LOGGING METHODS 29 
Labor. — The labor is composed cliiefly of French Canadians 
and Europeans. The men generally are employed by the month 
and are furnished board and lodging for which a charge is made. 
Some operators employ men on the day basis. The average 
camp crew on the larger operations comprises about sixty men. 
Operators frequently contract for their log input, in whole or 
in part, with "jobbers" who maintain independent camps. Con- 
tract operations are often of much smaller size than company 
camps. 
Camps. — The buildings are log or board structures the largest 
camps housing from fifty to sixty men, and from twenty-five to 
forty horses. They are used for two or three seasons and then 
abandoned or else used as storehouses. Board camps are used 
chiefly on railroad operations. Supplies are hauled in on sleds 
or wagons where rail transport is not available. Workmen do 
not bring their families into camp. 
Topography and Bottom. — The topography of the region 
ranges from rolling to rough, and the bottom often is covered with 
a heavy growth of underbrush. The steep slopes are rocky. 
The rolling land provides a good bottom for animals. Swamps 
are common in the region and are logged during the winter sea- 
son. 
Climate. — The winters are long and severe with a minimum 
temperature of from 25 to 40 degrees F. below zero. There are 
relatively long periods when thaws are uncommon. The average 
snowfall throughout the region varies from 60 to 90 inches. Winter 
conditions are ideal for the maintenance of snow and iced roads 
for sled hauling. 
Felling and Log-making. — The practice is to fell the timber 
with the saw and ax. The boles are cut into standard lengths for 
saw logs, and into long logs when the timber is to be manufac- 
tured into pulpwood, although occasionally pulpwood timber is 
cut into 2- or 4-foot lengths for ease in handling. The fallers 
work in crews of two or three men and cut and make into logs 
from 5000 to 8000 board feet of timber, daily. Spruce pulpwood 
is sometimes peeled in the forest. 
Skidding. — Animal logging predominates in the region, al- 
though a few cableway skidders have been used in New England 
on difficult logging chances. Snaking machines have been 
employed to a very limited extent in the mountains of northern 
