FELLING TIMBER 307 



Prices for Felling, etc. These are subject to great varia- 

 tion, but the following is perhaps a fair average : 



Felling and rounding-up broad-leaved trees $s. to 75. per 100 ft. 



conifers . . 33. 6d. to 55. per 100 ft. 



Cording (8x4x4) 35. 6d. a cord. 



(16 ft. 4 in. x 2 ft. 6 in. x 2 ft. 2 in.) 2s. 6d. a cord. 

 Faggoting (including withies) . . .33. 6d. to 43. 6d. per 100. 



The best Season for Felling. Generally speaking, felling 

 should be done in late autumn and winter ; for the less sap 

 in the wood, the better for most purposes. Winter felled 

 timber is always stronger and more durable, and shrinks 

 less. However, where timber is sold by weight, as, for 

 instance, pit wood, it should be felled when the sap is in 

 it, provided that the same price per ton can be obtained 

 for it. 



Then again, timber felled in the summer is usually easier 

 to split ; and timber that it is required to steam and bend can 

 be more easily treated when felled with the sap in it. 1 



If timber has to be barked, the felling must, of course, be 

 delayed until the bark will " run." 



In forests of Spruce and Scots Pine, if the Pine weevil 

 {Hylobius abietis] be very much to be feared, it is some- 

 times advisable to fell the trees in the summer, and bark 

 them immediately, but small rings of bark should be left on 

 the stems, so as to minimise the danger of splitting and 

 cracking. 



Barking Trees. 



The barking of timber is now almost confined to Oak 

 trees, the bark of which is used for tanning hides. The 

 bark of most other trees contains tannin; but it is seldom 

 that any bark except Oak is used for tanning in this 

 country. 



Other trees are sometimes barked for special purposes, 

 as, for instance, Alder and Willow, which are going to be 



1 It is very probable that green wood can be more easily impregnated 

 with preservatives than seasoned wood or winter felled wood. But in all 

 such cases where green wood is used, it must be treated immediately after 

 being felled. 



