32 



BULLETIN 711, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



where felled, it is felled upgrade and, as in the case of 

 level ground, into the green timber as far as practical. 

 The aim at all times is to select a spot, or bed, where 

 the bole of the tree will not be broken by the fall and 

 will do no damage to other timber. It is occasionally 

 necessary to make a bed for the large trees by swamp- 

 ing and leveling the ground, or by felling small, inferior 

 species. 



(4) The simplification of the work of cutting the 

 trees into logs. 



(5) The avoidance of lodging one tree in another. 



THE UNDEKCtJT. 



•Fig. 2.— Fall- 

 ing saw. 



A wedge-shaped notch, or undercut, with a horizontal 

 base in most cases, is cut in the trunk of the tree in the 

 direction of fall, to guide the tree and to prevent the 

 bole from splitting before it is completely severed from 

 the stump. The depth of the undercut varies with the 

 size and lean of the tree and the direction it is to be 

 thrown, ranging from one-fifth to one-fourth of the 

 diameter. It is deeper proportionately in small than in 

 large timber. The undercut in trees that lean heavily 

 in the felling direction is made deeper than usual in 

 order to insure a clean break. For example, the under- 

 cut of a perpendicular tree 60 inches in diameter is 

 about 15 inches deep; of a tree, of the same size leaning 

 5 feet, about 24 inches deep; leaning 10 feet, about 30 

 inches deep. In trees' that lean away from the felling 

 direction and require heavy wedging, a smaller under- 

 cut is made in order to increase the power of the 

 wedges. Under the latter condition the undercut may 

 not be made until the felling cut is well in and the 

 wedges started. The undercut is placed from 2 to 4 

 inches below the point at which the felling cut is to be 

 started on the opposite side of the tree. The horizontal 

 cut in most cases is made with a falling saw (fig. 2), 

 the undercut being comjoleted with a falling ax (fig. 3). 

 In relatively small timber both faces of the undrrcut 

 may be made with an, ax. Not infrequently the height 

 of the stumps cut makes the use of springboards (fig. 4) , 

 or some sort of scaffold, necessary when undercutting. 

 Then, too, the fallers prefer to stand on springboards, 

 even when the size of the roots does not make such a 

 contrivance necessary. The ground around trees in the 

 woods is more or less soft and does not give a firm foot- 

 hold. If the ground is sloping, the tendency is for the 



