FELLED TIMBER 269 



difference between so doing and absolutely stretching the 

 string to its utmost. A yard of string, especially if wet, 

 will easily stretch 2 inches when a tree is being girthed ; but, 

 when folded into four, and the quarter girth is being read 

 off, it cannot be stretched at all and the vendor has thereby 

 lost J inch of quarter girth ; which is a very substantial loss 

 indeed the more so, the greater the girth of the tree. 



For instance, a butt 25 feet long has a correct quarter 

 girth under bark of 28J inches, but if the string is unduly 

 stretched the quarter girth as read is 27 inches. 



By the correct method the contents are 141 cubic feet ; 

 but by the fraudulent method the contents are only 126^ 

 cubic feet; a loss, at is. a foot, of 143. 6d. on a single large 

 butt. 



A plea is sometimes put forward to the effect that the 

 custom of the country sanctions the method of stretching 

 the string. Such, however, cannot be the case. For no 

 custom, which is bad on the face of it, will ever be upheld 

 in a court of law. As well might the girth be taken with 

 elastic as for such a proposition to be sanctioned. 



No man can set up a prescriptive right to be dishonest. 



As regards the second device, that of not including the 

 full girth in the folded string : Detection here is not so 

 easy. The fraudulent measurer will either shift the position 

 of his finger and thumb, as he holds the free end of the 

 string, nearer to the knot on the other end (which is rather 

 difficult to do) ; or, he will have two (or more knots) and 

 girth the tree to the knot farthest away, but fold the string 

 into four to a nearer knot. 



Hence, in view of possible fraud, the vendor's agent 

 should always girth the trees, even if the purchaser insists 

 on doing it also. But as stated elsewhere, 1 it is always 

 advisable to avoid selling timber at a price per foot, the 

 purchase money to be afterwards ascertained by measure- 

 ment. 



Allowance for Bark. This is to a great extent governed 

 by the custom of the country. 



1 Vide Chapter XIV. 



