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.

C.W. HASKINS.