone age to the 

 ^ present time has attracted many of the world's 

 great men surely possesses something more than mere 

 drudgery, such as the compelling of interest, of obser- 

 vation and skill. All this and more is to be found in tree 

 felling, which, regarded as a sport, has much analogy 

 with golf. The swing of the ax and the swing of the 

 club call into play similar muscles ; one must plan care- 

 fully the direction of the stroke and keep the eye un- 

 varyingly upon the objective point of the blow, or it is 

 easy to "slice" in the one case the ball, in the other the 

 toes ! A firm stand upon good footing, a straight knee 

 and a full swing are equally essential. The direction of 

 the drive must be carefully planned, for the tree, like 

 the ball, which does not lie where it should best be 

 placed, may involve much vain effort in extricating it. 



"If the tree falleth toward the south or toward the 

 north, in the place where the tree falleth there shall it be." 

 (Ecclesiastes II.3.) 



But as there are analogies there are differences and 

 the chief divergence between these sports lies in the im- 

 portant fact that in the case of the tree, once having hit 



the blooming thing it is still there and one does not have 

 to hunt over a ten-acre lot to find it. 



Probably no single stroke of the ax ever resulted in 

 such lasting fame, as in the storied case of George Wash- 

 ington and his cherry tree. Certainly no such contro- 

 versy has arisen over the efforts of other "regular 

 fellers." Did the youthful George merely wish to try a 

 new ax, or did he wish easier access to the cherries? 

 Was it the ethical question involved when he exclaimed, 

 "I cannot tell a lie, father," meaning that he had already 

 gone the limit in this direction? And where was he 

 going so suddenly when he "took a hack at the tree?" 



These and similar controversial matters have puzzled 

 youthful Americans for so many generations that it 

 would seem futile to attempt to solve them now. Let us 

 rather look upon the bright side of the picture, that of a 

 boy acquiring at an early age a taste for an exercise 

 which is healthful, entertaining and productive, which 

 begets skill, determination and vigor and which, from 

 its effect upon the development of his character, doubt- 

 less contributed in no small measure to the greatness of 

 the man. The fact that after all it was a phantom cherry 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN SPLITTING FENCE RAILS 



