FELLING. 97 



fairly dry weather in which to complete their work. Cleanings and 

 early thinnings, in which the poles are cut as they are selected, must 

 of course be effected while the forest is in full leaf. 



The season when alone floating is practicable fixes the period 

 within which wood that is to be removed by water must be cut. 

 The condition of the market may also exercise a determining in- 

 fluence. For instance, purchasers who require a certain class of 

 fresh-cut produce may offer themselves only at a certain time of 

 the year. 



Lastly, when the trees are to be removed by the roots, the work 

 must be undertaken while the soil is still sufficiently moist to be 

 easily dug. 



The general conclusion to be drawn from what precedes is that 

 the period for felling will always vary with the locality and climate 

 and with the purpose to be served ; but, as a general rule, in the 

 higher Himalayas, where heavy snow falls and lies, it will com- 

 prise the spring and early part of summer, while elsewhere it will 

 extend over the cooler portion of the season of rest. 



(2). Season for conversion. 



As a rule, the limited amount of conversion to which wood is 

 subjected in the forest is efiFected pari passu with the felling 

 operations, as such an arrangement economises labour and super- 

 vision, and every kind of conversion is effected most easily 

 while the wood is green. But it may happen that the time in which 

 the coupe must be cleared does not allow of the work being com- 

 pleted, and in this case only the roughest kind of conversion is 

 permissible before the produce is removed to the nearest special 

 conversion depots. 



When the market requires fresh-cut produce, the date on which 

 delivery must be made and the time occupied in export fix rigidly 

 the season for the conversion operations. 



Section V. — Felling. 



In felling a tree we have to keep in view three main objects — 

 (1) realisation of the largest outturn in money or produce that it 

 can yield, (2) facility, sometimes even possibility, of export, and 

 (3) safety of the soil and surrounding forest. 



In order to secure the first object, the timber-yielding portion 

 of the tree should be preserved as intact as possible. Hence the bole 

 of a heavy tree should not be allowed to fall across a hollow or 

 across any projection, such as a ridge, rock, or boulder, or a fallen 



