Rules for Log Measurements. 



In their forestry operations the lumbermen of northern New 

 York cut all their logs 13 feet long ; or, to be exact, 13 feet 

 4 inches long, the extra four inches being added for good 

 measure and to permit the boards being trimmed at the ends to 

 just 13 feet. All logs are bought and sold by what is 

 known as the standard rule, which provides that a log 13 

 feet long and 19 inches in diameter at the top or small end 

 shall constitute a standard or "market" log, by which measure 

 all the logs shall be estimated, counted, or measured. If the logs 

 are less than 19 inches in diameter it requires a greater number 

 proportionately to make one standard ; if larger, it takes less. 

 The logs are bought and sold at a fixed price per market without 

 reference to their contents or other measurements. 



This rule is based on the squares of the diameters, which are 

 divided in each case by the square of the standard log — 19 

 inches — the quotient showing, in decimals, the number of stand- 

 ards or fraction of a standard, which the log contains. In using 

 this rule the log measurer or "scaler" measures the diameter of 

 the logs on the skid way, tallies them in his book opposite the 

 figures for the diameter, and then computes them at his leisure. 



Thus, to arrive at the contents of a 24-inch log, standard 

 measure, the square of 24, which is 576, is divided by 361, the 

 square of the 19-inch standard, giving a quotient of 1.59, showing 

 that a 24-inch log contains 1.59 standards. 



To arrive at the contents of a 16-inch log, the square of 

 16, which is 256, is divided by 361, giving a quotient of .709 and 

 hence a 16-inch log contains .709 of a standard. 



In short, the standard rule is merely a table of decimals for 

 each inch in diameter, showing the quotient obtained in each case 

 by dividing the square of the diameter by 361, the square of the 

 standard. The log scaler computes his logs by multiplying the 

 decimal figures for each diameter by the number of logs of that 

 diameter recorded in his tally book. By pointing off the decimals 

 he has the number of standards as the result. 



