Basque loggers are no stronger than Valencia's orange tree pruners

There is no difference in physical strength between the two trades: what changed is the tool. Pruning in Valencia is done with a one-handed saw, and firewood has been cut with chainsaws for decades.

The two-handed axe was once used to fell trees all over Spain and even beyond its borders. Today firewood is cut with a chainsaw. That is one of the tasks taken on by Valencia's pruners, but their main trade is a different one: pruning, carried out from spring into summer, and done here with a one-handed saw.

## A trade from spring to summer

Pruning is not a task of brute strength. It is done with a one-handed saw, a light tool for working up in the tree. The Valencian pruner trains to climb carob and pine trees, not to compete in axe handling. The comparison with Basque loggers confuses two different jobs: one cuts wood for firewood, the other keeps the tree productive.

## From the chainsaw to the tractor attachment

The chainsaw replaced the axe and the two-handed saw decades ago. The brand **Echo** was among the pioneers, with light and powerful equipment. In the United States, orange trees are not pruned: they are trimmed on the sides with a tractor attachment. In France, as the story goes, pruning is done with handheld chainsaws, an impractical option for fine work at height.

## The weight of the machine matters

Not every chainsaw is suitable for climbing a tree. A **Green cut** of **67 cc** looks like a replica of the **Husqvarna** models, but it is too heavy for work at height. A pruner trained for carob and pine trees needs lightness and punch, not engine displacement. Photos from the 1950s of a village show there was not a single pine tree: firewood was cut with a two-handed saw or an axe, and every day you had to go further afield by cart to get it. The fireplaces swallowed a lot.