FOREST MENSURATION 



PART I 



THE MEASUREMENT OF FELLED TIMBER AND ITS 

 PRODUCTS 



CHAPTER I 

 INTRODUCTION TO FOREST MENSURATION 



1. Definition and Purpose. Forest Mensuration is that branch of 

 forestry which deals with the determination of the volume of the wood 

 material contained in logs or portions of felled trees, in standing trees, 

 in stands of timber and in forests, expressed in terms of cubic measure, 

 board measure, or any other unit. It also determines the growth and 

 future yields of trees, stands, and forests in any of the above units of 

 volume. The measurement of standing timber is termed Timber 

 Estimating or Timber Cruising. The commercial measurement of the 

 contents of logs is called Scaling. 



Forest property is land bearing forest trees as the principal vegeta- 

 tion. The trees may be valued for their appearance, as in parks, their 

 protective influences, as in forests at headwaters of streams, or their 

 wood, as in all forms of commercial use, including by-products such 

 as naval stores and bark. In past logging operations the land has not 

 always been regarded as true forest property, capable of growing other 

 crops of trees; but unless such land has a higher economic value for 

 agriculture, grazing, or other purposes than for any of the three forest 

 uses above mentioned, it is as truly forest property as the timber. 

 The measurement of the volume and growth of timber is an indispen- 

 sable factor in classifying lands for their highest use, whether for agri- 

 culture or forestry. 



Forest Mensuration makes possible the systematic management 

 of forest property by ordinary ])usiness methods, which require, first, 

 a knowledge of quantities or amount of material, and its location and 



