Steam Tree Felling—Minutes v. Hours.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2924, 29 June 1878, Page 4

Steam Tree Felling—Minutes v. Hours.

Thomas Hood has described the country --'' as—-

" Green, turned up -with brown, And garnish'd with trees that a man might cut down ' Instead of his own expenses," And in the days of Crockford's the rieceßsitiesof many a dicing Heir O'Lynn would haTe found instantaneous relief by \pperatione, similar to those that recently attracted a crowd •of Hghtaeerer' In a field on the Koupell Park Estate, close'to the Tulse Hill StatJos, one of the latest of labor-saving' in« ventioiiß was subjected to a severe aEdcrucial , test. ■ The Patent Tree Steam Teller, the invention of Messrs A. Bansome and Co., engineers, Stanley Works, Chelsea, .possesses two great merits, simplicity of construction and facility for transport. In working, the -^ only fixing it requires is that a small Rearing be made sut the foot of the tree to be operated on: one man keeps it in position with a, crow-bar, another works the hand ; wheel, a third wedges up as the saw enters, by which all " nipping " is prevented, and a tree is felled in any desired direction, and the "fourth steadies the saw until ib enters, its own cut sufficing to guide it, when he is left free to make another clearing. The inScbine consists of a steam cylinder of small diameter having a long stroko; this is attached to a light cast iron b.ed plate, upon ; which it pivots on .. its-centre, this pivoting motion being given by a hand -wheel turning a worm, which gears ■ into aquadnmt cjston the back of the cylinder. The saw is fixed direct on the end of the pistonrod, and iv made to {ravel in a true line by guides, tho teeth of the saw cutting only during tbe inward stroke, and as the teeth offer no resistance to the outward stroke, all possibility of the saw buckling is avoided. The operation of the saw is similar to that of .the^ordinavy ripping saw used by wood cutters'. The steam is supplied from any small . portable boiler, the special portable engine used on this occasion being a small one of about 4-h'oree power set on wheels, and ' weighing not more than qbdut fifteen hundredweight. Whenever a large traction engine can be used, enough steam can be supplied to work two, three, or even ,four tree-fellers at r once, thus clearing in several directions 5 but / it waß the opinion of several practical men with whom the writer was speaking that an oidinary saddle-back boiler would be equally efficient to that used, and this could be easily slung on poles and carried by- cay four men, this feller iB not only adapted for level ground, but can aho be used with perfect success on r the mountain Blopes, vhichin all timber-grqw- ' ing countries are invari.bly covered with trees. • By a readjustment of the machine the "Tree Feller " is in a few minutes~odapted to cut tho tops into lengths as they lie on the ground. - Thus, by the employment of two machines worked by one boiler, trees can be cut down and cut up simultaneously. The steam is supplied through a strong flexible steam-pipe made of canvas and india-rubber, an admirable, non-conductor of hear, and in practice no inconvenience from condensation is found, even when working with a pipe 200 feet in length. The trees operated on, consisted of elms and daks from 3to 5 fe»t in diameter. Experts in i' woodcraft were of opinion that these had given out no branches for at least twenty years, and thus tho ossification of'the sap vcfsela in the lower portions of the trees made them particularly " tough subjects "on which to- operate, and Biieh ns to test to the fullest the; workmanlike qualities of the -machine. Special intv^rst Trns given to this by the pre&rjico of Mr Gladstone and.his eon, the mem■erifur Wbitby, both of whom have taken high, jraifk ns amateur wood cutters. Prior to their aVr-7ft]'o number of elms und oaks had been. |fllcd j when, however, tliey reached the scone of ifctinti the u^ai-hine waa slung from the axle bf,'a light " timber jim " nnd wheel* d to the JfTof. of a ttoufc ouk. A clearing having been atrfwiy mode, in a few iriuiiilcs tlic saw wus | in jioeitjon, Iho steam pipe attached, and in j jour >niuules "more the free, measuring 3 (tret linch by 2 feet 4 in hes, lay prostrate.

