s, and
undergrowth around its butt as far as you will swing the axe. This is
very important as many of the accidents with an axe result from
neglect of this precaution. As we swing the axe it may catch on a bush
or branch over our head, which causes a glancing blow and a possible
accident. Be careful not to dull the axe in cutting brush. You can
often do more damage to its edge with undergrowth no thicker than
one's finger than in chopping a tree a foot through. If the brush is
very light, it will often be better to use your jack-knife.

In cutting a tree, first make two nicks or notches in the bark on the
side to which you wish it to fall and as far apart as half the
diameter of the tree. Then begin to swing the axe slowly and without
trying to bury its head at every blow and prying it loose again, but
with regular strokes first across the grain at the bottom and then in
a slanting direction at the top. The size of the chips you make will
be a measure of your degree of skill. Hold the handle rather loosely
and keep your eye on the place you wish to hit and not on the axe. Do
not work around the tree or girdle it but keep right at the notch you
are making until it is half way through the tree. Do not shift your
feet at every blow or rise up on your toes. This would tire even an
old woodchopper in a short time. See that you do not set yourself too
fast a pace at first. A beginner always starts with too small a notch.
See to it that yours is wide enough in the start.

[Illustration: The right way to chop a tree--make two notches on
opposite sides]

[Illustration: The wrong way--this looks like the work of a beaver]

When you have cut about half way through, go to the other side of the
tree and start another notch a little higher than the first one. A
skilled man can chop either right-or left-handed but this is very
difficult for a beginner. If you are naturally right-handed, the
quickest way to learn left-handed wood chopping is to study your usual
position and note where you naturally place your feet and hands. Then
reverse all this and keep at it from the left-handed position until it
becomes second nature to you and you can chop equally well from either
position. This you may learn in a week or you may never learn it. It
is a lot easier to write about than it is to do.

When the tree begins to creak and show signs of toppling over, give it
a few sharp blows and as it falls jump sideways. Never jump or run
backwar