REVIEWS 715 



"From these measurements r (the taper ratio) and q^ (form quo- 

 tient) can be computed. 



d do — d 



d.b. h. '^ d.h.h. — d 



"In which d = top diameter. 



do = diameter half way between diameter breast high and 

 top." 



The steps in computing the estimate are as follows : 



"(a) Draw a separate height curve for each type or form class on 

 the basis of diameter in the usual way. 



"(&) Pick out of the general table of cylinder volume the volumes 

 corresponding to the heights shown by the height curve. (See appen- 

 dix for tables.) 



"(c) Apply the cylinder form factor computed in the field to these 

 volumes. This will give the volume in cubic feet. It may be converted 

 into cords in the usual way or into board feet by use of the mill factor 

 determined in the field." 



The reviewer coincides with the author's own conclusion that this 

 system of timber estimating will appear to many readers to be need- 

 lessly complicated. But, as he says, "former systems have sacrificed 

 accuracy to simplicity. The proposed plan, like a green colt, needs to 

 be used, and in proportion to its use will be better understood and 

 found the more serviceable." 



The scholarly character of the text is marred by certain unfortunate 

 lapses and typographical errors. Thus "quality site" in place of "site 

 class;" "Woodman's Handbook;" the sentence, on page i6, beginning: 

 "Therefore, if the laws by which the frustum form, it will ... ;" 

 "Forest" instead of "Forestry Quarterly," and the cryptic reference 

 No. 9 in the bibliography to a publication by the Austrian Experiment 

 Station on the form and contents of larch. 



It is also to be regretted that the basic tables for yellow birch and 

 hard maple, specifically referred to on page 28 of the text, do not ap- 

 pear in the appendix. The quaint editorial explanation that "they are 

 voluminous almost beyond words to describe" scarcely satisfies. 



The profession owes much to such painstaking investigators as 

 Chandler. It is only by delving in fundamentals that real progress is 

 made. This study is indeed "founded on a rock," and some idea of 

 the amount of excavation it required is gained by a careful perusal of 

 the bulletin. 



A. B. R. 



