Big Trees.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13679, 22 August 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

Big Trees.

-DE'THE UNITED STATES^ " «Bv D. A. .Wilier.) The big trees of the United Slates are not. all in the grjives of California, by any: .means,, although many people, have the idea.-that the sequoias "are the giants of the forest, world'. It is-true. 1 hat- the.y are ■ the --largest/ in•: circumference; ;but many of; the. red firs around Pugef Sound',. in--the -State, of. Washington,, grow to as great' a height,; for specimens have been felled which measured 325 feet from the point where they-wer? cut -at-the topmost branch. ,'They are really 8 or 10. feet, longer, as they measured only along the fallen trunk. Such is, the size of a. red 'fir ; in.'seme..parts' of the. State-of Washington that- timbers for' bridges a 150- feet in length -have been sriwn from a- single trunk,-while, ship spars more than 100 feet-.long are often . taken, from '.them.. They are far more gra.ce.ful ..and .symmetrical . than . the sequoia, their admirers say, because. thejv taper upwards more gradually. The sequoia, .such .as is ceen 'in California,'.bulges out for -75 oi--100 feet from the ground up, which' gives it a bulky and ungainly appearance compared with the fir,...; This bulge is so large that some of the --, trees"... have holes cut into them in the. form of arches big; enough to allow a two-hirse team to be driven through. When- a fir is fifteen ■ feet- in diameter at the biitt- if m'akes a "big tree. "On some of •'"-f.he'islands'of-Pnget Sound, as well as in Ihe country north of the City of, Seattle, fre.-s of ibis size have been found' nmoiig the smaller ones. The timber-men consider -the'■• felling ■of a, tree of. this sort sontihing' to boast about, (•specially when the trunk is so large that seven or eight men can-sit- side by si ( dc in .the cut made by ! tlie/;aXe& without- eVowding. As already stated', : however, ike trunk of a fallen fir does no represent- its. entire length, fcr the, stump left is sometimes move., than 10 feet- in height. This is due to a- custom! -tt'hich.the lumber-men in the Pacific Nnrlh-West have, _of hewing a [. a consider, able distance from the roots. This is done _for'three reasoijs: for convenience, for-safely, and to avoid hitting any decayed .-spot that may be found in the heart. Sometimes ihe larger trees begin to'.decay in the centre at. a point near the .roots.' The bad spot, as' the. lumberman calls it. may become m large thati perhaps only;a. rim oi' sonnet wood a foot or .two in -■ thickness ,<is left next to the bark: but "thVfir. isscr toiigh and vigorous that- this \vill-support ihe great weight abova.it. .••■,'■ v '■'

When v one of these ■ big: trees ii being ... cut. down, ./iinlcs?•..borings■.•are made with augers ...or; pth-ejt too!*, the. Mix-omen cannot t?i|whfither the h'ea.rc r is, decayed or..not. If it should ;bft -'.{hey .may cut away, so much of the .-sound portion -that the" trf« will Fall"before, they: are ready. ,'it may alr,o topple over in the. wrong direct ion. and before- the ,cnftero and swampmen caii •Ret.oiit -of the way. When 'on?, of thesp forest monarPhs comi-s'down in tie wrong place ij, i-s liable,. Iri make trouble. cruuh.irift'/down ;smal!er trees which may be in the; way "bd hurling branches in all 'dirpefior.fi by ,tbp trrmpiifloiK-fore* of the.-'fall: it is 'easier work to "cut' with the axe.if ,a.ninn has something springy to stand tip:ori- instead of the solid ground. Notches are.'raade in the ;fhink, arid : board.3 'driven' info* them" on which the, axemen stand while .they are. making the. : undercut. Standing 6 or 8 feet above the ground -nii-'this frail, support, two men who know how-to.:-handle their axes will soon open tip a. gash in the trunk in which half-a-dozen people can find seats. ' ■ .As a resiilt of this rtisthod of getting out, the waste is enormous! Qn-

