The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-17
THE LORE OF THE woODsMAN.
What the AMMAN Is Taught by Expe-
rIence in the Forest.

A green hand cuts a sorry figure when
sent into the woods alone to do almost
any piece of work. There is very much
to be learned about even so simple mat
ter as working in the woods is generally
considered to be by those who know moth
ing about it. For instance, one would
think that there could be no science in
volved in chopping down a tree. The
fact is, TO do this to best advantage re-
quires experience, combined with excel
lent judgment. Let a foreigner come here
who knows nothing about chopping, and
send him out to cut down tree. and he
would be most likely to chop all around
the trunk with no idea of which way it
would fall until he saw it going; and when
il would be a matter of luck if he did not
lose his head and got out of the way of it
instead of getting crushed. The experience
chopper first decides where it will be most
convenient to have the tree fall, then
stepping a few PAGES away, takes the
end of the ax-handle between the thumb
and forehnger, raises it up, poises it. uses
it as a plumb and line. squints across it
and views the tree from end to end. In
close cases he makes this observation
from several points. He has to take into
account any leaning of the tree, if there
is an excess of weight of branches on
either side, and direction of the wind, if
any.
Having decided the probable effects of
all these, he proceeds to the base and
chops square across on the side it is to fall,
about halfway through the tree, and then
turns to the other side and chops across
about two inches higher than the first cut
He win throw a tree nearly every time in
the spot where he designed it should go.
IL a,fn efr= f1h
across the stump, but at an angle. By
looking at the stump an old chopper can
tell whether the tree was cut by novice
or one skilled in the business. A good
chopper soon learns to chop both right
handed" and left handed" equally well.
To saw down a tree, the first cut should be
on the side the tree is to fall, as in chop
ping, and the second on the opposite but
a little higher. If even with the first, when
sawn through. the tree is apt to gig
back" in falling and crush the saw and
perhaps injure the men. / saw large tree
cut in this manner; 1t slid backward about
a rod broke the saw and came very near
killing one of the workmen. The most dan
gerous part of housekeeping is cutting
off saplings just bent over by falling
tree At the first stroke they usually split
up and one portion fly back or sidewise
with power sufficient to knock horse over
or pierce him through. Choppers have
| dashed their axes to poles and cut from a
safe distance
Another dangerous operation is to cut
down a tree when another chopped-off
tree leans against it. for il cannot always
be told what way the two will fall; and
then the leaning tree is likely TO drop at
any moment and catch the chopper as in a
dead fall" In such Il case the chopper
must keep his eye peeled" and look out
for breakers"
When a tree has fallen, the choppers
| first business is to look up and around
among the standing timber in the vicinity.
and see if any branches have been broken
! off and lodged loosely, which would be
likely to drop. Many have been killed by
| not taking this precaution Every woods
| man should have a two-foot measure on
| his ax-handle Measure the distance
| down the handle, and at the point pierce
/ hole with a straight awl, and drive in
| a quarter of an inch of the head-end of
! a pin This is better than to cut a notch
| in the handle. To measure with this, the
| handle is grasped next to the blade, so the
| implement will balance. The blade lies
! fiat when measuring, with the edge from
| the operator. When the ak is stood up,
/ with the edge from one, the right-hand
/ side is the more convenient one to place
| the pin in for right-handed person, and
/ the opposite for one who is left-handed.
Iron wedges win not take hold'' well
/ in splitting frozen timber. Heating them
| will cause them to hang" Ironwood
/ knots make the toughest beetles, and
/ the straight timber of this wood fairly
/ good ones. Wood drawers should always
take an ak with them when they go into
/ the woods. 1t is often needed. To make
| a safe and convenient place to carry it,
1 nail loosely on the outside of the wood
! rack frame two strips of leather, one up
right, the other horizontal, just far enough
apart that the end of the handle can be
/ placed in the upright opening and the
blade in the other. In carrying a crosscut
saw on the shoulder, let the teeth point
from you to avoid danger of tearing the
clothing or decorating the flesh if a mis-
step is made.
To roll log up a short incline to get it
where it can be easily handled, have a
| team on a level spot on the bank, long
rope hitched to a tree nearby, take the
/ other end down, put it through under the
center of the log, draw it taut, convey the
end back and hitch to the team; then with
man at each end of the log with stick
of wood to block it if necessary to adjust
| the balance, start the team, let the animals
move slowly, and the log will roll up as
easily as rolling off log" Logs can be
drawn up long distance another way.
| Hitch a rope to one end, run it through a
system of three pulleys on top of the bank
in proper positions and then hitch to the
! double-tree, and a team will walk the
logs 2ls feet through and p feet long
| taken up a steep bank over 100 feet in this
manner. Very few understand how to
| hitch chain around log for a team to
/ draw it. Always place the back of the
! hook toward the team. 1t is less liable to
| fly out. Hold the hook in one hand at
the side of the log, and with the other
! throw the chain around the end, bring it
/ over and drop it in the hook; then start
/ the team in a partially opposite direction
! from the side the hook is on. The log
will roll from its bed; then drive in the
desired direction. This is called the roll
ing hitch" A team will move a log for
ward more easily when in motion than
| when at rest.
Few know what a surveyors mark on a
/ tree is. It is two perpendicular slashes
with three gashes of the aX-bit across
/ them. In some states it is a misdemeanor
under certain conditions to cut down such
\ marked trees as the slashes denote the
! exact line of lots. Forest work is science
| of itself, to be learned as one would learn
! any other science.
| The empress of Austria has been lead
! ing a lonely life in Algiers During her
! stay there she breakfasted at $50 and
[ Ginpd "A r gtxfurs her faoaI~ .I,V. Cd.