BALSAM FIE. 
21 
FORM. 
The smoother and straighter the logs the fewer the air spaces 
between them, and consequently the greater the solid contents of 
the stack. For this reason the clear trunks of trees yield more solid 
wood per given space than the tops. 
SEASONING OF WOOD. 
As freshly cut wood dries in the air the stack shrinks, resulting in 
an increase of solid wood per given space. In drying, it is true, the 
wood cracks, and the bark becomes detached, which tends to coun- 
teract the shrinkage of the stack, bat not enough to neutralize it 
entirely. It therefore makes a difference how soon after felling the 
stack is measured. Softwood in thorough air-drying shrinks from 
9 to 10 per cent, consequently stacks of dry softwood have from 9 to 
10 per cent more of solid volume than similar stacks of green wood. 
MANNER OF PILING. 
The volume of solid wood in the stack is also affected by the way 
it is piled and fixed. The higher the stack, the less closely it can 
be piled and the less wood it will contain per given space. Stacks 
higher than 4 or 4.5 feet can not be piled conveniently. The heavier 
the log the less close is the piling and the less solid wood there is in 
the cord. In order to hold the pile together one or two stakes are 
used at each end. The volume of solid wood per cord is higher when 
one stake is used at each end of the stack than when two stakes are 
used, since in the latter case the ends of the sticks can not reach much 
outside the stakes. There always remains some space between the 
stakes and the wood, so that the fewer the stakes used for the total 
amount of wood corded (i. e., the longer the stacks), the higher is 
the solid volume per cord. Efficiency of labor, moreover, has its effect. 
If the branches are not trimmed close to the body of the log, if the 
logs are chopped instead of sawed, if the laborer is careless in piling, 
there is less solid wood per given space. 
HOW THE STACK SHOULD BE MEASURED. 
The length of a stack should be measured half way up from the 
ground, since the top is usually longer than the bottom, due to the 
spreading of the end stakes. The top length would give more and the 
bottom length less than the actual solid volume. The height of 
the stack, which is seldom uniform, should be measured at several 
places on both sides, and the average taken. 
ACTUAL SOLID CONTENTS OF CORDS OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND DIAMETERS. 
No correct comparison can be made, then, between stacks contain- 
ing the same number of cords, but composed of logs of different 
lengths, diameters, or shape, unless the actual solid volume of the 
