Each crew set out for the cutting area at sunrise and returned to the shanty at sundown. The feller usually selected the pine tree to be cut. The tree had to have a straight branchless trunk and measure three to four feet in diameter. He determined where the tree should fall to cause the least damage to the trunk and to place it in the best position for cutting and trimming. The felling axe is seen with the blade imbedded in tree base (extreme left centre). The liner then examined the tree for blemishes and chose the best section to square. He used a soot-blackened cord to indicate the depth and direction of the wood to be squared. Using the line as a guide, the three men (scorers) with scoring axes chopped V-shaped notches every three or four feet along the side of the first cut. These notches established the depth of the squaring.
Courtesy: Notman Photographic Archives, McCord Museum, Montreal
