sts which are mature and ready for the ax.
This means that the harvest must be made under conditions where
there are enough young trees to take the place of the full-grown
trees that are removed. Cutting is best done during the winter
when the trees are dormant. If the cutting is performed during
the spring or summer, the bark, twigs and leaves of the
surrounding young growth may be seriously damaged by the falling
trees. The trees should be cut as low to the ground as is
practicable, as high stumps waste valuable timber. Care should be
taken so that they will not break or split in falling. Trees
should be dropped so that they will not crush young seedlings and
sapling growth as they fall. It is no more difficult or costly to
throw a tree so that it will not injure young trees than it is to
drop it anywhere without regard for the future of the forest.

Directly after cutting, the fallen timber should be trimmed so as
to remove branches that are crushing down any young growth or
seedling. In some forests the young growth is so thick that it is
impossible to throw trees without falling them on some of these
baby trees which will spring back into place again if the heavy
branches are removed at once. The top of the tree should be
trimmed so that it will lie close to the ground. Under such
conditions it will rot rapidly and be less of a fire menace. The
dry tops of trees which lodge above the ground are most dangerous
sources of fire as they burn easily and rapidly.

The lumbermen can also aid the future development of the forests
by using care in skidding and hauling the logs to the yard or
mill. Care should be exercised in the logging operations not to
tear or damage the bark of trunks of standing timber. If
possible, only the trees of unimportant timber species should be
cut for making corduroy roads in the forests. This will be a
saving of valuable material.

In lumbering operations as practiced in this country, the logs
are usually moved to the sawmills on sleds or by means of logging
railroads. If streams are near by, the logs are run into the
water and floated to the mill. If the current is not swift
enough, special dams are built. Then when enough logs are
gathered for the drive, the dam is opened and the captive waters
flood away rapidly and carry the logs to the mill. On larger
streams and rivers, the logs are often fastened together in
rafts. Expert log drivers who ride on the tipping, rolling logs
in the r