68 THI PRINCIPLES OF HANDLING WOODLANDS 



the cost of logging per unit of volume is increased. As 

 a matter of fact, most of the merchantable trees left stand- 

 ing are small, and the profit from them is insignificant. 

 Often there is no profit from them at all, or there may 

 even be actual loss in logging them. Thus the increase 

 in cost of logging under the selection system is so slight 

 that it may practically be disregarded. 



Lumbermen usually contend that the trouble to the 

 choppers in looking for marked trees adds to cost. As 

 soon as the crews become accustomed to the work, there 

 is no increased cost due to this cause. 



2. Cost of Protecting Young Growth. — The felling 

 crew has to be careful not to injure small trees in felling, 

 and the skidding crew must avoid breaking down small 

 trees and barking those of medium growth. A careful 

 chopper does not in any case throw his tree into groups 

 of young growth; and an intelligent swamper always 

 avoids small trees, to save himself needless labor. An 

 unintelligent crew will do a great deal of damage. A 

 careful crew is able to hold down the damage to a mini- 

 mum, without extra cost. 



3. Increased Cost of Construction Work. — Ordinari- 

 ly, a logger uses for skids, building bridges and skidding 

 roads, etc., the straight, well-formed trees of medium 

 growth which happen to be most convenient to his 

 work. These are exactly the trees which the forester 

 would save. If the logger must go to a greater distance 

 to secure this material, and if it is less easily handled, 

 there is a cost which adds to the total cost of lumbering. 



