River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-08-31

the old-time lumbermen of Maine and Micht
gan Instead these Pacific coast fellows con-
ctruct q "shelf" on the side of the tree to be
felled and at such height that the choppng
and saving is done at a point at least ten or
twelve feet above ground. The result is, or
conrse to leave a huge stump containing
enough material to build small house The
lumbermen Justify their action by the tradl-
tion that the swell" at the base of one Of
these big trees is of inferior material-pre-
sumably too poor to bother with. However,
most of the expert foresters of the country
say that this is not true. at least not in the
majority of cases and that this method OF
mutiIating timber in the ecStinG is a flag
rantly wasteful one.
One Of the most seriously wasUSSsA methods
of numbering in vogue in the UniteC states
looked at from the standpoint of future semer'
ations-is the practice of taking from fCress
annually an amount of lumber far in excess
of new growth. Obviously this will serve 10
either speedily wipe out a forest or else 70
render it Of little value for many years u
come whereas it might be made to serve as
a regular and permanent source OF income
Indeed this plan of intelligent harvesting OF
the timber with reference to the supply OF fu-
ture years is what ders so steadily profit
able the admirably con quoted lofesCs Vi yer
MANY and Switzerland
Of course the American lumberman is en-
oeond in logging as a source of livelihood ana
his main defense against every charge Oh
wasteful numbering is that there is SO mucn
timber in proportion to the population that II
docs not pay as a business proposition, 10
take any more than the better part OF eacn
tree felled UNREASONABLE there is a grain
of truth in this provided a lumberman is
thinking only of prosperity in the present gen
Grafton but at the same time there is much
waste in numbering that is not only unneces-
sary but is actually costly to the lumoerman
himself However, conservative numbering IS
making Roadway and is supplanting the old
wasteful methods in many sections OF the
country. The new ideas of conservative lun1-
herring are based on three principles. First,
the forest is treated as a working capital the
n,,rnose of which Is to produce successive
crons Second a systematic working plan Is
followed in harvesting the forest crop. Th1rd,
the work in the woods is carried on IN sucn
manner as to leave the standing trees ana
the Young growth as nearly unframed by the
numbering as is possible. In the actual oper'
ations of tree telling the new policy calls for
greater care so that tree trunk may De
split or broken in falling and likewise are
there precautions so that the bark OF valuable
standing trees will not be rubbed or torn ny
the tree trunks that are being sk1dded OUT
of the forest. Finally ban has been placed
on the wasteful practice of cutting promising
young trees for corduroy or skids simply be-
cause these happen to be convenient and are
straight Under the old plan the waste does
not end when a log gets to the saw mill.
There is a further loss of nearly all the slabs
and edgings and all the sawdust not used for
fuel so that it is doubtful if more than half
of the cubic contents of the standing tree 10
finally used.