MEASUREMENT OF TREES. 91 



= 58| cubic ft., and has also to throw in the " lop and top" to the buyer, 

 to take or leave as he likes. This is not so on the Continent, and this 

 should be borne in mind when comparing prices of timber per cubic foot. 



When long trunks are being measured, if not already logged 

 at parts where there is a stop or strong falling-off in girth on 

 account of a big branch having been removed, each such section 

 is measured as if it were a separate log. For girth measurement 

 a string, tape-line, and steel-tape are all used, but the last is 

 the best, as stretching less than tape-line, while string lends 

 itself to cheating. 



2. Standing Trees. In Britain it is customary to estimate 

 only the quantity of timber contained in standing trees, and the 

 definition of timber varies locally ; but everywhere it includes, 

 besides the stem, all branches down to 6 in. in diameter free 

 of bark, and sometimes even down to 3 in. in diameter (as for 

 pitwood), while a division is often made into 1st class timber 

 of 12 in. and above in quarter-girth, and 2nd class of under 

 12 in. quarter-girth. Small branchwood below timber-size is 

 classed as lop and top, which the buyer can take or leave as he 

 pleases, without payment ; and this is supposed to be a set-off 

 against the charge of felling and logging. In Britain standing 

 trees are usually girthed about 4 to 5 ft. up (preferably at 

 breast-height, 4J ft.), then the height of the bole or the length 

 of each section of 1st and 2nd class timber roughly measured 

 with rods or estimated by eye, and the mean girth of the whole 

 or of each section also estimated by eye. Another method is 

 to measure the girth at breast-height, estimate the height of 

 the tree up to where it has a diameter of 6 in. free of bark 

 ( = 20 in. girth), and then estimate the cubic contents. But 

 these ocular estimates, customary in measuring field and hedge- 

 row trees, may be very inaccurate ; and it would be far better 

 if, in selling timber, it could be arranged for exact measurement 

 in the log after felling. 



The Continental Method of measuring Standing Trees is 



