38 THE AMES FORESTER 



taken for a check and these may be taken wherever the inspector 

 chooses, or of any species or several species. When the de- 

 sired number of logs have been recorded and scaled as described 

 above, the inspector takes the sealer's books and looks up the 

 logs and records the scale found in the book for each log in the 

 column marked "Sealer." Each column is then added up and 

 the total scale given by the sealer and inspector found. The dif- 

 ference of these two will show the difference of scale for the 

 total number of logs, or the per cent of difference can be easily 

 found. This variation may be ^s much as \% in good tim- 

 ber, or even 2 or 2 1-2% in large, shaky hemlock, and be con- 

 sidered close, but if greater than that something is wrong. 



The check scale often shows the variation on some individual 

 logs to be very large in comparison with the total variation. This 

 is due to differences in judgment of the seriousness of defects. 

 It is impossible for two men, no matter how good sealers 

 they may be, to agree on the scale of 4arge, defective or partly 

 rotten logs, but if several are scaled and one man's scale varies 

 back and forth with the other, the average will be very good 

 and all that can be expected. The smaller differences are due 

 to the reading of the rule. This is possible because of the sys- 

 tem used of taking the nearest inch above or below the actual 

 diameter as the scaling diameter. If the actual diameter is near 

 the half inch, or the log is not exactly round, it is very easy 

 for one to make a difference of one inch on the diameter, either 

 above or below the other, thus making a difference of 10, 20 or 

 even 50 feet on one log. These differences, however, always 

 vary back and forth so they about balance if a larg^ number of 

 logs are taken as a check. 



The method of checking up with each sealer every week or 

 ten days 100 logs at a time is better than taking a larger num- 

 ber of logs at longer intervals. The usual 100 logs will be 

 enough to equalize the difference due to reading the rule and if 

 several defective logs are taken the sealer's judgmnt of such 

 logs can be obtained as well as if more were taken. This will 

 always keep the sealer "on the job," too, and doing his best, 

 for he never knows when the inspector will be around or where 

 he will select his logs for the check scale. A sealer can never 

 slight his work or guess at the scale of the logs, for the inspector 

 may find them. If a sealer averages too large a scale, even though 

 it favors the Government, or the Indian, he is just as sure of 

 being discharged as if his scale was too low. 



When the area has all been logged over and the work is done 

 for the season, several sealers are taken to each camp in turn, 

 usually 'all of the sealers go together from camp to camp and 

 make the "pick up" as it is called. This means that the crew 

 goes over very carefully all of the area logged over during the 



