•2Ui FELLING AND CONVERSION. 



but, provided rules i. and ii. are observed, into siicb a posiiion 

 tbut its removal may be easily effected. 



Long stems are most easily removed downhill, when they 

 lie along the slope of the hill with their thicker ends downwards, 

 and this position is secured by throwing them ui)hill. 



iv. During a strong gale, felling operations must be suspended. 



This should be attended to, at any rate, wherever the direction 

 in which the trees will fall is of importance, for the woodcutters 

 are then no longer able to guide the trees. 



The wind is the woodcutter's worst enemy, and it is usually 

 during a gale, which prevents the men from hearing what is 

 going on around them, that most felling accidents happen. In 

 felling a tree, the woodcutter is safest near the stump and at 

 right angles to the direction in which the tree will fall ; the 

 most dangerous place in felling uphill is behind the stump, as 

 already explained, especially in the case of crooked trees. 



V. Great care must be taken that no trees intended to form a 

 shelter-wood, or otherwise not to be felled, are injured by the 

 fall of the trees marked for felling. 



If such an accident should happen, a few marked trees should 

 be left unfelled from which the forest manager may choose 

 substitutes for those injured. This should also be done in case 

 windfall or theft has removed any of the selected shelter-trees. 

 Poles or saplings bent by the felling should, if possible, be set 

 straight, or if too much injured for that, should be cut-back 

 level with the ground, with a sharp instrument. 



Whenever a tree falls out of the proper direction, it fre- 

 quently happens that it rests or remains hanging on another 

 tree. Such a tree may usually be brought to the ground, by cutting 

 it away from its stump, to which it is often still attached in 

 such cases ; or one or two short logs may be cut away from its 

 base ; or use may be made of the screw-jack to release it. If, 

 however, no other means of releasing it are available, a man 

 must climb the trees on which it is resting and lop oil" the 

 branches which impede its fall. 



