5i8 Forestry Quarterly. 



winter reconnaissance than it is under ordinary circumstances. 

 Considering all factors concerned, it appears natural that this 

 should be so. The d. b. h. will be under rather than overesti- 

 mated, as the diameter will be taken rather higher on the bole 

 than lower. The heights will be underestimated more than or- 

 dinarily because of the higher location of the estimator. But the 

 chief reason for the tendency to underestimate lies in the fact 

 that because the snow is held in the branches of the trees, it is 

 more difficult to see, and as a result, not only is the strip nar- 

 rowed, but a good many trees, especially the small ones, are over- 

 looked. In order to overcome this tendency to underestimate, 

 the following plan was adopted: 



During the fall we laid out a sample plot of five acres, care- 

 fully measuring every tree on the plot in height and diameter. 

 Before starting the actual reconnaissance work, the men all went 

 over this plot and estimated in various ways. First they esti- 

 mated 1 00% of the area by the strip system, then by the 10% 

 strip system, and finally by the quarter-acre circle system, keeping 

 a tally of all the trees. Their tallies were compared with the 

 calipered measurements, thus bringing out the number of trees 

 they had overlooked as a result of narrowing their strips and pure 

 oversight, A comparison of the number of trees in each diame- 

 ter and height class also determined whether they were under or 

 overestimating. This preliminary practice, which usually will 

 not take more than one day's time, will be more than compensated 

 by the increased accuracy of the work. 



With regard to equipment, it has been found that small webs 

 are most satisfactory in dense timber work. A snowshoe of the 

 bear-paw type, made by W. F. Tubbs, of Norway, Maine, size 

 14"-! 5" by 28"-3o", was found to be most satisfactory. The web- 

 bing is of strong, coarse, material with large meshing, and does 

 not stretch to any material extent. A larger shoe is very awk- 

 ward to use in the timber and is not so handily packed on one's 

 back when the surface permits of walking without them. 



