JQQ METflOD OF VALUING GROWING TIMBER. 



most profitable height, to which trees ought to be pruned, 

 and the instruments most proper for pruning; some persons 

 objecting to the use of the saw, unless afterward smoothed 

 by the knife ; and not a few objecting to pruning in any 

 way ; the consequence of which is, that we often find trees 

 that stand single, particularly oaks, with boles not more 

 than six or eight feet high, but with wide spreading 

 bushy tops, fit only for the fire. The shade and drip of 

 one such tree is sometimes found to do more injury than 

 four well-trained trees, and perhaps it is not of half the 

 value of one of them. On the contrary, trees in close 

 plantations are often suffered to stand so much too thick 

 as to destroy each other's branches, excepting only a few 

 small ones near their tops; and not unfrequently we see 

 tall elms trimmed up to within a few feet of their summits- 

 it is certain, that such trees must swell very slowly in their 

 boles; for we find in woods where the trees are all of the 

 same age, that those with the largest tops have generally 

 the thickest boles. 

 Proper lepgth There is no doubt a medium length of bole for different 

 of bole. kinds of trees on different soils, that will be found produc- 



tive of more timber, or timber of more value, than boles 

 that are much longer, or much shorter. And although we 

 may not be able previously to decide with certainty what 

 that exact length of bole is, in any kind of trees, on any 

 soil, which will eventually prove most profitable, yet it is 

 deserving of investigation, if we can thereby approach with 

 certainty to within a few feet of the exact point. It is cer- 

 tainly a matter of too much importance to be left, as it 

 generally is, to each individual woodman to decide upon, 

 according to his own vague opinion. I shall, therefore, 

 take the liberty of stating by what steps I have endeavoured 

 to approximate towards the most profitable lengths of boles 

 of trees of different rates of growth, that are not intended 

 to stand beyond the age of sixty years. 



In the preceding tables the trees are supposed to be 

 measured to the top of the leading shoot, but in the fol- 

 lowing tables only to the height of their boles of 24, 32, 

 and 40 feet. 



TABLES 



