130 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



March 



half of the gutter may have too much 

 slope, and upon the formation of the 

 scrape in it the resin from a fresh chip- 

 ping will run over the outer edge and 

 be wasted. Two men are usually able 

 to cut about 3,000 faces per day. 



Two inspectors, one for the ax- work 

 and one for the gutter- work, are re- 

 quired. Tallying the faces is unneces- 

 sary, as an accurate record of these can 

 be kept from the number of crates of 

 cups used. 



On Boxed Timber. The six laborers 

 with the cornering axes are unnecessary 

 in applying this system to boxed tim- 

 ber, as the chipping of the previous sea- 

 son furnishes the required flat faces. 

 The remainder of the work is therefore 

 the same as on virgin or unboxed 

 timber. 



Whether the cup system is applied to 

 virgin or to boxed timber, the best labor 

 available should be assigned to the axes. 

 If that work is well done, there will be 

 no difficulty with the rest. 



The following descriptions give in de- 

 tail the essential features of the cups and 

 gutters required by the new system: 



CUPS. 



The cups used are of clay and are 

 similar to flower pots. The form rec- 

 ommended is shown in Fig. i , and has 

 the following dimensions : 



Inches. 



Top diameter inside. . 5^ 



Bottom diameter inside. . 3^ 



Depth 7 " 



Rim deep . . 2 



The bottom should be oval inside and 

 flat outside and the side walls one-fourth 

 of an inch thick. A nail-hole half an 

 inch in diameter should be placed half 

 an inch from the top of the rim. This 

 cup has the same capacity as the stand- 

 ard box. 



GUTTKRS. 



On account of the variable size of 

 trees, and consequently of the width of 

 the faces, it is best to purchase the 

 gutter iron in long strips 2 inches wide, 

 which can be subsequently cut into the 

 desired lengths. For this purpose a 

 pair of No. 8 tinner's snips can be used, 

 but care should be taken to avoid turn- 



ing the corner of the iron where the cut 

 is first made. One thousand and eighty- 

 six pounds of No. 29 or 2,050 pounds 

 of No. 28 gage galvanized sheet iron 

 will furnish gutters for one crop of 

 10,500 cups. The gutters commonly 

 needed range from 6 to 1 2 inches long. 

 After the iron is cut to the proper 

 lengths, it is necessary to bend each 

 piece to an angle of about 120 along 

 its full length (Fig. 3). No expensive 

 apparatus is needed for this bending ; a 

 simple wooden machine (Fig. 2), cost- 

 ing about 50 cents to make, is sufficient. 

 In operating this device the flat piece 

 of gutter iron is dropped into the nar- 

 row slit (A), and the handle (B) is 

 pulled forward until the motion is 

 stopped by the beveled edge (C). The 

 bent gutter is then removed. A few 

 minutes' practice enables a boy to bend 

 from 20 to 25 gutters per minute. 



Gutter Boxes. The gutters (6 to 12 

 inches long) are carried by the gutter- 

 men in boxes made with sloping sides 

 and partitioned for the different lengths. 



Placing the Gutters. The following 

 precautions should be carefully observed 

 in placing the gutters : 



(i.) The gutter must pass into the 

 wood throughout the whole width of 

 the face, otherwise there will be a leak- 

 age of resin behind it. 



(2.) The upper and lower gutters 

 must be at least i inch apart at their 

 inner ends on the angle of the faces, so 

 that there shall be no choking by the 

 accumulated scrape. 



(3.) The inner end of the upper gutter 

 should come to the angle at the middle 

 of the faces and project not more than 

 one-quarter of an inch beyond it. 



(4.) It is absolutely essential to the 

 successful working of the apparatus that 

 the lower gutter form a spout by extend- 

 ing about \y<z inches beyond the angle 

 at the middle of the faces. 



(5. ) Both gutters must be pushed 

 deep into the wood at the angle of the 

 faces. 



TOOLS. 



Cornering Ax. This ax, common on 

 all turpentine places, is the best tool for 

 cutting the flat faces for the gutters on 

 virgin timber. 



