THE CULTIVATED FORESTS OF EUROPE. 1 89 



timbers suspended below the axles. For great distances the streams were formerly- 

 much used, and many timber-rafts still float down the larger rivers, the Elbe 

 and the Rhine, for instance. The railroads are penetrating the forests, however, and 

 now transport large quantities of wood that was formerly put into the streams. 



Along the Enz river, in the Black Forest, are located some of the largest 

 sawmills in Germany. The stock for these mills comes mostly on the railroad in 

 long, large logs, much of it being brought from Wiirtemberg and Swabia. For 

 each load of logs, two cars are necessary. In a railroad train, every three of these 

 couples must be followed by a protective car laden either with freight or 

 passengers, and weighing, with its load, not less than 4,500 pounds. 



Tfye Sawmills. 



The sawmills are mostly small, occasionally with the dwelling-house of the 

 mill owner under the same roof. They are, for the most part, run by water, the 

 streams of the forests having a constant flow since the hills are kept wooded. 

 The old "up-and-down" saw is still in common use, though many of the better 

 mills are equipped with circular saws, band saws, or gangs with eight or ten saws 

 in a frame. However, things move slowly in a European mill. There is a 

 noticeable lack of the buzz and activity that characterizes the American mill, with 

 its "nippers," "niggers," "shot-gun feed," and "hog." A large mill in Europe 

 will cut about 25,000 feet, board measure, per day of ten hours; a fair-sized 

 American mill, 100,000 feet. But the small mill of Europe is permanent, being 

 supported by perpetual crops of timber from the cultivated forests of the 

 neighborhood. The large American mill is only temporary, as it depends for its 

 existence upon a single crop that is being consumed with amazing rapidity, 

 and is not being restored. 



In piling lumber in the mill yard it is a common custom to put together the 

 boards of each log in the same relation as they held before the log was sawed, 

 small strips being placed between the boards to allow the lumber to dry. Thus, 

 one part of the mill yard has the sawlogs, another part the sawed logs. Customers 

 can then see that they get all the lumber their logs will afford. The logs are 

 recognized, each by a number previously marked upon one end of the log, and 

 recorded in the notebook of the customer. Sometimes, in order that the number 

 may not be effaced, the log is not sawed entirely through, but remains intact at 

 one end for about half an inch. In the larger mills, however, it is assorted and 

 piled as in America, at least for the commercial trade. 



