LUMBERING IN PINE REGION OF CALIFORNIA. 67 



of the pond. The crew consists of eight men, one of whom poles 

 logs io the jack-works. The monthly labor cost is about $630, or 

 11 cents per 1,000, of which about 3 cents is chargeable to unload- 

 ing. At one other large pond, where the logs are unloaded on the 

 opposite side of the pond from the mill, the cost of picking up sinkers 

 and storing logs is calculated for a season's run at 5 cents per 1,000, 

 and dehvering to the log slip at 4 cents per 1,000. 



SAWMILLS. 



Strictly speaking, the work in a sawmill is confined to sawing, 

 which includes all activities from the removal of the logs from the 

 pond to the delivery of rough lumber for sorting at the rear of the 

 mill. Sorting lumber is in the transition zone between sawmill and 

 yard. For convenience it will be considered as part of the milling 

 operation, together with the sawing. 



So far, the practice in this region is to construct the sa^wmill as 

 close as possible to the timber. Small mills are almost invariably 

 located in the lower part of the logging unit. When the unit is cut 

 out the mill can then be moved to a new site. For large mills the 

 site must be accessible to enough timber for a run of sufficient length 

 to warrant the mill investment, say, from 15 to 25 years. In addition 

 to accessibihty from the logging operations, there are several other 

 factors which ajffect the practicability of any site. There must be 

 space for a log pond and a sufficient water supply. There must also 

 be room for the sawmill, the sawmill camp, and the lumber yard. 

 Further, the chmate should be stiited to air drying of lumber, and 

 there should be transportation facilities for the lumber. 



Lack of cheap water or railroad transportation for logs has made 

 it advisable to place large roiUs on the nearest permanent site to the 

 logging operations. 



Most mills in the Sierras are a long distance from trunk-hne rail- 

 roads, and a lumber railroad or flume is necessary. The drying yards 

 and finishing plants are commonly located at the lower terminals of 

 these railroads or flumes, because drying and handling conditions are 

 better there. The location of a sawmill in the valley or in a fair- 

 sized town gives an advantage in the disposal of by-products which 

 would not othei-wise bo utilized. However, und(U' present conditions 

 this advantage is not consixlen^d by operators as of sufficient weight 

 to offset the necessity of transporting logs for considerabl(>. distanc(^s. 

 As mill utilization improves in the futur(^, this condition may change 

 and the location of mills nearer centers of population be found profit- 

 able in many instances. 



The present closo comieeiion between sawmills niul logging opera- 

 tions results in joint ownership and nianag(anenl, of the two tlu-ough- 

 out the regioj). "^Hms, llu! size; of a mill is dosdy rdatinl to th<' <"\tent 



