The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-12-29
MONSTER REDWOOD TREES.

.~
They Compose . Most Remarkahss Tfmbse
Belt.
One Of the most remarkable timber
belts in the world stands in Humboldt
and Mendocino counties, California. It
embraces ALPS square miles, contain.
ing 132, 600, 000, 900 feet Of timber. With
theaid of the microscope scientists have.
found the age Of some of these treesto
Be nearly 5000 years. Some Of the
fallen trees have remained where they
fell for 800 to 1000 years, so it is esti.
mated, with scarcely any deterioration
Of the wood.
Eastern tourists in California know
but little Of these redwoods (Sequois
s~empervirens). They usually SEE the
few mammoth redwoods of Calaveras
Eequoia gigantea) and go home and tell
their friends about this disappearing
tAbe of giants. The lumber redwoods
of Humboldt are less talked about. yet
one of its trees will yield l0o.O 900 feet Of
boards, and fill q freight train with
logs.
Telling these trees, which are $50 to
$50 feet high, is q fine art acquired only
by the most expert chopper. He must
have excellent Judgment as to the
dem" of the tree, and other peculiari-
ties which may affect the direction Of
its fall. He drives a stake 100 or $50 feet
from the base Of the tree, and prepares
Q level bed in q direct line from base
to stake, and on that line the tree
must fall. An ak kerr is then made on
the side where the tree is to fall. The
this kerr points exactly to the distant
stake.
The tree is cut one-third through
with the Ak. On the other side Of the
tree, opposite the az kerf, a saw kerr is
started. This is done by boring two
holes horizontally and driving in wood
On pins on which the 10 to 20-foot saw
rests until the kerf is sufficiently deep
to steady the saw. Broad, thin iron
wedges are driven in after the saw to
prevent the doomed tree from pinching
1t. At each end of this saw "ears" are
bolted on, which car be removed and
the saw withdrawn in case of trouble.
Wedges are made to follow the saw
until the wood dividing the saw kerr
from the ak kerr is narrowed to width
where wedges can be made to force the
tree, with all its great weight, to lean
in the direction in which it is to fall.
The tree is toppled over, and SO exact
is the choppers work and calculation
that almost invariably the falling
trunk drives the stake aimed at when
operations were begun. ANY error in
the fall Of the tree is likely to
the tree to break and cost the lumber
man more than the choppers wages
for the month-Sl25. These virgin for
ests are so densely timbered that, il
cleared at once, there would not be
room enough on the ground for the
trunks. ''Peelers" follow the choppers.
With long steel bars, fiattened at one
end, they pry off the thick bark and
burn it. Then comes the cross-cut saw
man, who cuts the tree into logs.
These are transported to the saw mills
by rail, cut into boards and shipped to
market.
Redwood is SO free from resinous
matter that it win not burn readily.
When fired it chars. The immunity
from fire of towns built of redwood
lumber is remarkable. Large confia-
gratlons are unknown. This lumber
shrinks SO very little that it is used by
builders in a green state. The beauty
of the wood for finishing work is
marked, as it frequently has a curly
face and also a b~ird's-eye grain. This
redwood promises to be a popular wood
in the eastern states. -Boston Travel