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&KXVIII. On the Mensuration of timber. By Mr. 

 John Farev. 



To the Editor of the Philosophical Magazine. 



SIR, 



J. he following paper was written at the particular request 

 of the very intelligent nobleman to whom it is addressed, 

 and who has since expressed a wish that I would publish it, 

 on account of the importance of the subject to land-owners 

 and growers of timber. By giving it a place in your Maga- 

 zine, you will greatly oblige, sir, 



Your obedient humble servant, 

 June 15, 1804. John Farey. 



To the Right Honourable Lord Sheffield, President of 

 the Board of Agriculture, &c* 



MY LORD, 



In complying with the wish which your lordship did 

 me the honour to express, to receive a communication from 

 me on the subject of timber, and particularly on the cus- 

 tomary modes of measuring it for sale, it is necessary I 

 should apologize for enumerating many thiqgs, for the sake 

 of connecting the subject, which have been often before 

 published, and are too well known to your lordship and 

 most other growers of timber, to have otherwise required 

 repeating. Timber in large quantities is generally sold by 

 the load, and in smaller quantities by the foot, without 

 its being generally understood or adverted to, that in reality 

 three different quantities pass under the denomination of 

 foot, and the same of load : first, the cubic foot of 1 728 

 cubic inches ; second, the foot round measure, varying, 

 according to the shape or dimensions of the different parts 

 of the tree, from about 2200 to about 2500 cubic inches ; 

 and third, the foot square measure, varying also, according 

 to the shape of the tree, from about 1360 to about 2000 

 cubic inches. In each of these cases the load is equal to 

 50 of the respective feet. 



The first or cubic foot occurs in measuring square sawed 

 timber, or what is called die-square timber, and plank, 

 scantling, &c. (as also in the measure of hewn or sawn 

 btone-work) , and is found by taking; the length, breadth, 

 and depth of the piece, and multiplving these three dimen- 

 sions together. For example: suppose a piece of squire 



Vol. 19. No. 75. August 1304. Q_ timber, 



