CHAPTER VIII 



FOREST MENSURATION 



Forest mensuration is the measurement of the crop. 

 It is generally conceded to be the proof of all forestry work. 

 Without measurement, one can know nothing of the con- 

 tents, value or growth of his forest. The most compli- 

 cated parts of the science arise in the handling of exten- 

 sive forests and concern only the professional forester; 

 the operations necessary in the management of a woodlot 

 are very simple and should be familiar to every farmer. 

 Many a farmer loses fully half of what is really his due 

 because he does not know what is in his woodlot, how to 

 measure the quantity of its products or how to estimate 

 its real value. 



The unit in the measurement of all kinds of lumber, 

 whether boards or dimension stuff, is the board foot, — 

 a board one inch thick, one foot wide and one foot long. 

 For example : an inch board one foot wide and sixteen feet 

 long contains sixteen board feet; written 16 ft. B.M. 

 (measuring 16 ft. board measure). A two-inch plank of 

 the same dimensions contains 32 ft. B.M. A "2X4" 

 twelve feet long is equivalent to an inch board eight inches, 

 or two-thirds of a foot, wide and contains eight board feet ; 

 8 ft. B.M. A half-inch board six inches wide and 12 ft. 

 long actually contains 3 ft. but usually is counted as inch 

 material, on account of the increased labor and increased 



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