WESTEEN YELLOW PINE IN OREGON. 33 



pine falls heavily in open woods and is rather brittle, so that the 

 breakage is bad unless the ground is smooth and care is taken by 

 the felling crew to prevent crossing. The feUing and bucking are 

 done very commonly by contract, 70 cents per tree being now (1915) 

 the usual price for these operations. 



Usually the logs are first "bunched" or '^ skidded" with a team of 

 horses and a pair of tongs, or with a team and a spool cart or a sled 

 " go-devil," these methods being used for distances less than one-eighth 

 of a mile except on a downhill pull, where they may be practicable for a 

 quarter-mile haul. In case the distance is short the logs are brought 

 directly to the railroad 'landings" by one of these methods. Other- 

 wise they are transported from the "bunches ' ' to the mill or pond, or to 

 the raHroad, on four-wheeled trucks, or with "high " wheels. (See PI. 

 YL.) In practically every large yellow-pine operation in the State log- 

 ging railroads are being used for carrying the logs from the points that 

 can be reached economically by horses to their final destination at the 

 miU. In some small operations the logs are hauled on trucks 2 

 miles or so, but where raihoads are used the spurs are usually con- 

 structed so frequently that a haul with horses of over one-quarter 

 mile willnot be necessary for any considerable body of timber. In 

 a few operations, where raihoad construction is not feasible, a traction 

 engine is being used to haul great wagonloads of logs for considerable 

 distances along country roads from the woods to the mill. 



Most of the yeUow-pine timber in Oregon which is now being 

 exploited and in which logging is likely to be carried on in the next 

 few years is ideal for horse and raihoad logging. The timber is of a 

 size convenient for handling, the topography is ordinarily not too 

 rugged nor the ground too rough, and the forest is open and fairly 

 free of underbrush, so that little swamping is necessary. The 

 climate and snow conditions are such that horse logging may be 

 conducted nearly throughout the year in most parts of the yeUow- 

 pino region, though fewer operations are in progress during the winter. 

 In a few instances logging yeUow pine with steam skidders or with 

 steam donkeys has been tried, but these methods have in some 

 instances been unprofitable and do not seem to be coming into 

 general use except on ground too steep for horses. In certain kinds 

 of topography steam donkey logging is practicable where horse 

 logging would be out of the question. River driving of yellow pine 

 is practically not done at all in this State, and probably never will 

 be to any large extent because of the scarcity of suitable streams. 

 Klamath Lake is used as a waterway across which logs are towed 

 from the woods to the mills. 



The cost of logging yeUow pine varies greatly with the local con- 

 diticms — length of haul, lay of the ground, character and density of 

 the timber, wage scale, efficiency of lul)()r, o,ic. The following figures 



