52 BULLETIN 711, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUKE. 



There is no rule governing the length of time a saw, falling or 

 backing, shonld be used before it is refitted. The time depends to a 

 great extent on those using the saw, also the chance it is used in. 

 Sometimes it is filed every day. Possibly both classes of saws are 

 filed every one and one-half daj^s on the average. 



In addition to fitting the saws used by the regular f allers and buck- 

 ers, the filer fits the saws used by the wood buckers employed with the 

 yarding, loading, chunking-out, and scraper donkey crews. 



COST OF SPECIFIC CASES, 



The following gives the cost of felling and bucking at several 

 camps. They are tj-pical of most of the conditions in the region. 



(1) Cost of felling and bucking on the west foothills of the Cas- 

 cades in Oregon in 1911. 



The topography was rather rough, both in major and in minor 

 features. Slopes of from 30 to TO per cent were not uncommon. 

 Much of the area would be considered a fair chance. 



The timber consisted of a heavy stand of very defective' Douglas 

 fir in mixture with a small percentage of hemlock and cedar. Out of 

 a gross stand of 80,000 feet or more per acre only about 50,000 was 

 hauled out. The logs averaged about 1,400 feet in volume. 



For a long time the company allowed the foreman or fallers to 

 decide, from their general appearance, what trees it would pa}- to 

 fell. This resulted in a large proportion of the stands being left 

 unfelled, the amount ranging from practically nothing on some 

 acres to 30,000 feet or more on others. The leaving of so much tim- 

 ber seemed like waste to some of the members of the company, and 

 cleaner cutting was tried. Some areas were cut over the second time, 

 and the timber proved to be nearly as sound as that secured at the 

 first cutting. The management now feels that it is impossible to 

 determine which of the timber should be utilized without felling and 

 bucking practically all of it, and this is the policy they are now 

 following. 



The cost per thousand feet in the year 1911, when practically every- 

 thing was felled, wns as follows: 



Felling, labor ^ .$0. 4.37 



Bucking, labor .499 



Supplies and equipment .0.30 



Total cost .966 



This cost is based on the mill scale, which was close to the lumber 

 tally. It includes the wages of the filer, scaler, and marker. The 

 fallers were paid from $0.15 to $0.17 per thousand feet for felling, 

 the bucker from $0.15 to $0.21 per thousand feet for bucking, regard- 

 less of whether the logs were sound or not. 



