234 FELLING AND CONVERSION. 



next point is, tbcrcfore, to decide where the top should be cut ; 

 as a rule, this should be wherever there is a marked fallin<,'- 

 off in size, or a chan^'e of shape, in the stem — wherever, in fact, 

 the top of the stem may be utilized differently from its lower 

 portion. 



By leaving,' a piece of wood at the end of a lo^' which does not 

 accord well with it the value of the latter is not increased, for the 

 purchaser always excludes this piece from his estimate. If, how- 

 ever, the forest owner cuts off such a piece, it will at any rate be 

 utilizable as firewood, and in the case of oak may be used as a 

 railway-sleeper or <,'ate-post, the value of which would not be 

 considered by a purchaser of the bole. 



Straif^ht, lonfi: pieces which are chiefly coniferous need nof, after 

 removal of their end-pieces, be further shortened, and this is also 

 the case with sound oakwood, even if not quite straij^'ht. In 

 such cases, the lon<(er the lo*? the more valuable it will be. But 

 as regards coniferous wood further consideration is necessary. 

 Logs are sometimes sold by length and a fixed minimum diameter 

 of their smaller ends, and this should be the universal rule with 

 coniferous timber. In such cases, the best place for removing 

 the end of a log is where the small-end diameter approaches as 

 nearly as possilde to the minimum admissible. This is rarely 

 less than G inches for logs, and it may be laid-dowu as a general 

 rule, that the small-end diameter of a log should be one-third of 

 that at its base. 



In the case of trees from coppice-with-standards the crown 

 usually contains most of the wood, and the stem must often be 

 cut much shorter than its entire length. 



(y) Demands of the Market. — There are districts where long 

 logs are not in demand, but butts for sawmills are preferred, and 

 the finest spruce-logs are cut into suitable lengths for the 

 neighbouring sawmills ; where fine, straight oak stems must be 

 cut into short lengths for staves, and so on. In other districts 

 long logs are required for floating. In such cases, the custom of 

 the trade must be followed in converting the timber. It should 

 also be considered whether, or not, the customs of the market are 

 stable, the former being frequently the case in districts richly 

 supplied with sawmills, and more so with coniferous than with 

 broad-leaved wood. In other cases, and especially with oak- 



