188 A MANUAL FOR NORTHERN WOODSMEN 



Then with a party of three men the supervisor ran 4-rod 

 strip surveys * through each compartment, covering in each 

 from 10 to 15 per cent of the area. Having no volume 

 tables, he scored down instead the logs judged to be in the 

 trees passed, in 16-ft lengths and by inch-diameter classes. 

 In the office the contents of these logs were ascertained 

 from the scale rule, multiplied by the number of each size, 

 and added together. If then 10 per cent of a compartment 

 had been covered, multiplying by 10 gave the stand of 

 the compartment, which was the result desired. 



With trustworthy volume tables and calipers better re- 

 sults could probably be had, but those here obtained were 

 satisfactory. General good judgment is essential in carry- 

 ing out such a survey, but, that given, a man can do it 

 who has not had long woods and mill training. In fact, 

 in the same forest one or two green but intelligent men are 

 said to have been quickly trained so that their figures 

 could be relied on within 10 or 15 per cent. 



2. THE STRIP SYSTEM 



The strip system of estimating has been used rather 

 widely in woods work, not infrequently in connection with 

 land subdivision. As a survey party is running through 

 the woods, it is sometimes made the duty of the chainmen 

 to count the merchantable trees for a stated distance on 

 each side of the line run, the contents of the trees being 

 determined oftenest by an estimate of the number neces- 

 sary to make up a thousand feet. The same system in 

 effect is sometimes used by the cruiser who counts the 

 trees passed within a certain distance as he travels across 

 a lot, or the work may be done more elaborately, and the 

 caliper and hypsometer introduced to any extent thought 

 advisable. 



The methods of a Michigan cruiser who employs this 

 system were described on page 178. Following are 

 methods pursued on tracts of considerable size by a 

 number of progressive concerns at the South dealing with 

 pine and a variety of hard wood timbers. 



The strip lines are usually % mile apart; they may be 



1 Se<> next article. 



