BALSAM FIR, 21 



The smoother and straighter the logs the fewer the air spaces 

 between them, and consequently the greater the solid contents of 

 the stack. For this reason the clear trunks of trees yield more solid 

 wood per given space than the tops. 



SEASONING OF WOOD. 



As freshly cut wood dries in the air the stack shrinks, resultmg in 

 an increase of solid wood per given space. In drying, it is true, the 

 wood cracks, and the bark becomes detached, which tends to coun- 

 teract the shrinkage of the stack, bat not enough to neutralize it 

 entirely. It therefore makes a difference how soon after felling the 

 stack is measured. Softwood in thorough air-drying shrinks from 



9 to 10 per cent, consequently stacks of dry softwood have from 9 to 



10 per cent more of solid volume than similar stacks of green wood. 



MANNER OP PILING. 



The volume of solid wood in the stack is also affected by the way 

 it is piled and fixed. The higher the stack, the less closely it can 

 be piled and the less wood it will contain per given space. Stacks 

 higher than 4 or 4.5 feet can not be piled conveniently. The heavier 

 the log the less close is the piUng and the less sohd wood there is in 

 the cord. In order to hold the pile together one or two stakes are 

 used at each end. The volume of sohd wood per cord is higher when 

 one stake is used at each end of the stack than when two stakes are 

 used, since in the latter case the ends of the sticks can not reach much 

 outside the stakes. There always remains some space between the 

 stakes and the wood, so that the fewer the stakes used for the total 

 amount of wood corded (i. e., the longer the stacks), the higher is 

 the solid volume per cord. Efficiency of labor, moreover, has its effect. 

 If the branches are not trimmed close to the body of the log, if the 

 logs are chopped instead of sawed, if the laborer is careless in pifing, 

 there is less solid wood per given space. 



HOW THE STACK SHOULD BE MEASURED. 



The length of a stack should be measured half way up from the 

 ground, since the top is usually longer than the bottom, due to the 

 spreading of the end stakes. The top length would give more and the 

 bottom length less than the actual solid volume. The height of 

 the stack, which is seldom uniform, should be measured at several 

 places on both sides, and the average taken. 



ACTUAL SOLID CONTENTS OF CORDS OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND DIAMETERS. 



No correct comparison can be made, then, between stacks contain- 

 ing the same number of cords, but composed of logs of different 

 lengths, diameters, or shape, unless the actual sohd volume of the 



