Ae Forest — harvesting first thinnings
Photograph is courtesy and copyright of Forestry Commission, Forest Research, Roslin, and provided with help from Glen Brearley . FR Photo number No C2033 taken by I A Anderson.
Beautiful image of a harvesting site in Ae Forest near to Closeburn country road looking over Gubghill Rig. The text reads as follows:
‘Extraction of first thinnings from P32 to the roadside in long lengths by horse and sulky. Stacking of converted produce at roadside. General view of P35 Norway spruce and P36 Sitka spruce on Gubhill Rig.’
The sulky has a clever device to hold the logs on namely a chain that goes through two rings and follows the shape of the sulky arms and would be tightened by a dwang not really visible. The horse is in full cart type harness as the sulky is pulled by fixed shafts. The rein appears to be short and likely the horseman led his horse down the extraction route which it would almost certainly follow on its own after a few trips.
Note the basic cross cut saw bench just in front of the logs being piled by the horseman. The two operators are in front of the horse stacking newly cross cut material from a barrow and awiting the exit of the horse to return to cross cutting.
The stacked products are a bit of a mystery. There are certainly two types of product, one at around 9 foot long and quite slim sourced from the tops of trees (stacked in multi layered piles) and another at around 3 foot long but more with robust diameters, There is the hint of longer sawlog type material but that is hidden around the bend of the road. The slim poles are very similar to material used for the rustic market and the short logs could be pulp wood possibly for the ground pulp factory once based at Annan (Weyrock?).
Any views and information is very welcome on the products, the operations, machines and the also the names of the men.
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Groups of people, Horses at work in Forests