

THE TREE. 108; 
Veterans have laterals extending from 60 to 100 feet from the 
base of the tree, and in extreme cases 150 feet. After maturity the 
tap root often decays. 
MERCHANTABLE LENGTH. 
The merchantable length of a tree—that is, the length of bole actu- 
ally utilized in lumbering—depends upon the rapidity of its taper 
and the diameter limit to which it is cut in the top. The figures in 
Table 2, which express the merchantable length in relation to diam- 
eter breast high, are the result of actual logging operations, where 
the top diameter limit was 8 inches and the stand from two to three 
million feet to the section. 
TABLE 2.—Merchantable length of western yellow pine. 

Merchantable length. 


Diameter 
breast high. Yellow Black 
pine. jack. 
Inches Feet. Feet 
Ae eaten ay 32 
1 fits gaa 41 32 
haces eaeee 47 41 
Dao ee 53 47 
SD OS ae 59 33 
De Benet ace 64 o7 
By ASt a pet ac Ae eet GQ) d pears sae TR 
Boum tae Tomlencenenee | 
SO tee ee 80 [occ ecceceeee 


CLEAR LENGTH. 
Western yellow pine, when growing in pure stands, has but a short 
clear length in comparison with its total height. When in mixture 
with Douglas fir, however, natural pruning greatly increases the 
proportion of stem free of branches. Table 3 is based on the meas- 
urements of 800 trees on the Apache and of 65 trees on the Zuni 
National Forest. 
TABLE 3.—Clear length of western yellow pine compared with total height. 

Apache National Forest. 



Zuni National 
Forest, pure 
Height. Pure west- | In mixture | western yel- 
ern yellow |with Douglas} low pine, 
pine, clear fir, clear clear length. 
length. length. 
Feet Feet. Feet Feet 
Seccsse i Sooccoosécsssaliscoscocscososss 
OOP seeees 12 25 8 
(USS 16 25 10 
80b aS... 19 31 12 
ODEN Ei 22 37 14 
1K) Re See ees Sees 42 17 




