CLEARING THE FEf.LIXG-AlIEA. 275 



within easy reach of the timber-purchasers' carts, or other 

 modes of transport, and so that the neighbouring woods may be 

 liable to the least possible amount of injury in both the clearance 

 and transport of the material ; it must also be in an open, airy 

 or at least dry position, and should offer sufficient room for the 

 different classes of material to be arranged conveniently for 

 inspection by intending purchasers and by the forest staff. 

 V/herever the logs have been barked, the depot should also be 

 shady, so that cracking may be avoided. 



In plains, or moderately low mountain-ranges, the material is 

 usually brought to the nearest road, or where this is not broad 

 enough, into the forest bordering the road, including the ditches. 

 Blanks on the felling-area, or, in the clear-cutting system the 

 felling-area itself, may be used as a depot, if there is no 

 immediate necessity for restocking them. 



In higher mountain-ranges all the material from a felling-area 

 must be brought down into the valleys, to the top of a slide, or 

 to the banks of a stream. This is usually done whilst the 

 timber-work is proceeding. 



The depot should be dry and exposed to the air. This, how- 

 ever, is not always attainable ; but the wood should not in 

 nny case be left lying in damp hollows, or other places which 

 retard its drying. Wherever great numbers of trees are felled 

 yearly, it is in the interest of the forest-owner to set-aside 

 permanent timber depots for the reception of the material from 

 felling-areas, and to place the logs on supports keeping them 

 from contact with the damp ground, 



4. Material to he Ilemored. 



In general, all wood should be removed from the felling-area, 

 the sale of which would at least cover the cost of removal, when 

 only the simple means at the disposal of the woodcutters are 

 used. 



All firewood and the smaller kinds of agricultural wood should 

 always be removed before sale ; whether, or not, this should be 

 the case with the larger logs and butts depends chiefly on the 

 nature of the ground. If the felling-area is nearly level, it is 

 easy for the purchasers' carts to come up to the stumps of the 



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