vernment ••' forestry j exprr Is-. -who s have 'investigated' the''logging industry -in Washington artd Oregon Calculate that, only 65 per cent, of the limber, available'for building and. oilier purposes is actually s;ni: to the sawmill. Much;of it, fit- for lumber is' loft, in the -woodland, .eitJier in (he slumps or the* branches, which could a'so be cut into-boards and planking. .•There is enough wood left in some of the larger stumps io build a, smalL house if secured: but (he lores Is' are. so v.utj and (he trees so large, that loggers leave . much of the small timber, or .ui;e it for skidways on : which to haul ,1 he bigger logs to Ihe railroad or timbt-v-bcom. When, a .seiilef clears.his land for fanning, there is a saying that he sometimes: burns its ccst in the timber left on it.'by the loggers, which goes'np in smoke...." It is because of. these- wasteful methods of culling down the great fnrests, o>p"eei.-ll-ly in Washington, that some of the' sutlers, lire in, trees,'.so Jo The region, in fool hill country afid in the vaKeys near Pnge[. Sound', whew the trees have bfpn.-~c.ul-- r.IVj. is called the logged-r.ff land. . The soil ■is fertile, so iliac- it will produce good crops of grain and vegetables, arid orchards can be planted on it; but as it is dotted with stumps, the problem of clearing it- entails not a. little . labour as well as expense. Such land can he. bought for'a very small price compared with land which is entirely clear of the. slumpo and trees.' • " Th« people who are. taking up Ihe "log-ged-nff" ■ lands- am usually, accuit-r.nicrf to getting,along in a small way, and' do not mind living in rather crowded quarters, so quite frequently-,,niie of ,the . big- - gest slumps is kept for a. temporary home. After 'ths.rrea has-been cut down", if Ihe heart, of the stump is rotten, exposure to the weather, rapidly increases the-'de-cay, so that in. a few years it may become a mere shell with' the outside" only a, few inches, in thickness. Then it Si? an easy matter to rut a Jin jo in one end for a, door, and two or three small holes for windows, to clean out the inside, to cut down an adjacent cedar, and split it into shingles for a. roof, and the house .is-ready for occupation- when the;-stove, dishes; and •■furniture are,put in,,. A trunk 15 feet in diameter will give a surprising amount, of room. Some-of. them,contain* nearly 150 square feet. If the. stump is' so sound that it wculd be too, much of a* task to cut gway the inside, of i't, .the .seWler sometimes' uses, one end of'the wall- of his house-,, places logs or plahke, against it and making, a sort of ,rocf leanto,, .which: is .covered .with .shingles boards. Then he naikY some cleats agaihs'tthe sides,clj-the s'tjiinp for a step ladder, aiid it is used for a. variety of purposes. Children may take it foi* a- 'playground'. Itiii handy for the mother.ifo spread' out her clothes, to dry in the sun where she has no other backyard. it also serves for a front porch, 'the family sitting oh "if. in the summer evenings. After the farmer gets enough money to bnihl a, larger arid "more comfortable home, the eld stump is. generally preserved, for it' can be used as a/shed, fibmct.imciv as , a stable for the, ponies, or as a, storehouse, "Oric of the* biggest slumps "in">th'v jSbrth-West 'is ufilised ' occafiibnallv "as ,i, dancing platform. It- is more than' 15'•"fe'fit in diameter, and there is room enough on the "top for four 'couples to'dance a, quadrille,;* The decayed wood! is. so rich and fertile' that plants, will readily grow in- it. and . some of the. people who can findtime, to have a dooryard and -a- few flowers' will, leave :one ,'of. the stumps,' after .the land has,'been ''cleared, to be 'turned into a flower-bed. sometimes planting vines, which run up the. base, and make a, very, pretty effect. ■

The- way i[o get, rid of: those minx of the.-forrst is,hy blowing- them up or-burn-ing them., -Holer, are bored to the .rooti;-, and., 'dyhnmitft JcnrtridgY:- are inserted' and exploded. If the-holes have been bored m.the-right places, and deep enough the stump ( is?. shattered, to .the.-roots, and k thrown .out in small, pieces that one. will make a, ;fine .mipply. of kindling wood.—■' Chamh-rt's Joiirnal. ~ .