276 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



a gasoline merchant decide to measure his gasoline on the basis of the mileage 

 that he thought his customers ought to get in their various cars, or the number 

 of pairs of gloves that they ought to be able to clean with the gasoline, his troubles 

 would be well begun. 



The troubles of the Province with its habit of measuring the wood it sells by 

 a product {hoard feet) unit instead of a volume {cubic foot) unit, have long 

 since been well begun, and have bred much undeserved loss and unearned gain, 

 also endless suspicion and controversy. 



There can, of course, be no question that the cubic measurement of wood is 

 the ideal measurement. It is also clear that it is entirely practicable. It is, 

 indeed, much the simplest means of measurement for future sales. Happily, 

 it is already being used by the Department of Lands and Forests in a large way 

 in the scaling of pulpwood and the cullers are, therefore, already familiar in a 

 practical way with measuring wood according to its cubic contents. Its adoption 

 for all wood measurements would quickly dispel the absurd belief held by many 

 citizens that the lumbermen are a class of semi-professional robbers and that 

 they are even aided and abetted by the Department itself. This absurb and 

 exceedingly vicious impression has been the result of the using of a product unit 

 instead of a volume unit in the measurement of its logs, plus the said circum- 

 stance that the Doyle rule, which has been the official rule in Ontario since 

 October 18th, 1879, is the very worst of its class in that it is less and less a true 

 measure of value as the logs grow smaller. And the average logs coming to 

 the mills of the Province are apparently forever growing smaller, paradoxical 

 as that may sound. 



On the other hand, the Doyle rule has been the official rule of the Province 

 for many, years, during which period many timber limits have been sold. And 

 it must be clearly kept in mind that when bids were made for these timber limits 

 at public auction or by sealed tender they were based on the scale the Doyle 

 rule would give under the conditions then obtaining. It is, therefore, of course, 

 obvious that any change in the manner of measurement must have regard to 

 the equities thus established. It should also be appreciated by the public that 

 in maintaining these equities the lumberman is getting nothing but his own, and 

 the Province is being paid the full value of the timber sold as determined at the 

 time of sale by public competition. 



If then the equities as between buyer and seller were correctly adjusted at 

 the time of sale, why suggest a change to cubic measurement? The answer 

 has already been given. The Doyle rule, by virtue of its unscientific construc- 

 tion, is less and less a true measure of volume in logs as it is applied to the smaller 

 and ever smaller logs that are being cut. 



