The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-04-04
WINTER FOREST WORK
IN NEW HAMPSHIRE
Two Camps of Men Have Been Estimat
ing and Valuing Forests for the
Government.

Foresters who have just returned from
winter work in the White mountains OF
New Hampshire report that, while some
hardship is entailed, as much can be ac-
complished in the dead of winter as in
summer.
In most of the governments field
services it is usually thought best to
work in the north during the summer
months and in the south during the win
ter, the idea being to do the work with
the least difficulty. In appraising lands
for purchase under the Weeks law for
the eastern national forests, however,
the forest service has had to disregard
latitude and season because it was neces-
sarv to expedite the work in the north.
During the past winter two camps of
men have been estimating and valuing
the forests which the government con-
templates purchasing on the slopes OF
the white mountains.
Work on Snow Shoes.
Because of the softness of the con-
stantly falling snow, the work was done
mainly on snowshoes. AT times the tenn
perature has been around 20 degrees be-
low zero for considerable periods, and
the parties now in report some occasions
when the thermometers registered near
~ 40 degrees below. The crews were
housed in winter camps like those of the
lumber jacks, and in order to make full
use of the short winter days they were
out by daylight and did not return I'M
til dark. The work of the crews requir-
of continuous walking. Diameters of
trees were measured and the number of
II, IL -, ell he @ob
growing on parallel strips four yards
wide and 40 rods apart. From these es-
Inmates the full amount of timber was
calculated.
The Crew Leader
One man, the crew leader, used a
compass to keep the men in the desired
direction, mapped the country traversed,
kept account of the distances covered as
determined by actual measurement, and
recorded all the information regarding
timber. The other members of the
crew measured the timber and gave
their figures to the leader, who tailed
them. The actual work, however, did
not end with all-day climbs through
snow on the mountainsides, with fire.
quent exposure to the sweep of winds on
the higher ridges and divides; during
the long winter evenings, or on days
when the snow storms were so severe
that outside work was impossible, the
figures gathered were tabulated and the
information grounded, so as to show the
quantities of timber suitable for various
products, such as saw timber, spruce for
paper pulp, or birch for spool making.
During the whole winter, however, it
was noted that stormy days caused no
more loss of time than in summer, and
the health of the men in the party was,
as rule, better than in hot weather.
1t is said that the men became quite
Injured to the cold and liked it, one of
the principal advantages being the alb
solute freedom from insects, such as
gnats and mosquitoes. While these same
crews might appreciate an assignment
to the same region for the following
summer, those who have the work in
charge say it may be the lot of these
same men to be assigned to the pine re-
gions of the south during the hottest
weather of August.