CROSS TIES 



277 



The above are minimum dimensions. Ties over i in. more in thickness, over 3 in. 

 more in width, or over 2 in. more in length will be degraded or rejected. 



The top of the tie is the plane farthest from the pith of the tree, whether or not the 

 pith is present in the tie. 



MAKING AND DELIVERY TO MARKET 

 General. 



The hewing of ties is done either by owners of small holdings, such as 

 woodlots, or by contractors who buy stumpage by the acre or area or still 

 more commonly by the tie. Throughout the country the work is usually 

 done between October ist and April ist, both because many of the rail- 

 roads require in their specifications that the timber be cut during that 

 period and because other work is less active in the fall and winter. Then, 

 too, hauling can usually be done more cheaply in the winter, especially 

 with snow or the ground. On many of the larger logging operations, tie 

 cutters follow up the work after the saw logs are removed and hew the 

 ties from the remaining tops, smaller trees of insufficient size for saw logs 

 and cull trees too defective, knotty or crooked to make good lumber. 

 In the woodlots of the East and central hardwood region, many farmers 

 look upon the getting out of a few hundred ties during the winter as a 

 regular source of employment and income. 



Stumpage. 



As in the case in all timber values expressed as stumpage, the value of 

 ties in the tree varies with their kind and quality, accessibility and dif- 

 ficulty of logging and transportation to market. The following stumpage 

 values are those which prevailed prior to 1917: 



