FELLING AND LOG-MAKING 111 
done with an ax by a member of the saw crew or by a special 
man called a swamper, knotter or limber. The bole is then 
laid off into log lengths either by the head sawyer or by the 
"chipper" who uses an 8- or 10- foot measuring stick. 
In log-making there are several problems which the workmen 
must solve depending on the position of the felled tree, 
(1) When the tree lies flat on the ground, bucking-up is a 
simple matter as the sawyers start their cut on the lower or up- 
per part of the bole at the marked point and continue until 
the log is severed from the bole. When the saw begins to bind 
wedges are driven into the cut and made to follow the saw by 
an occasional blow from an ax or maul. Binding often is over- 
come by felling the tree across a log. 
(2) When the bole is supported at one end, care must be 
exercised to avoid splitting slabs from the under side. This is 
accomplished by making a cut 2 or 3 inches deep on the under 
side of the bole. In addition the log may have its free end sup- 
ported by a false work of logs, or by a heavy stick placed in a 
vertical position directly under it. The saw cut is then started 
on the upper face and continued until the log breaks off from 
its own weight. 
(3) When the bole is supported at both ends the cut is usually 
started on the under side and continued until it extends one- 
half or two-thirds of the distance through the log. A cut is 
then started on the upper side of the bole and continued until 
the log is severed. The bole is often supported by heavy sticks 
placed in a vertical position under both sides of the cut. 
(4) When the bole is sprung between trees or stumps the 
general practice is to make a deep cut on the concave face and 
then to saw or chop on the outer face. Caution is required 
where trees are badly strained because they may break with 
considerable force and injure workmen. 
In small- and medium-sized timber it is generally the duty of 
the felling crew to cut the bole into logs as soon as the tree has 
been felled. An exception to this occurs where the bark of 
trees such as hemlock, chestnut oak and tanbark oak are sought 
for tanning purposes. In this case the felling of the trees and the 
stripping of the bark are done by a crew whose work may pre- 
cede the actual logging operation by several weeks. Log-mak- 
ing under these circumstances often is done by a separate crew. 
