RADIALS 21 



radial piece extending a hundred years or more on each side of the 

 questionable years, from some other perfect part of the stump. This 

 new piece bridges over the doubtful point. It is just such procedure 

 as this which makes the dating entirely reliable. Knots or buried 

 branches give practically no trouble, except at the very center. The 

 lower parts of a sequoia whose bark has turned to the notable tan 

 color of youth seem to have no branches. They probably all disappear 

 as the rings lose that immense size called the "infancy" stage. So in 

 selecting a radius for cutting it is highly important to escape gross- 

 rings, lobes, and fire-scars. Items to be recorded are the length of 

 radius, bulges or slope, direction and amount of slope of the ground, 

 and neighbors. If the tree has grown eccentrically one would slightly 

 prefer an average radius if the rings are not too much inclined. Bulges 

 as a rule are below the level of cutting, but they may affect the slope 

 or vertical inclination of the rings from the enlargement they produce 

 in the base of the tree. In recent collections the slope of the outside 

 has been measured with a simple inclinometer. 



The v-cut — Even in small trees the v-cut illustrated in Plate 3 

 is now the standard form found practicable. Such small pieces are 

 v-shaped or triangular in cross-section and made by two slanting 

 cuts with a saw, meeting at a depth of 1 to 6 inches below the surface. 

 With a long saw on large stumps the slanting cut is made by driving 

 two spikes at a slant into the stump top, placing a board against the 

 spikes, and resting the saw against the board. 



The size and weight of the radial piece cut out depends on the 

 spacing of these cuts. Two inches is taken as the standard practical 

 width and depth in big trees. If the v-cut is made from a weathered 

 stump, as is usually the case, the cracks in it allow it to drop to pieces 

 as the saw releases it. To aid in fitting these together the distance from 

 the bark in inches is marked on each piece as it comes loose. These 

 pieces are collected by an assistant who accompanies the sawyers and 

 are all put in one bag, which is marked with the radial or tree num- 

 ber. These small bags are finally collected in a large canvas bag for 

 transportation.* 



PREPARING THE RADIAL 



Arrived at the laboratory, the pieces are taken from the sacks 

 and carefully fitted and glued together and wired or screwed to a 

 right-angle mount of standard size which permits stacking. This 

 mounting consists of a base and back, each 4 inches wide by 8 feet 

 long, 1-inch wood, with heavy square end-pieces. These mounts, 

 being all of the same size, will stack one on top of another against a 



♦When this work is done by a lumberman who can not bother with bags, the spacing of the 

 cuts should be wide enough to make the specimen hold together. 



