14 BULLETIN 234, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



ties over 25 feet high, the highest being 72 feet and the longest 

 775 feet, and 20 rock cuts from 8 to 20 feet deep. The minimum 

 grade is one-half of 1 per cent and the maximum 12^- per cent. The 

 sharpest curve is 20°. The flume carries from 200 to 800 inches of 

 water, the supply of which is maintained by frequent feeders from 

 small streams along its length. It can handle stulls up to 18 inches 

 in diameter and poles up to 30 feet long, and has a capacity of about 

 1,800 stulls, 2,200 converter poles, 6,000 lagging poles, or 170 cords 

 of wood in 10 hours. It is operated on the average for about 170 

 days each year. Operation costs, including rolling in, tending, and 

 loading the material on cars at the dump, amount to $90 a day, to 

 which must be added $70 a day for depreciation and maintenance. 

 The secondary flumes have 18-inch sides, and the largest stull han- 

 dled is 15 inches in diameter. They are more lightly built than the 

 main flume, with about 33,000 board feet of lumber per mile, and 

 cost about $1,500 per mile. 



A similar V-shaped flume, 25 miles long, has been used for the last 

 7 years on the Bighorn National Forest for transporting ties, props, 

 and logs from the woods to the mill and railroad. The larger logs 

 are slabbed in a small sawmill at the head of the flume before being 

 sent down. 



MILLING. 



Sawmill equipment used in lodgepole-pine operations does not differ 

 from the usual type employed in the Rocky Mountains. Most of the 

 lumber is cut by small mills, with a daily capacity of from 10,000 to 

 20,000 board feet, equipped with a single circular head saw, edger, 

 trimmer, and sometimes a planer. In the few larger mills which cut 

 lodgepole pine, band re-saws are used in conjunction with a circular 

 head saw, and in addition, there is the usual equipment for making 

 lath, flooring, siding, and other classes of finished lumber. In nearly 

 all operations some sawed ties are turned out by the mill in addition 

 to the hewed ties made in the woods. 



COSTS AND SELLING PRICES. 



The cost of producing lodgepole-pine lumber, ties, and props varies 

 widely with topography, the character of the stand, and the size and 

 efficiency of the operation. An idea of the probable expense incident 

 to a lodgepole-pine operation can be best obtained from a statement 

 of the average range of cost under various conditions, together with 

 definite figures for a few specific operations. The range of cost for 

 lumber, ties, and props in Wyoming and Colorado, under ordinary 

 logging conditions and distances to market, is shown in Table 8. 

 The cost of stumpage and such overhead charges as depreciation, 

 taxes, insurance, and selling are not included, since these must be 

 calculated for each individual case. 



