ROUGH CONVERSION. 24-1 



iii. Determining the Assortment. 



Once the tree has been freed from branches and measured, 

 it must be decided from a consideration of its species, dimen- 

 sions, form and quality, and the demands of the market, into 

 what assortments it will be converted. This decision is of the 

 greatest importance ; it usually should be made only by one of 

 the forest staff. The usual rule is to allow the stems fit for 

 timber to retain their full length as much as possible. There 

 are many exceptions, however, to this rule, which is more 

 applicable to coniferous than to broadleaved wood. 



(a) Quality. Only perfectly sound wood should be con- 

 verted into timber. This rule is specially applicable in the 

 case of oakwood, which is often full of defects. Large old 

 beech, spruce and silver-fir trees are also often heartshaken, 

 cracked, infected with red-rot, or brittle at the base of the 

 stem. Whenever pieces of timber of doubtful soundness, or 

 from which the defective parts have not been carefully removed, 

 are offered for sale, future sales of timber are greatly prejudiced. 

 When, therefore, there are any doubts as to the soundness of 

 the wood, it is better to cut it into shorter pieces than to 

 send suspicious looking goods to the market. The timber 

 purchaser, now-a-days, has had too much experience of such 

 pieces. 



(b) Shape of Stem. Wherever long pieces are in demand, 

 it is unusual to include in them the small end of the stem. 

 The next point is, therefore, to decide where the top should be 

 cut : as a rule, this should be wherever there is a marked 

 falling-off in size, or a change of shape, in the stem ; 

 wherever, in fact, the top of the stem may be utilised dif- 

 ferently from its lower portion. By leaving a piece of wood 

 at the end of a log, which does not accord well with it, the 

 value of the latter is not increased, for the purchaser always 

 excludes this piece from his estimate. If, however, the forest 

 owner cuts off such a piece, it will be utilisable at any rate as 

 firewood, and in the case of oak may be used as a railway- 

 sleeper or gate-post, the value of which would not be considered 

 by a purchaser of the bole. 



Straight, long pieces which are chiefly coniferous, need not 

 F.U. R 