The writ pi', willing, lo lmvo ilie opinion of ao distinguished an ctpart, uskcd Mr Gladstone liow long it would have'token, him to. fell such a tree. ! urning' baclt, and looking at it; critically, Jio said it. would be a gotd ■day's wovk, rxplaininfi; that the labor ,-wjis co severe, that, six hours' continuous woo.i chopping was a.a much^us a ninn could got through. However, before giving his opinion judiciously he, look into -council hia son, Mr W.H. Gladstone, who thought two Buoh trees might be felled in a day and a-half. An experienced wood-sawyer said such a trice, would take at least two and a bait' hours, or a quarter day, ten hours' being the woodsawyor's working day. ,Mr Gladstone said aubseq ently that allowing for the time -taken in fixing the niaohino, selling it to work and operating, that it got through as much work—two superficial feet in a minute—as a man working hia hardest couli effect in one hour. The. Right Honourable gentleman was. of opinion that this machine was capable of more extended operations in Scotland and onr colonies, where large tracts of country are corcreri wiih forests, than eren in England. A second oat; 3 feet 1 inch in diameter, aud an elm were next operated on, when, as the crowning operation, the largest elm on the ground, 5 feet 4 inches in diameter, was attacked. " The best iaid schemes of mice andmeh gang aft agee," and as the stoker had allowed the steam to run down, the machine was worktd at only half-power. After stopping altogether in 'thirteen minutes, in eight, minutes more steam was gotup, and in seventeen minutes working time the grand old gnarled trunk hot! fallen. One strong point in farour of the machine Mr Gladstone considered to be the utter absence of waste, the tree being cut down quite close to the ground, whereas in wood-cut I ing a large "face," entailing much waste, ia-no.oes.Bury. A gentleman who had much practical experience in the, Brazils .spoke in strong terms of trie fearful loss of valuable wood in that country, from which we draw our chief supplies of furniture timber, rosewood, zebn-wodd, and mahogany. To save Ih em* elves'-tho trouble of stooping the woodmen cu,t on a level with their shoulders, and as the bpsfc? portion of the trunk, having the moist variegated-grain, lies low, all Ihis is lost, which, by the tree-teller cutting quite dose to tho ground, would be saved.^ Furthermore, theje lumber men cut the trunk to a point, piercing same with a hole, in which they fasten a rope for haulage to the. river*. So valuable is the wood that tho saving effected in even one day would go far to recoup the firet coat of one of these tree-fellers, cutting down to the root. In the States, the present writer noted large trncts of forests utterly wasted, the tree 3 been either "blazed" by a circle of fire applied to the roots, or " girdled,", the bark being cut through, and the tree left to die. This not only takes time, but as the trees fall iin_eve!y direction much labour js wasted in removal, to say iiething of t\ c loss of material, and it is his opinion fhat such a machine as the tree-feller would commend itself at once to a practical and inventive people. By its means the land could not only be cleared without deiay, but a/tho trees are cut down close to the ground,-the' subsequent farming operation? be much facilitated, to say nothing of the money question, valuable timber taking the place, of useless "dead wood." In Lower California, the " red wood " forests, a tree nearly ; akin to teak, and belts of pine timber, the pine woods of Oregon, and the Coos and Humbold t va^eys in British' Columbia present a s^peciul field -for the operations of such a machine. Where gangs of men clear on the " commonwealth " syetem, the axe is used,; where contractors take the work in hand the ripping saw is employed, cutting close to the -ground. The stumps are. then blpv-n up with " giant powder," the proceeds resulting from their paie pnying": all the working expenses. As in beih'.-lhfrp countries the forests are situate;' on heights, the lumber-being run down by -what arc ciilh'd '' flues" to. the valleys, the portability. „of the "tree-feller'-'. would mark its utiliy.. New Z;aland also, with i*s ex'eneive trucia ol limber land, one bow in process oi -clearing-: being known a's the " sevtnty mile busby" would welcome such nn. innovation; as the "bush " must be clenrfd for cultivation, but roaefs cut' through it for intercommunication. By Vuciv means valuable limber-trees, suol*:as, the " totava," a pine^ and the "ratii," a species of oak; would bo available for export, and trees of lesser value, such as tbo "kauri pine," could be cleared off at infinitesimal expense. Mr G-ludetone's opinions" of our various forest trees may not be considered ■.uninteresting.' Oak, though very hard, .lie considered. by no meaDs a bad tree to out, the grain breaking easily and not clinging to the axe; beech, much tougher, and a "dead beech very trying iudeed." Ash Was also difficult, on account of the longitudinal fibres, Mr Gladstone Btating hebad seen splinters as long as his umbrella standing up from the centre of the trunk, the tree huving fallen. Yew he considered very terrible, and 'Spanish ehesnut and sycamore yerj pleasant, the fine grain of the latter giving facility ; and Mr Gladstone recalled how in 'Scotland many -years ago the quaint snuff boxes with wooden hinges, and known as " Lawrence Kirk " were made from this wood. In conclusion, it may be said, that in this experiment the "Bansome Tree Feller" amply justified the expectations of the inventors, and from its simplicity of cobstruction and easiness in working it can be adapted to saws of any girth; it proved its suitability for all countries possessing tracts* of forest lands, and through its instrumentality a large field of enterprise may bp opened up.—European. Mail.