PIECE MEASURE 7 



rectangular or irregular shape, and which takes the place 

 of the " forty " in irregular surveys or bordering lakes 

 or streams. 1 



In measuring trees, the foot is the standard for height, and the 

 inch, divided into- tenths of inches, for diameter. Basal area is the cross- 

 sectional area of a tree or stand, in square feet, measured at 4 J feet from 

 the ground. This is obtained from area of circles whose diameters equal 

 those of the trees measured. 



9. Piece Measure. Wood products which are used in the round, and 

 logs or bolts which are barked, shaped, and reduced to standard dimen- 

 sions where felled, are usually measured and sold by the piece. These 

 pieces are graded by size and by quality into accepted pieces and culls, 

 or rejects, whose defects render them unfit for the special purpose 

 required. The standard sizes are determined by specifications, which 

 also prescribe the species of tree and the required quality of the product. 

 The principal products purchased on this basis are cross ties, poles, 

 posts, piles, and mine timbers. 



Where bolts of uniform size are sawed or split for manufacture 

 into special products, they may be counted and paid for by the piece. 

 Their average volume is determined beforehand. When the number 

 of pieces per cord, or per thousand board feet is agreed on, the payment 

 may be in terms of these latter units. 



Linear measure is sometimes used for pieces of standard width and 

 thickness but of variable length. Such products are sold by the linear 

 foot. This standard is widely used for piling. 



10. Cord Measure. When the pieces into which trees are sawed or 

 split are of lengths shorter than ordinary logs, and of irregular shape, 

 the expense of determining separately the contents of each piece is 

 avoided by stacking them in regular piles or cording them up, and 

 measuring only the exterior dimensions of the stack to get the total 

 stacked cubic space occupied. This stacked cubic measure does not 

 indicate the solid contents, which may Vary widely. But if the average 

 per cent of solid contents per cubic foot of stacked measure is known for 

 sticks of given sizes and character, this stacked measurement becomes 

 a practical and serviceable standard, though not well suited to scientific 

 investigations. 



The cord is the standard generally adopted for stacked wood. 



1 References. Manual of Surveying Instruction for the Survey of the Public 

 Lands of the United States and Private Land Claims, Commissioner of the General 

 Land Office, Washington, D. C, Government Printing Office, 1902. 



Manual for Northern Woodsmen, Austin Cary, Part I. Section VIII, 1918. 

 Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 



