FIFTH NATIONAI, CONSERVATION CONGRESS 309 



this data is not already available. The estimate should be by species, preferably 

 for small units — for instance, by "forties" or even some smaller division. In the 

 Northwest the units are sometimes as small as ten acres. Embodied in this re- 

 port should be data on soil, bottom, undergrowth, and general topography and, if 

 water transport is to be used, a statement in regard to the driving possibilities of 

 the various streams traversing the tract. 



It is very desirable at some period prior to commencing operations that 

 data should be collected and placed in the hands of the manager, covering the 

 "logging chance" in various parts of the tract; the proposed division of the area 

 into logging units ; the character of the improvements required ; the outlet for the 

 timber, and the best method of logging to pursue. The latter is of great impor- 

 tance, especially in a new region. Foremen, to a large extent, are responsible 

 for the details of the logging methods, although their knowledge is often limited 

 to the practice in a restricted region. There is no single method that is best for 

 all conditions in a given section. On single operations it may often be profitable 

 to employ various methods, especially where a variety of conditions exist. While 

 experience may be a good teacher, it is often cheaper to profit by the experience 

 of others, especially in logging work. For this reason it is very desirable that 

 the management have at hand complete data on the problems to be met in order 

 that suitable provision may be made for solving them. The manager by the aid 

 of the maps and the suggested data can gain a comprehensive idea of the prob- 

 lems surrounding the harvesting of timber, the mileage of sled, wagon, or rail- 

 road that must be built, and the area that must be cut over to secure a given an- 

 nual output, etc. In other words, he has in writing and on maps what many 

 lumbermen permit their woodmen to carry in their heads — data which is usually 

 lost if the company is deprived of the services of such men. 



The exact form in which these reports should be submitted is open to argu- 

 ment, since there are many different opinions on the subject. It is thought best to 

 leave the details of method to be worked out by each company in accordance 

 with the particular conditions it has to meet. 



Records. — Loggers, as a rule, do not regard the preparation of records re- 

 garding their work of great value, except in the case of operating costs — a record 

 of money spent. Records of this character are of value in comparing the costs 

 incurred from year to year, but they are of comparatively little value in deter- 

 mining whether the actual costs are greater than they should be, except when 

 greatly in excess of those incurred for similar work during some previous year. 



One operator, who for years has been developing his method of keeping 

 records, bases his system on three lines of thought, namely : 



1. Planning the work. — The Budget. 



2. Recording the results of work performed. — Accounting. 



3. The compilation of the data and experience gained in carrying out the 



work. This provides a basis on which new methods and principles 

 may be founded. 



The object of the budget is to reduce loose plans and crude guesses to a 

 scientific basis and to eliminate as nearly as possible the element of chance. Bud- 



