LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR REGION. 153 



apart, the inner sides being hewed in such a way as to form a trough 

 10 inches wide at the bottom and 30 inches wide at the top. Cross 

 fekids, placed at 10-foot intervals, are used to support the road across 

 depressions, and braces are used to prevent spreading. Where the 

 road is embedded iii the ground skids and braces are not necessary 

 except at the joints. Where possible inferior species are used as con- 

 struction material, the logs being 60 or 70 feet long and from 14 to 30 

 inches in diameter at the top. In some cases a wider road is neces- 

 sary or preferred, making the use of three or more strings of logs 

 necessary. Two logs are placed in much the same way as above, 

 and a third log embedded in the gi'ound between them. The outside 

 logs are from 14 to 30 inches in diameter at the top, the bottom log 

 a little smaller. . 



The labor cost per linear foot for these improvements ranges from 

 $0.25 to $0.50 for a pole road, and from $0.50 to $0.75 "f or a chute 

 road. One operator is of the opinion that pole roads can be con- 

 structed at a labor cost of $0.30 per linear foot; chutes at a labor 

 cost of $0.50 per linear foot. In one case the labor cost of building 

 1.000 feet of pole road amounted to $250, which is at the rate of $0.25 

 per linear foot. The road was constructed on steep, side-hill ground 

 and consisted of two strings of logs. Two small canyons had to be 

 crossed, which required two spans of 100 feet each. Two logging 

 engines, working toward each other, were used, the time required to 

 complete the stretch of road amounting to six days. 



COST. 



It is not practicable to deal with the cost of roading per thousand 

 feet except in a very general way, since the work is carried on under 

 so many different conditions. 



Labor cost. — ^A road-engine crew is usually made up of an engineer, 

 fireman, wood buck, chaser, and grab man. When the roading engine 

 is hauling from two yarding engines, an additional grab man is 

 employed. The wages paid the crew are discussed under "ground 

 yarding." 



The average operating labor cost per thousand feet ranges from 

 10 to 50 cents, depending for the most part on the amount of timber 

 transported over the road to the landing and on the number of road- 

 ing engine crews used. To illustrate the effects of natural conditions 

 on roading costs, the following hypothetical statement is given. It 

 is based on the assumption that a road engine is hauling 3,000 feet, 

 that the output of two yarding engines is hauled to the landing, and 

 that the output of the yarding engines varies with the size of the 

 timber. 



