THE WOOD CHOPPER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 19 December 1907, Page 2

THE WOOD CHOPPER.

HOW Illi WORKS. If C. Miley, wood-splitter, of Ilarietvllle, Victoria, lmd Loon born tlirie or foul' hundred .years ago, suid a recent issue of the Melbourne Argus, there is no doubt that his abilities would have entitled him to the post of headsman to some European sovereign. But in the twentieth century young Miley has tu Ik content with the title of Champion Axeman of the World—a position which he is striving to maintain at the woodchopping contests now taking place in Melbourne. What an object-lesson m

provided by a wood-chopping carnival to the suburban householder? Himself the possessor of an ancient and rusted I axe, with a notched and irregular edge, which knocks small chips oft' knotty blocks the hour the milkman calls, he watches in amazement the Hashing axe of the professional wood-cutter bite, dee]) into the log 011 which lie is standing, and iiing out huge chips, large enough to fill the kitchen range. The "slow endeavouring art" of the unpractised wood-cutter is put to shame by the performance. There is this much to be said, however, the circumstances arc all in favour of the axeman. His axo,

which weighs about tilbs., has an edge on it like a razor. Miley says that, without exaggeration, he could shave himself with his axe. One feels a certain curiosity to see thiri performance, and if it were put on as a linale to a wood-cutting contest it would prove a draw. But this is merely mentioned to

show that the sort of axe that is required for wood-chopping contests would be of very little use for the back yard. "If I were to bring my axe down on a box block," said Miley, " it would smash like a piece of glass. The timber we use is carefully selected by expert woodchoppers, who pick out wood that id free from knots and quite straight in the grain. The piftes used in my particular heat of a contest was all selected from the same tree, so as to get absolute similarity, and they are marked with the same number. Then another set of logs are got from another tree for another heat and are marked with another number. There is no trouble in getting straight-grained timber in Uippsland. When the logs are cut they are

reduced to tUe aauie sine by tape lneasurement, unci are drawn lor when the contest conies on. As a rule black-butt is used, and the wood being green the axe cuts into it very easily." Watching a number of competitors at work, the (juestion arises as to what part skill plays ill the result, and what is achieved Dy sheer physical strength. -Viiley gives tlie experienced strong man very little chance in a contest. ''Take Clarence Weber, lor instance," he says. " Now 1 guarantee that it Weber and I started o it° even X would get through a log in two find a half minutes that would take liim another minute and a half to cut. You have to be so careful that one mishit may break your axe, and will certainly put you out of the contest. There is a tremendous strain from start to finish. A hundred yards sprint is nothing to it, and at the end of the contest X have often seen men fall exhausted oil" their logs. Contrary to what may be generally supposed, the man who cuts out the largest chips is not the best man; rather the winner is usually the man who gets in the maximum number of strokes in a given time, Regularity is the great thing, and if a log which has been cut through by a skilled axeman is examined afterwards it will be found that he lias not wasted a single stroke. A regular shaped V—technically called the "scarfe"—has been cut off on each side, and the ends of the V's meet to a hair's breadth. Miley does not contemplate giving lessons to suburban neophytes. Xt seems that woodchopping is one of the line arts, and as Doglierry said of reading and writing, it " comes by nature." Miley will be a competitor at the Elthani Carnival on 2Gth and 27th inst. On the first day of the caruival»a special train will leave town for Elthaiu at 0.30 a.m.