98 



FELtlNG. 



Fig. 48 



F 

 I 



tree. The bole of a tree will often break across owing simply io 

 its strong ample crown striking the ground first. "When this 

 danger is apprehended, it will be necessary to lop off the larger 

 boughs, or even remove the whole or the greater part of the crown. 

 Such a proceeding will also cause the tree to fall much lighter. 

 A very tall tree, like a deodar, pine, or fir, cannot, under any 

 circumstances, be saved from breaking, and the only plan to 

 adopt, when it is feasible, is to remove the upper portion of the 

 bole in sections from the standing tree. For this purpose ex- 

 pert and fearless men, such as can be found in few places in 

 India, must be obtained, and climbing irons 

 used (^Fiff. 48). 



On a slope, a tree falls through the smallest 

 angle, i.e., with least momentum, if felled to- 

 wards the hill ; but unless the tree is well secur- 

 ed, there is danger for the workmen as well as 

 for the tree, if the ground is precipitous, from 

 the tree slipping down hill. Hence it is best 

 to make the tree fall more or less on a hori- 

 zontal contour line, so that it may be at once 

 Climbing Iron (After caught up against the foot of the trees iust 

 below that une. 

 The trunk is liable to split along a considerable portion of its 

 length if the tree falls before it is cut through. Hence a heavy 

 tree, which originally bears down very much on the side on which it 

 is to fall, should be held back or propped up until it is cut through, 

 or a portion of its crown on that side should be removed. More- 

 over, no felling should be done in a high wind, which would, be- 

 sides, prevent the woodmen from having any control in directing; 

 the fall of the tree in a given quarter. 



The utilizable underground portion of a tree constitutes up to 

 one-fourth the gross outturn of the portion above ground, and the 

 amount of timber rendered useless or lost by felling the tree above 

 ground may run up to from 6 to 10 per cent, of all the timber in 

 the tree. To prevent this loss the trees should be felled by the 

 roots, whenever the safety of the soil and surrounding vegetation 

 and the nature of the soil and locality will permit, and the value of 

 the wood thereby saved at least covers the extra expenditure it occa- 

 sions. Even if there is no timber to be saved, this mode of felling is 

 to be preferred, for, unless powerful machinery is available, there 

 is no work so slow and arduous as grubbing out stumps — a mode 

 of utilization that also yields a very large proportion of chips,, 

 which either have little value or are totally unsaleable. Neverthe- 



