Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Second part - VII. Forestry - 2. Forest Industries. By E. Arosenius, Ph. D., Royal Central Bureau of Statistics, Stockholm - Timber Cutting - Floating, by Th. Örtenblad, Chief Master of Forest, Umeå
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74
VII. FORESTRY OF SWEDEN’.
In these times of competition, the old prodigal method of felling the tree a
couple of feet above the ground, has been almost entirely abandoned, and now
the tree is sawn off as near the surface of the ground as possible, and the snow,
which may be sometimes one vard deep, must be shoveled away so as to give
the workmen sufficient room to run the saw. The latter tool has mostly
supplanted the axe in the felling operations, as more timber is wasted in chips by
hewing. After the tree has been felled, it is »adapted» or cross-cut into one or
more logs of suitable length. Logs for sawing are taken of a top-diameter of no
less than five inches for white-wood, or six inches for red-wood, at a length of
15 feet. The farther from the coast, the larger the logs must be, in order to
pay for their transport. Building-timber ought to be at least seven inches in
diameter at the top, and the lengths are generally from 28 to 32 feet. Balk»
ought to be of at least 8 inches’ diameter in the middle when dressed, but the
length may vary. Smaller squared logs are called rafters. Whatever cannot be
converted into larger or more valuable timber is cut up into fuel-wood, where
there is a market for it.
The most usual means for transporting logs is by using the double sleigh.
These sleighs are generally very simple in construction, consisting of only a pair
of runners, an intermediate frame, and a cross-piece joining the uppermost or
front points of the runners. Short timber and fuel-wood are conveyed on
so-called long-sledges, being two or three meters in length. For very long timber
double sleighs are used, to whose cross-pieces the log-ends are chained fast. In
this manner tremendous loads, 10 to 12 logs, 18 feet long, can be drawn on
the even winter-roads by one horse. In upper Norrland reindeer are sometimes
used for driving out timber. In such places in the forests, luckily very rare,
where draught cattle cannot be used, the only means of removing the logs is by
bandpower, and the logs are then slid top-end first down steep slopes in case the
snow is sufficiently deep. Wheeled vehicles are only used in transporting timber
on good roads, and of course only when the ground is bare.
Floating.
Some saw-mills are fortunate enough to have their forests so near
that the timber can be driven direct to the mill. A considerable
quantity of timber is also transported by rail. Floating is, however,
the most important means of conveying timber and, besides, it is
considered to have certain advantages. Coarse redwood timber which has
lain in water a few months is less liable to warp or get »shaken» than
if sawn immediately after felling. The floated timber, freed from sap
and resin, is also easier to work and has a more even colour, while
that which is not floated is supposed to be more durable. — Besides
the timber intended for the saw-mills, quite a considerable quantity
of balks, charcoal-wood, pulpwood, and, in some cases, even fuel-wood, is
carried by floating.
If it were not for the floating-ways, it would, in many cases, be
impossible to make use of the forest-products from the interior of the
country otherwise than for local needs. Sweden’s prominent position
in the world’s timber trade therefore depends to a certain degree upon
the numerous rivers and their suitability as floating-ways. The largest
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