28 
BULLETIN 1437, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
times a general roustabout. The use of an edger and cut-off saw 
requires two additional men. 
Men engaged in the sawing of alder are for the most part relatively 
inexperienced, especially among so-called independent operators. 
This, together with the character of the equipment, results in dif- 
ferent operating costs. In some mills the cost will run as high as 
$10 per thousand feet ; in others, where round-edged lumber is sawed, 
as low as $6 per thousand. 
Alder logs are generally sawed into 8 to 12 foot lengths. Lumber 
from longer logs has a tendency to buckle in sawing, resulting in 
uneven thicknesses. Usually the log is turned on the carriage until, 
through slabbing or sawing, it has been reduced to a square; it is 
then sawed through and through into square-edged boards 4/4 to 
12/4 inches in thickness, mostly 4/4 inch. If the mill is not equipped 
with an edger, the round-edged boards are edged with the head saw. 
Fig. 9.— TYPICAL ALDER BOARDS 
The top board is practically clear. The others show characteristic defects 
In mills operated in connection with secondary wood-using fac- 
tories, the log is usually converted into lumber by removing a thin 
slab from one side, and then sawing the log through and through 
into round-edged lumber, ready for the cut-up plant. The use of 
round-edge lumber increases the percentage of the log utilized by 
saving a portion that would have been wasted had the boards been 
edged and is of especial merit in chair manufacture. 
Because of the small size of the timber and the manner of its 
growth, alder yields but a small percentage of " clear " lumber, or 
about 5 per cent in the case of a good stand. Defects include black 
or rotten knots, and occasionally rotten streaks. Not infrequently 
the boards from butt logs will split lengthwise for several feet, espe- 
cially if swell butted. Figure 9 shows characteristic defects, also a 
nearly clear board. 
Alder is most often scaled by the Scribner rule which, because of 
its underestimation of small-sized material, results in a considerable 
