164 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



some experts assert their ability to estimate the con- 

 tents of a standing tree to a foot. Such statements may 

 be taken for what they are worth, and be at once put 

 down as idle brag. By mere chance anyone can guess 

 the contents of a tree, and the guess may turn out 

 identical with the result of subsequent measurement. 

 But we never heard of a timber valuer of any experi- 

 ence pretend that mere ocular measurement was superior 

 to that effected by string or tape and rule. Everyone 

 knows, as a matter of fact, that the measuring of stand- 

 ing timber is not adopted in cases where accuracy is of 

 paramount importance, nor is it ever adopted as a final 

 estimate when the seller has the opportunity of measuring 

 it after being felled. Of course, much depends upon the 

 class of timber to be measured. For all practical purposes 

 some trees can be measured as well standing as felled, 

 especially if the fall in girth allowed can be verified by one 

 or two felled trees. But with large -headed and heavy 

 hardwood timber, such as that found in parks or hedgerows, 

 and which contains as much timber in the tops as in the 

 stems, the measuring of the trees standing is quite a different 

 thing to that of measuring them down, and the former can 

 only be considered approximately correct at the best. 



But supposing that a quantity of timber must be 

 measured while still standing, whatever the reasons may be, 

 the usual method of doing it may be described as follows : 

 The measurer has usually two assistants, one with a girth- 

 ing tape, and the other with a rod 20 or 25 feet 

 in height. The measurer takes his stand about 50 feet 

 from the tree, the assistant with the rod places the latter 

 upright against the stem, while the other man runs the 

 strap round the bole about 5 feet from the ground. The 

 measurer judges the total height of the measurable stem, by 

 estimating with the eye the distance between the top of the 

 pole and the point at which the bole ceases, and adds that 

 to the height of the rod. The mean quarter girth is 

 estimated by deducting so many inches from the quarter 

 girth obtained at 5 feet. The number of inches deducted 

 depends upon the height of the bole and its taper, and varies 

 from 2 to 6 inches. Short stems and mature timber fall 



