2 INTRODUCTION TO FOREST MENSURATION 



rate of production,' and second, information on which to base the value 

 of the property for the purpose of sale, exchange or the appraisal of 

 damages. 



2. Relation between Lumbering and Timber Estimating. The 

 logging of timber is usually conihictcd as a Ijusiness venture entirely 

 separate from the growing of trees or management of forest propertj^, 

 but whether this is so, or the forest owner cuts and logs his own tim- 

 ber, the cost of the logging will depend in a great measure on the known 

 quantity of timber which can be brought out over a given route and by 

 a specific method of logging. The greater the volume of standing 

 timber, the greater the investment which is justified in roads, railroads, 

 chutes, or flumes to cut down the expense of hauling. Overestimates 

 cause losses through excessive investments; underestimates cause losses 

 through not investing enough money in these transportation systems. 

 The logger cannot wait until his timber is cut and scaled before planning 

 his operation. Accuracy in timber estimating is therefore an under- 

 lying factor in the successful conduct of the business of lumbering. 



3. Relation between Forestry and Growth Measurements. Lum- 

 bering as a business begins at the stump, w^hile forest production may 

 begin with the seedling, and may well be considered as a separate busi- 

 ness enterprise. The growth of trees is the basis of returns on this 

 business, no matter whether these returns are secured on the stump, or 

 by means of the additional operation of logging. The speculator in 

 standing timber hopes to realize a growth in unit prices such as was 

 experienced as a result of the war. But the business of forestr}^ depends 

 for its profits on growth, first, in volume, and second, in quality, of the 

 product by reason of increased sizes and improved texture, increase in 

 prices being merely an additional guarantee of adequate returns. Since 

 growth determines the quantity of products to be expected, any expen- 

 diture in planting and care of the forest can be undertaken intelligently 

 only when the probable rate of growth per acre is known. The study 

 of growth is therefore a necessary part of the business of forestry and 

 unless growth data can be obtained, there is no possible method of 



1 A business is an undertaking which seeks to supply a pubhc demand. The 

 most common form of business is that which produces raw materials and transforms 

 them into finished products delivered as such to the consumer. Any distmct step 

 in this process may and often does constitute a separate business. To accomplish 

 the purpose of its existence, a business deals with three factors, quantity, location, 

 and time. To supply forest products for the innumerable demands of modern 

 civilization, a well-conducted business ojieration requires full knowledge of the 

 quantity of raw material and finished products with which it deals, their location, 

 and the time or periods when these quantities will be available. Forest Mensura- 

 tion is as fundamental to forest production as is inventory and merchandise account 

 to a mercantile business. 



