662 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



tree, rooted only in the mind of the historian, should not 

 be permitted to detract from the usefulness of so valuable 

 a legend for mankind. 



As a sport, tree felling presents every gradation, for 

 the beginner may choose a sapling and work up to 

 trees of the largest growth, and he may, as he acquires 

 the true art of the game, select trees of increasing hard- 

 ness, until the experienced chopper can almost tell with 

 his eyes closed upon what manner of wood his ax strikes. 

 Into the basswood, for instance, the blade sinks as read- 

 ily almost as a knife into a hardened cheese, and the 

 broad-leaved poplar is al- 

 most as soft. But let the 

 novice beware of the iron- 

 wood and yellow birch, 

 and stand well from under, 

 for a glancing blow may 

 easily recoil upon the chop- 

 per. There is interest, too, 

 in making progress with 

 the size of the chips and 

 keeping the advancing cut 

 smooth and even. What 

 a pleasure it is to watch 

 the experienced woodsmen 

 attack a large chestnut 

 with unerring precision, 

 sending chips six or eight 

 inches long flying many 

 feet off from the stem. Not 

 a stroke of the ringing 

 blows is wasted and the 

 incision is kept as clean as 

 if made by a saw, until the 

 giant begins to quiver, then 

 to sway, and with gather- 

 ing momentum finally goes 

 down between its fellows, 

 cracking and crashing un- 

 til it strikes the earth with 

 a mighty thud, the butt 

 bounding up again in final 

 protest at its fate. To do 

 this gives one an exciting 

 sense of power and achieve- 

 ment well worth the energy 

 which it costs. 



Most of the professional 

 or commercial tree felling is done in winter when the 

 felling of the tree is not hampered by leaves ; the wood 

 is dry and hard, being free from sap, and the covering of 

 snow makes it easier to haul out the timber. But for 

 the amateur sportsman vacation time is usually in mid- 

 summer when the flow of sap makes conditions quite 

 different and more skill is required to prevent the leafy 

 branches from becoming entangled and preventing a 

 clear fall. In thickly studded growths a dislodged but 

 still standing tall tree may have to be recut part way 

 along the butt, a process often difficult and hazardous. 



PRESIDENT HARDING CAN WIELD AN AX 



The wood is more fragrant in the summer and no small 

 part of the pleasure of the sport is in developing the 

 resinous, aromatic odors of such trees as freshly cut pine 

 or cedar or the fragrance of the chips from birch and 

 other trees. The color, too, of the fresh chips presents 

 great variety, from the almost pure white of the bass- 

 wood and faint yellow white of the canoe birch through 

 the brown shades of chestnut and oak to the red of the 

 cedar and fascinating shades of green and orange in a 

 giant sumac. 



The tree sportsman learns to be as critical of his axes 



as the golfer of his clubs, 

 for a poor selection of im- 

 plements readily spoils the 

 game and dullness or 

 breaking may be a source 

 of real danger. The weight 

 and balance of the haft, 

 and the length, curve and 

 tension of the handle must 

 all be carefully considered 

 to yield the best results. 



Where may the amateur 

 obtain the trees for his 

 sport? In a true arcadia of 

 course everyone should 

 have his own "back wood 

 lot" where he can enjoy 

 the pride of cutting his 

 own trees and doing as he 

 will with them. But any 

 farmer will readily grant 

 the privilege to an enthu- 

 siast of cutting in his woods 

 under direction. He is al- 

 ways glad of more firewood 

 and every wood lot can be 

 benefitted by "improve- 

 ment cuttings," to use the 

 forester's term. There are 

 always dead trees to be re- 

 moved, and always crooked 

 or deformed trees, or trees 

 which are crowding others 

 and interfering with their 

 growth, and it decidedly 

 enhances the value of the 

 property to have them cut 

 down. It would be an interesting experiment to have 

 the members of a golf club adjourn en toutes some fine 

 Sunday morning into a nearby wood lot and measure the 

 equivalent of the strokes for 36 holes as applied to pro- 

 ducing cordwood! The caddies could be released for 

 Sunday School and the woods would re-echo with "fore" 

 as a warning to get out from under when the trees fell 1 

 Although somewhat different vocabulary otherwise would 

 be required, prowess might still be the subject of boast- 

 ing and the results in exercise would be quite similar in 

 forest and in fair green. Thirty-six well directed 



