25 



VOLUME TABLES. 



A volume table gives the number of board feet or other 

 units that one may expect to obtain from a tree of given 

 dimensions, the given dimensions being the diameter breast 

 high and the total height, or the used length of the trunk 

 of the tree. Many lumbermen use the diameter at the top of 

 the stump as the diameter of the tree, but this is unsatis- 

 factory, because stump heights vary, and also there is usually 

 a considerable swell at the base which varies greatly in trees 

 of the same general size. Breast-high diameter (about 4| 

 feet above the ground) is at a convenient elevation for actual 

 use, and it avoids the two objections to stump diameters just 

 enumerated. In the pine and chestnut volume tables it is 

 presumed that all the bole above a 6-inch stump and below 

 a top diameter of 4 inches is used. 



The utility of volume tables lies in estimating the quantity 

 of standing timber. A dozen different methods of estimating 

 can be suggested in which volume tables play a part, and 

 which vary in accuracy. The most accurate and best method 

 for small lots is to caliper every tree, obtaining thus their 

 diameter and number. Then obtain the average height of the 

 stand, if it is more or less uniform, or otherwise divide the 

 trees into two or more diameter classes, and get the average 

 height of each class. From the volume tables obtain the 

 volume of each diameter class, multiply by the number of 

 trees, and add all together to make the volume of the stand. 



