4q 
resulted in organization of the industry along lines 
not commonly found in other forest regions. Many 
companies and individuals are in the business of 
logging only, not having any interest in the sawmill 
industry or other wood-using industries. Some of 
these concerns are timber holders, others buy 
timber shortly in advance of cutting, and a few 
depend almost entirely on Government-owned 
timber. Their log output is sold on the open 
market or by contract to manufacturers. Much 
logging is done by “gyppo”’ loggers, operators who 
contract with owners of timber to log it at a stipu- 
lated price per 1,000 feet. They usually log on a 
small scale and are often irresponsible. The timber 
owner may use the logs in his own sawmill or may 
sell them on the open market. A number of manu- 
Ficure 23.—Logging Douglas fir with tractor and arch in the Oregon Coast Range. Use of 
this type of equipment is increasing in the sbruce-hemlock and Douglas-fir types of western Wash- 
ington and western Oregon and is causing significant changes in management of these types 
facturers, particularly the larger ones, do their own 
logging, either directly or through logging subsid- 
laries. 
There are many variations and combinations of 
these types of organization. Some manufacturers 
supply part of their needs by logging their own 
timber directly, part by contracting the logging of 
their timber, and part by purchasing sawlogs on the 
open market. Sometimes they contract only a part 
of the logging operation, such as felling and bucking 
or truck hauling. 
86 
Methods 
With very few exceptions, forests have been clear 
cut; that is, the entire merchantable stand has been 
felled and whatever trees were left as unmerchant- 
antable were usually knocked down in the process 
of skidding. The large size of the trees, the dense 
stands, and the rugged topography have been re- 
sponsible for the development of highly mechanized 
logging methods. Heavy high-speed machinery 
powered by steam, gasoline, diesel-oil, or electricity 
is used to move the logs, by cable, from stump to 
railroad, highway, or waterway and there load 
them for final transportation to mill or market. 
Recently there has been a tendency toward the use 
of lighter, more flexible, and more mobile machin- 
ery like crawler tractors and trucks, not only by small 
but also by large operators. 
Where modern tractors or 
trucks or both can efficiently 
be used, they are likely to 
have certain advantages over 
the conventional steam-donkey 
and railroad method of log- 
ging, chiefly in saving on the 
investment required per acre 
logged and in the opportun- 
ity to practice selective cut- 
ting. Where tractors and 
trucks are usable their flexi- 
bility and mobility enable the 
operator to select the individ- 
ual trees or tracts of timber 
that can most profitably be cut 
348202 at the time, thus effectively liq- 
uidating his investment with- 
out needless waste of forest re- 
sources or needless operating 
expenses. The rapid increase 
in the use of tractors and trucks is actually revo- 
lutionizing woods practice in this region and may 
have a far-reaching effect on both the economics of 
the industry and the condition of the cut-over areas. 
The use of tractors for skidding makes practicable 
the logging of small or remote bodies of timber where 
the installation of less mobile and more expensive 
machinery would not be justified. Wherea high de- 
gree of selectivity is practiced, as when tractors do the 
skidding (fig. 23), the cut-over land is still partly 
stocked with trees, in contrast to the denudation 
