Volu77ie Tables. 1 1 



and the closeness of the figure fonnd for the Scotch Pine to that 

 given for the Norway Spruce suggests the possibiHty of using the 

 same voUtme tables with sHght correction factors for species which 

 do not vary all to widely in habit of stem growth.^ 



The point which will strike the practical man in this connection 

 is that this method of developing and using volume tables neces- 

 sitates the measuring of trees at a point where standing trees can- 

 not be directly measured. So far as the measurements for the 

 construction of the volume tables are concerned, they must in any 

 case be made on felled trees, which involves no difficulty. The 

 same, of course, applies to the measuring of stands where it is 

 possible to cut the sample trees. Where, however, it is impossi- 

 ble or undesirable to cut the sample trees, a real difficulty, but by 

 no means a great one, is met. 



Modern improvements in the instruments at the disposal of the 

 forester has given him several by means of which it is possible to 

 measure the diameter of a standing tree at any desired point with 

 accuracy and considerable despatch, provided the point can be 

 plainly seen. Wimmenauer's Baummesser' is perhaps the most 

 satisfactory of the cheaper instruments that are at the same time 

 thoroughly practical. It is a combination of a telescopic diame- 

 ter measure with a splendid form of Weisse's height measure. 

 For use in the woods I attached it to a stout camera tripod and 

 found that with an assistant one could easily take all needed 

 measurements on one hundred sample trees in a day of ten hours. 



Very little has yet been done in the way of developing volume 

 tables for the American species ; indeed, aside from the Adiron- 

 dack Spruce and the White Pine, we know but little of the aver- 

 age form and content of the stems of our varied silva. This is 

 a field for almost endless research, and it may be that this recent 

 improvement in methods may be used to advantage in the study. 



JuDSON F. Clark. 



' See Miiller's Holzmesskunde. p. 221. 



^ In another paper I shall give the results of some measurements on the 

 Adirondack Balsam-Fir which indicated a constant of between 21.5 and 22 

 for that species. 



*For full description see Allgem. Forst- und Jagd-Zeitung, 1896. p. 222. 

 It is made by W. Sporhase in Giessen for 63 mark (|i6.oo). See also 

 Miiller's Holzmesskunde. p. 182. 



