HARVESTING THE FOREST CROP 133 
From the trough the logs are shunted out upon the 
sloping deck from which they are rolled upon the saw 
carriage, which slides back upon its track to receive a 
new log when the last board has been sawed from the 
previous one. Ordinarily two men ride up on the 
carriage, and it is their duty to fasten the log in position 
and push it forward enough to cut the thickness of 
board desired by the sawyer. Back and forth upon 
the track rushes the saw carriage, hurling the log upon 
the rapidly revolving band or circular saw. The 
sawyer stands near the saw with the levers controlling 
the machinery within easy reach. At his direction the 
“setters” on the carriage push the log forward to make 
a one- or two-inch board, according to the possibilities 
of the log; upon his skill and judgment may depend the 
profit of the mill, as a poor sawyer may ruin many 
thousand feet of lumber each day. 
After the whirling saw has sliced a slab from the 
log the carriage rolls back to the end of its track and 
rushes again toward the saw. The boards which are cut 
from the log are carried forward on revolving rollers, 
called ‘‘live rolls,’’ and passed through the ‘‘edger,’’ 
which removes the bark and leaves the board with 
straight edges. The slabs and edgings are disposed of 
by being cut into short pieces and carried out to the 
refuse pile where they are burned. In the meantime 
the boards are trimmed to the proper length, fourteen, 
sixteen or eighteen feet as the case may be and finally 
they reach the grading table, a long platform upon 
which they are kept moving by an endless chain. Here 
an expert inspects each piece and marks it with an 
appropriate sign which indicates the quality and the 
pile in which it belongs. 
Seasoning the Lumber.—The only process remaining 
