21G 



IXSTIIUMENT FOR ASCERTlmiNG THE^EXICT 

 HEIGHT OF TREES AXD OTHER OBJECTS. 



BY MR. S. WELLS, HOLME LACEY. 



The Pkesident tfcen said that be had now to bring before them Mr. 

 Wrlla' " lastrumeut for ascertaining the exact height of trees and other 

 objects." It was a great pleasure to hiui to have to exhibit anything so clever, 

 for he believed it to be as original as it was simple and accurate. He did so 

 nevertheless as a duty, for he should not have chosen himself to bring forward 

 a subject which rf-quires eo much mathematical knowledge to do it proper 

 justice. He hoped, however, they would not misunderstand him, nor imagine 

 for an instant that he was not quite up to practical trigonometry (a laugh) — 

 it would aot do for the President of so scientific a club to admit that 

 (laughter) — and therefore if any of the learned mathematicians who were 

 listeuiug to him should observe that he did not use the ordinary terms or 

 formulas of the schools in his explanations, they must be good enough to 

 remember how necessary it was now-a-days to populaiize these things (great 

 laughter). 



Th -y were aware that the Woolhipe Club was desirous of drawing up an 

 account of the more remarkable trees of Herefordshire, and it was important 

 to note their exact height. Whilst making inquiries on this subject, he had 

 heard of Mi: Wells' instrument, and, on examination, was so convinced of 

 its merits that he used every effort to induce Mr. Wells himself to exliibit it, 

 but be could not prevail upon him to do so, and was therefore compelled, with 

 his sanction, to bi iug it forward himself. 



There were many ways of ascertaining the height of a tree, and before he 

 attempted to describe Mr. Wells' instrument he would just glance at some of 

 the other methods of doing so. 



The first he might call the guessing plan Every third person you met 

 believed himself capable of giving a close estimate of the height of any given 

 tree. " Let some one stand at the foot of the tree and he would soon tell 

 you its height." And there are peoi^le who can no doubt do this pretty 

 exactly, but he would venture to say that if any six people of the present 

 company attempted to do it, say with a tree of 60 feet high, the results 

 would varj' from 45 to 75 feet ; and since a variation of 30 feet in a tree of 

 60 was not quite accurate enough for the Woolhope Club (a laugh), he would 

 pass on to 



The second plan, which was the actual measurement — that is, by sending 

 a man up the tree with a pole to reach to the top, and a rope attached to it to 



