31 BULLETIN UO, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
lifts the log, and the carriage is hauled in. The other system pro- 
vides that the main line be kept taut and sufficient slack to reach 
the logs pulled in the skidding line by some slack-pulling device. 
The first attempt at overhead yarding in California sugar and 
yellow pine was made hi 1913 with the first-mentioned system. It 
was continued through 1914 and the company considers the work 
so successful that a second machine is to be fitted with an overhead 
rig in the near future. The engine used is a three drum, 12 by 14 
inch yarder, equipped with a H-inch main or standing line. The 
usual distance between the spar tree and tail tree is 1,800 or 1,900 
feet, but spans of 2,200 feet have been made. The carriage is oper- 
ated on this standing line by a 1-inch skidding line and a f -inch haul- 
back. The best setting is on the point of a secondary ridge, as the 
span may then be made across a gulch or small canyon. The rig is 
used both for yarding and roading, the plan for roading being to 
station a yarder at the tail tree and yard in for an additional 1,400 
feet. Logs are hauled in one, two, and three log lengths, the aver- 
age load being about 1,000 feet. A small donkey is stationed at 
the landing for hauling the logs hi the bucking chute and loading. 
The average output for four summer months was 60,000 feet per day. 
Two other similar rigs are being operated experimentally, with 
some success, in the Sierras. One operator in the northern portion 
of the East Slope region is using a large steel skidder, known as the 
universal logger. It is equipped to operate one line as an overhead 
or two lines as a ground skidder. 
The system in which the main line is slackened and pulled sidewise 
to the logs could hardly be used on National Forest timber sale areas 
where clear cutting is not practiced. There is reason to believe, 
however, that under certain conditions the other system can be used, 
if provision is made in marking the trees for cutting. The cost of 
overhead machines with double sets of blocks, etc., is from $12,000 
to $14,000 each, delivered on the ground. Cables are not included, 
and the cost of a set ranges from $2,500 to $3,000. 
FROM YARD TO LANDING. 
When the common yarding point is located at some distance from 
the landing, a step is necessary which is usually termed chuting or 
roading. It is usually done in chutes by horses, in chutes with 
donkey engines, or on the ground with donkey enghies. Other pos- 
sible methods are hauling with slip-tongue big wheels from yarders 
used on rough ground in the midst of a big wheel logging operation, 
and the use of overhead systems. Overhead systems similar to those 
used for yarding may in the future be utilized for roading across 
canyons, up steep grades, and down rough slopes. Extra supports 
could be used if necessary. Aerial tramways with frequent supports 
