_To the Editor of the Oregonian:_
Believing that any ideas relating to this matter will be of some interest
to your readers in this heavily-timbered region, I therefore propose giving
you my opinion and conclusions arrived at after having experimented upon
the cutting and use of timber for various purposes for a number of years
here upon the Pacific coast.
This, we are all well aware, is a very important question, and one very
difficult to answer, since it requires observation and experiment through a
course of many years to arrive at any definite conclusion; and it is a
question too upon which even at the present day there exists a great
difference of opinion among men who, being engaged in the lumber business,
are thereby the better qualified to form an opinion.
Many articles have been published in the various papers of the country upon
this question for the past thirty years, but in all cases an opinion only
has been given, which, at the present day, such is the advance and higher
development of the intellectual faculties of man, that a mere opinion upon
any question without sufficient and substantial reasons to back it is of
little value.
My object in writing this is not simply to give an opinion, but how and the
methods used by which I adopted such conclusions, as well also as the
reasons why timber is more durable and better when cut at a certain season
of the year than when cut at any other.
In the course of my investigations of this question for the past thirty
years, I have asked the opinion of a great many persons who have been
engaged in the lumber business in various States of the Union, from Maine
to Wisconsin, and they all agree upon one point, viz., that the winter time
is the proper time for cutting timber, although none has ever been able to
give a reason why, only the fact that such was the case, and therefore
drawing the inference that it was the proper time when timber should be
cut; and so it is, for one reason only, however, and that is the
convenience for handling or moving timber upon the snow and ice.
It was while engaged in the business of mining in the mountains of
California in early days, and having occasion to work often among timber,
in removing stumps, etc., it was while so engaged that I noticed one
peculiar fact, which was this--that the stumps of some trees which had been
cut but two or three years had decayed, while others of the same size and
variety of pine which had been cut the same year were as sound and firm as
when first cut. This seemed strange to me, and I found upon inquiry of old
lumbermen who had worked among timber all their lives, that it was strange
to them also, and they could offer no explanation; and it was the
investigation of this singular fact that led me to experiment further upon
the problem of cutting timber.
It was not, however, until many years after, and when engaged in clearing
land for farming purposes, that I made the discovery why some stumps should
decay sooner than others of the same size and variety, even when cut a few
months afterward.
I had occasion to clear several acres of land which was covered with a very
dense growth of young pines from two to six inches in diameter (this work
for certain reasons is usually done in the winter). The young trees, not
being suitable for fuel, are thrown into piles and burned upon the ground.
Such land, therefore, on account of the stumps is very difficult to plow,
as the stumps do not decay for three or four years, while most of the
larger ones remain sound even longer.
But, for the purpose of experimenting, I cleaned a few acres of ground in
the spring, cutting them in May and June. I trimmed the poles, leaving them
upon the ground, and when seasoned hauled them to the house for fuel, and
found that for cooking or heating purposes they were almost equal to oak;
and it was my practice for many years afterward to cut these young pines in
May or June for winter fuel.
I found also that the stumps, instead of remaining sound for any length of
time, decayed so quickly that they could all be plowed up the following
spring.
From which facts I draw these conclusions: that if in the cutting of timber
the main object is to preserve the stumps, cut your trees in the fall or
winter; but if the value of the timber is any consideration, cut your trees
in the spring after the sap has ascended the tree, but before any growth
has taken place or new wood has been formed.
I experimented for many years also in the cutting of timber for fencing,
fence posts, etc., and with the same results. Those which were cut in the
spring and set after being seasoned were the most durable, such timber
being much lighter, tougher, and in all respects better for all variety of
purposes.
Having given some little idea of the manner in which I experimented, and
the conclusions arrived at as to the proper time when timber should be cut,
I now propose to give what are, in my opinion, the reasons why timber cut
in early summer is much better, being lighter, tougher and more durable
than if cut at any other time. Therefore, in order to do this it is
necessary first to explain the nature and value of the sap and the growth
of a tree.
We find it to be the general opinion at present, as it perhaps has always
been among lumbermen and those who work among timber, that the sap of a
tree is an evil which must be avoided if possible, for it is this which
causes decay and destroys the life and good qualities of all wood when
allowed to remain in it for an unusual length of time, but that this is a
mistaken idea I will endeavor to show, not that the decay is due to the
sap, but to the time when the tree was felled.
We find by experiment in evaporating a quantity of sap of the pine, that it
is water holding in solution a substance of a gummy nature, being composed
of albumen and other elementary matters, which is deposited within the
pores of the wood from the new growth of the tree; that these substances in
solution, which constitute the sap, and which promote the growth of the
tree, should have a tendency to cause decay of the wood is an
impossibility. The injury results from the water only, and the improper
time of felling the tree.
Of the process in which the sap promotes the growth of the tree, the
scientist informs us that it is extracted from the soil, and flows up
through the pores of the wood of the tree, where it is deposited upon the
fiber, and by a peculiar process of nature the albumen forms new cells,
which in process of formation crowd and push out from the center, thus
constituting the growth of the tree in all directions from center to
circumference. Consequently this new growth of wood, being composed
principally of albumen, is of a soft, spongy nature, and under the proper
conditions will decay very rapidly, which can be easily demonstrated by
experiment.
Hence, we must infer that the proper time for felling the tree is when the
conditions are such that the rapid decay of a new growth of wood is
impossible; and this I have found by experiment to be in early summer,
after the sap has ascended the tree, but before any new growth of wood has
been formed. The new growth of the previous season is now well matured, has
become hard and firm, and will not decay. On the contrary, the tree being
cut when such new growth has not well matured, decay soon takes place, and
the value of the timber is destroyed. The effect of this cutting and use of
timber under the wrong conditions can be seen all around us. In the timbers
of the bridges, in the trestlework and ties of railroads and in the piling
of the wharves will be found portions showing rapid decay, while other
portions are yet firm and in sound condition.
Much more might be said in the explanation of this subject, but not wishing
to extend the subject to an improper length, I will close. I would,
however, say in conclusion that persons who have the opportunities and the
inclination can verify the truth of a portion, at least, of what I have
stated, in a simple manner and in a short time; for instance, by cutting
two or three young fir or spruce saplings, say about six inches in
diameter, mark them when cut, and also mark the stumps by driving pegs
marked to correspond with the trees. Continue this monthly for the space of
about one year, and note the difference in the wood, which should be left
out and exposed to the weather until seasoned.