Replies

1. 
   Lataxe | Mar 08, 2008 01:39pm | #1

   Gina,

   A nice wee article, that- more of these matters concerning the source of our beloved material would be very welcome.

   A quote from the article: ".....how early loggers felled and removed giant trees by harnessing oxen or horses to pulley systems". prompts me to mention that the coppice workers, who are reviving many Cumbrian woods just north of where I live, have now adopted the old practices of extricating larger felled trees via "snigging" - which is the local term for the collection of techniques employing horses, ropes and pulleys as mentioned in the article.

   Snigging avoids the damage to the forest underfloor that tractors or (worse) tracked vehicles cause.  This is seen as important nowadays, not just because of the usual ecological reasons but also because the woods in question are multi-use, with one major usage being tourism; walking in Cumbria attracts millions each year, as the place is outstandingly beautiful.  The great gouge marks or tracks of smelly diesel-burners, not to mention the swathe they cut in the low undergrowth, is not welcomed by the sensitive tourists, despite the fact that most get there via a similar vehicle, albeit scaled down.  :-)

   Lataxe

1. 
   GEide | Mar 10, 2008 05:16pm | #2

   Hmnn... interesting. Thanks for sharing...

   Gina

2. 
   hammer1 | Mar 10, 2008 05:56pm | #3

   I watched the show last night. Very interesting. The equipment they use is much different than we use in the Northeast. They work in some difficult terrain. As a youngster, dad was in the logging business. We only worked in the winter and used horses to twitch out the logs. Wood lot owners didn't want the typical damage done by skidders and many lots could only be accessed across frozen lakes.

   Fresh out of high school, I went to work for Scott Paper. Worked in the woods in the bucking yard. We processed the logs into pulp size. In the fall, many Maine rivers were used to transport the logs to the mills. Quite a site to see the rivers wall to wall with pulp logs. After cutting season, I worked at the mill on the river, pulling our logs out and sending the ones that belonged to the next mill on their way. The paper companies and river runs are long past now.

   I went out west to Oregon the next year to fight forest fires. After that I worked as a Hoedad planting trees, Forests out there would not regenerate like they do in Maine. I don't remember any black flies out west either. They can eat you alive around here. Loggers are the same, though.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match