LUMBERING IN PINE REGION OF CALIFORNIA. 67 
of the pond. The crew consists of eight men, one of whom poles 
logs :o the jack-works. The monthly labor cost is about $630, or 
11 cents per 1,000, of which about 3 cents is chargeable to unload- 
ing. At one other large pond, where the logs are unloaded on the 
opposite side of the pond from the mill, the cost of picking up sinkers 
and storing logs is calculated for a season's run at 5 cents per 1,000, 
and delivering to the log slip at 4 cents per 1,000. 
SAWMILLS. 
Strictly speaking, the work in a sawmill is confined to sawing, 
which includes all activities from the removal of the logs from the 
pond to the delivery of rough lumber for sorting at the rear of the 
mill. Sorting lumber is in the transition zone between sawmill and 
yard. For convenience it will be considered as part of the milling 
operation, together with the sawing. 
So far, the practice in this region is to construct the sawmill as 
close as possible to the timber. Small mills are almost invariably 
located in the lower part of the logging unit. When the unit is cut 
out the mill can then be moved to a new site. For large mills the 
site must be accessible to enough timber for a run of sufficient length 
to warrant the mill investment, say, from 15 to 25 years. In addition 
to accessibility from the logging operations, there are several other 
factors which affect the practicability of any site. There must be 
space for a log pond and a sufficient water supply. There must also 
be room for the sawmill, the sawmill camp, and the lumber yard. 
Further, the climate should be suited to air drying of lumber, and 
there should be transportation facilities for the lumber. 
Lack of cheap water or railroad transportation for logs has made 
it advisable to place large mills on the nearest permanent site to the 
logging operations. 
Most mills in the Sierras are a long distance from trunk-line rail- 
roads, and a lumber railroad or flume is necessary. The drying yards 
and finishing plants are commonly located at the lower terminals of 
these railroads or flumes, because drying and handling conditions are 
better there. The location of a sawmill in the valley or in a fair- 
sized town gives an advantage in the disposal of by-products which 
would not otherwise be utilized. However, under present conditions 
this advantage is not considered by operators as of sufficient weight 
to offset the necessity of transporting logs for considerable distances. 
As mill utilization improves in the future, this condition may change 
and the location of mills nearer centers of population be found profit- 
able in many instances. 
The present close connection between sawmills and logging opera- 
tions results in joint ownership and management of the two through- 
out the region. Thus, the size of a mill is closely related to the extent 
