FOREST MENSURATION. 



THE BOARD FOOT. 



The unit of measure on which sawed lumber is almost uni- 

 versally sold in the United States is the board foot, which is 

 a board 12 inches square and 1 inch thick. In southeastern 

 Massachusetts, however, they have a practice of sawing 

 lumber five-eighths inch thick, and they call a board foot a 

 board which is 12 inches square and only five-eighths inch in 

 thickness. The variation is often the cause of some misun- 

 derstanding by those who are ignorant of the local system. 

 The number of board feet in any given piece of lumber is ob- 

 tained by multiplying the product of the width and thickness 

 in inches by the length in feet, and dividing by 12. For 

 instance, a plank 8 inches wide, 2 inches thick, and 12 feet 

 long will figure as follows: 2 J/ x 8" x 1 2 '^Q board feet 



Professional sealers have a board rule which is laid across the 

 width of a board, and on the rule are given the board-feet 

 contents of that particular width and length, provided it is 

 1 inch thick. If, however, it happens to be thicker, say 1| 

 inches instead of 1, the scale as indicated on the rule must be 

 increased 50 per cent to allow for the additional thickness. 

 The scaling of square-edge lumber with straight and parallel 

 sides is a mere mechanical process, but it happens that most 

 of our native lumber cut in Massachusetts is sawed through 

 and through, with the bark left on the edges. Such lumber is\ 

 narrower on one face than on the other, and the board is 



