622 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



been forced to yield to brain. Not only 

 has the Pacific Coast developed a log- 

 ging system indigenous to itself, with 

 the application of steam, but it has gone 

 a step further and has begun to employ 

 the white coal of commerce electric- 

 ity in its operations. An elimination 

 of the fire hazard ; a reduction in fuel 

 costs, and a surcease from engine water 

 troubles are some of the advantages to 

 be gained through the substitution of 

 electricity for steam. 



With the modernizing of equipment 

 comes the vital need for a more tech- 

 nical knowledge on the part of the men. 

 It was considered quite a step from an 

 ox team to a logging locomotive (yet 

 a knowledge of steam was not uncom- 

 mon) ; it was a greater step to the utili- 

 zation of an electric motor in log 

 haulage. 



Compressed air and hydraulic en- 

 gines to lower logs down the steep 

 mountain sides, for distances up to 3500 

 feet and over, have come into use. Here 

 again the broader knowledge of me- 

 chanical engineering in its varied phases, 

 at once becomes a necessitv. As an in- 



stance in the use of a steam lowering 

 rig whereby logs are lowered 8600 feet 

 on a grade approximately 77 per cent, 

 at the plant of the Yosemite Lumber 

 Company, Merced, California, gives a 

 vivid and concrete idea of some of the 

 difficulties which must be overcome in 

 successfully handling coast logging op- 

 erations. 



A knowledge of civil engineering that 

 makes possible an accurate topographi- 

 cal survey by which the proper location 

 of the roads is determined before com- 

 mencing operations, involves more than 

 a rudimentary knowledge of surveying. 

 We have now reached a stage where 

 relief maps in plaster of Paris, showing 

 the topography of the country, are now 

 employed in definitely determining the 

 laying out of the operation. 



This knowledge of mechanical and 

 civil engineering must necessarily be 

 combined in one individual before he 

 can successfully lay claim to the title of 

 a logging engineer. 



With the broadening of knowledge 

 incidental to the modern complicated 

 logging operation has been brought 



LOG SUSPENDED EN ROUTE TO THE LANDING. 



