I902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



211 



tains. Its southern end is near the vil- 

 lage of North Woodstock, about a mile 

 from which are situated the firm's saw 

 and pulp mills. From this point their 

 land runs in a northerly direction, well 

 up to Mt. Washington and the Presi- 

 dential Range, comprising in all about 

 130,000 acres. 



As the branch of the Pemigewasset 

 River was not drivable, a broad-gage 

 railroad was built to haul out the tim- 

 ber. The road follows the stream until 

 three miles from the mill, where it 

 branches out so as to cover the country 

 known as the " East Wilderness." A 

 triangular valley is surrounded by 

 mountains, and it is on these slopes 

 that the present lumbering is going on. 

 The railroad is joined by the main 

 hauling roads. These roads are re- 

 markable for their average excellence. 

 Mr. Henry believes that it is wise econ- 

 omy to put more money into roads and 

 save in horseflesh. These roads are from 

 8 to 10 feet in width, and often show a 

 cut and fill of over 6 feet. The impor- 

 tant roads are built during the summer. 

 These are more expensive than winter 

 roads, but a road built in winter is use- 

 less as soon as the snow melts. They 

 cost from $1.50 to $2.18 a rod. The 



sununer work makes swamping cost 

 higher and requires more blasting and 

 leveling. The upper portion of the 

 main hauling road, however, is usually 

 completed in winter. The cost runs 

 from $0.73 to $1.50 per rod. Swamp- 

 ing is less thorough, and the stumps 

 and rocks can be skidded over without 

 the need of removal. The spruce tops 

 are piled against the side logs and side 

 posts, and thus little or no cut and filling 

 is necessary. The duty of marking 

 where the road shall be run is left to 

 the foreman of the swamping gang. 

 At present the system of marking is to 

 blaze the lower side posts and run the 

 road above the blazed line. Skidding, 

 placing of stringers and slew skids 

 (which are necessary to slew the logs 

 on short steep turns) is also left to the 

 foreman. To prevent drifting during 

 the winter months, groups of spruce are 

 left to windward of the exposed stretches 

 of road. These, it is believed, save 

 much by the protection they afford the 

 hauling surface. 



The care of the roads during the haul- 

 ing season is an important consideration. 

 As a rule, one road-tender is required 

 for 50 rods of road. Practically his onl}' 

 duty is to keep his stretch of road grav- 



I^UMBER AND LUMBERED L.-VND, NORTH WOODSTOCK, N. H. 



