36 



or, where slides are used, at the side of the slide before they are 

 started . 



Naturally, the accuracy of sealers varies tremendously. Some 

 guess at the dimensions of many of the logs without measuring 

 them, and even estimate the total run of a pile without bothering 

 to measure any of the logs in it. 



In Maine and also in some parts of New Hampshire, spruce is 

 cut in long logs; that is, the entire merchantable part of the tree 

 is taken out in one log. The scaling is sometimes done as the 

 logs are hauled to the skidways or yards, and sometimes at the 

 landing if they are to be driven. If the Maine Log Rule is used, 

 the sealer's outfit consists of the ordinary Maine scale stick, a 

 measuring pole or tape, a marking hammer, chalk, and a note- 

 book. The small end and the length of the log are measured, and 

 the results in board feet are read directly from the stick and 

 recorded on special tally blanks or in a notebook. 



The Maine Rule gives figures for lengths only up to 30 feet, so 

 that if a log is longer than that, it must be scaled as two logs. In 

 the latter case only the diameter at the small end is ordinarily 

 measured, while the diameter at the middle is merely estimated. 

 Thus, if a log is 36 feet long, the small diameter 7 inches, and the 

 diameter at the center estimated at 9 inches, the contents of two 

 18-foot logs, respectively 9 and 7 inches in diameter, are read from 

 the stick as the contents of the whole log. The sealer guesses at 

 the middle diameter of the log after measuring the top. The 

 increase in size from top to center (called the "rise") may be 

 estimated very accurately by experienced sealers. Sometimes a 

 scale stick is used which gives the contents of whole logs over 28 

 feet long, constructed on the principle that logs from 28 to 32 feet 

 long have a rise from tip to center of 1 inch, those from 32 to 36 

 feet long a rise of 2 inches, those from 36 to 40 feet long a rise of 3 

 inches. The rise of logs over 40 feet long is left to the sealer's 

 judgment. 



Deductions for crooks and other defects are made according to 

 the judgment of the sealer. There are no rules, and the discounting 

 is entirely a matter of experience. In common practice it is the 

 prevailing "custom to reduce the total scale of a lot of logs by a- 

 certain percentage determined upon as a factor of safety, particu- 



