14 BULLETIN 272,, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGBICULTUBE. 



feet, the value of the short-log section left is $0.64, or about 15 cents 

 more than is paid on an average for felling and cutting the trees where 

 the cypress runs good size. The wood left in a similar stump 3 feet 

 in diameter at the top gives a waste of about 33 cents per tree. If 

 operators would spend a few minutes in figuring the total value of the 

 timber left in stumps above a 3-foot maximum many would, in all 

 likelihood, revise their system of cutting. 



MILLING. 



Large-sized mills are the rule in the cypress industry. Many mills 

 average daily runs of from 80,000 to 100,000 board feet. The larger 

 mills in Florida and Louisiana turn out on an average up to 200,000 

 feet daily, and a few cut as much as 275,000 feet by using two double- 

 cutter band mills and resaws. With the exception of a few inland 

 swamp districts, the majority of cypress mills are located with refer- 

 ence to convenience in the transportation of either logs or lumber, 

 or both, by water. Logs are rafted to the mill through lakes, bayous, 

 and sometimes artificial canals, for distances of from 50 to 125 miles. 

 The typical mill is equipped with a double band saw, shingle and lath 

 mills, up-to-date planing mill, dry kilns, and a lumber yard of 

 unusually large size. Nearly all use pond storage, and many have 

 complete dry-log yard equipment in addition as a provision against 

 irregularities in girdling and logging during extended high-water 

 periods. Ordinary labor is usually paid for by the day, and the more 

 expert by the month or year. In the highest form of organized 

 manufacture the entire manufacturing operation from the standing 

 tree to the loaded car, with a few minor exceptions, is done under 

 contract at a stipulated price per 1,000 feet. 



WASTE IN MILLING. 



In mill practice, complete utilization is the rule rather than the 

 exception. The products of the ordinary mill are lumber, lath, and 

 shingles, and a great variety of planing-mill products. The refuse 

 burner gets little of the sound timber except small trimmings and 

 sawdust, but a good deal of trash in advanced stages of decay. 

 Because of the large number of standard short lengths and the strong 

 demand, slabs are worked closely for lumber, and the remainder is 

 sent along with the trimmings into the secondary mills, producing 

 shingles, lath, pickets, etc. In younger cypress, where the butt 

 swell is prominent, butt logs furnish a large amount of such material, 

 and all is in excess of the log scale. Pieces down to 4 inches in width 

 by 12 inches in length are utilized for tubs, buckets, washing ma- 

 chines, etc. Planing-mill orders include a great variety of small 

 sizes for special uses in contact with water. There is still opportunity 

 for considerable improvement hi the utilization of small-sized waste 

 on the part of many operators in cypress. 



