UTILIZATION" AND MANAGEMENT OP LODGEPOLE PINE. 13 
Service timber sales the different classes of material are often scaled 
or counted by forest officers before being skidded. This scale is 
accepted by purchasers as a basis of settlement with the choppers. 
In nearly all operations most of the hauling from the skidway to 
the flume, river, or railroad is done with sleighs on snow roads. The 
use of sleighs, which is possible from four to six months in the year, 
is by far the most economical and efficient method of hauling. Some- 
times, however, where the haul is short and good roads are easily 
made, the material is carried on heavy trucks over the bare ground. 
This latter method is most common in small operations where a con- 
stant supply of logs and ties is required. 
Chutes are sometimes used to get the products down steep grades 
to the main line of transportation. 
TRANSPORTATION TO MILL. 
In the smaller logging operations ties and mine timbers are usually 
hauled direct from the skidway to the railroad, shipping point, or 
market; the logs direct to the mill. In large operations, however, 
where the timber must be transported for from 20 to 100 miles or 
more, the method of transportation will depend upon the character 
of the area which is being logged. Ordinarily, the mountainous 
nature of the lodgepole region and the character of the timber pre- 
vent the use of logging railroads. Where the timber must be trans- 
ported over a long distance it is a common practice to float it down 
some stream. Ties can be driven in streams which are too small to 
carry saw logs, which gives tie logging a decided advantage. Many 
small creeks have been made driveable for ties during the spring 
high water with only a little work in clearing the channel. In the 
larger streams of Wyoming and Colorado all classes of material have 
been driven for distances of 100 miles or more. 
For shorter distances flumes have occasionally been used to good 
advantage, and in the future will undoubtedly play a more impor- 
tant part in the transportation of lodgepole pine. All the material 
from the French Gulch timber sale on the Deerlodge National Forest 
is removed by a flume about 18 miles long crossing the Continental 
Divide. The timber from above is hauled on sleds or trucks or is 
chuted down to the flume, where it is banked for .fluming during the 
open season, which usually lasts from about May 1 to November 1. 
The timber from below is first banked along a tramway, up which the 
loaded cars are later hauled by a cable, operated by a stationary 
engine, to the banking grounds above the flume. A large proportion 
of this timber is delivered at the foot of the tram by means of second- 
ary flumes located considerably below the main flume. The latter is 
V-shaped, with 24-inch sides. About 100,000 board feet of lumber 
per mile were used in its construction, and the original cost per mile 
was approximately $4,000. It has one tunnel 685 feet long, 29 tres- 
