FLUMES AND FLUMING. 11 
SIZE OF FLUME. 
The kind of material to be handled is a prime factor in determining 
the size of a flume. If a 30-inch V-shaped flume would satisfactorily 
handle the material, there would be nothing gained by going to the 
extra expense of constructing a flume with a V of 48 inches. On the 
other hand, it is always good policy to construct a flume large enough 
to carry sufficient water to handle the material desired with certainty 
and dispatch. For railroad crossties, cants, poles, cord wood, etc., 
the 30-inch flume is usually large enough, wherever there is a suffi- 
cient volume of water available to fill the flume two-thirds full, while 
for the handling of logs, piling, long timbers, or "brailed" sawed 
lumber it is usually advisable to have the flume constructed with 
the sides of the V from 40 to 60 inches in height, according to the 
volume of water available and the size of the material to be handled. 
This is also a feature in flume construction in which the prospective 
operator can save money by not constructing his flume larger or in 
any more expensive form than is actually needed, since every addi- 
tional inch in height means the use of more lumber in construction, 
and is consequently an added and unnecessary cost. 
METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION. 
For the benefit of those who are entirely unfamiliar with flume 
construction, a description of some of the salient points may be of 
interest. It is usually advisable to erect a small sawmill at or near 
the upper end of a flume location to saw out the lumber needed for 
construction. This material can be floated down the flume as fast 
as the latter is constructed to be used for further extension until the 
whole flume is finally built. This obviates the necessity of hauling 
the construction material, so far as lumber or timber is concerned, 
up grade from the nearest point at which it can be secured, and 
oftentimes cuts out long-distance transportation charges and gen- 
erally reduces the cost of construction, although it usually necessi- 
tates the construction of a passable road for the purpose of hauling 
the necessary boiler, engine, and sawmill machinery to the upper 
end of the flume or place where the construction lumber is to be 
manufactured. 
It will be apparent that the nearer this lumber manufacturing 
point is to the upper end of the flume the more economical will be 
the construction, as it is much cheaper to float the lumber down the 
flume to the place where it is to be used in construction than to haul 
it up grade by teams. Since the flume can usually be filled with 
water as fast as constructed, where battens are used, there is no 
great benefit derived from using seasoned lumber for construction 
purposes, although when a flume is constructed of seasoned lumber 
the introduction of the water causes the joints to swell and become 
