INSTRUMENTAL HELPS 
163 
and the Biltmore Stick. This last is in construction a 
wooden bar of about the dimensions of an ordinary scale 
rule; in-use it is held horizontal, tangent to the tree being 
measured, and at the natural (but a constant) distance 
from the eye of the observer. Then, one end of the stick 
being aligned with one side of the tree, where the line of 
sight to the other side cuts the stick it is graduated for the 
given diameter. 1 Both instruments have proved service¬ 
able on the Pacific Coast, where the timber is so large that 
a caliper is cumbersome, and because of their portability 
they have a field of use elsewhere. They are not, however, 
as quickly manipulated as the caliper in steady work on 
timber of ordinary dimensions. 
2. Counter or Tallying Machine. Timber Scribe. 
Bark Blazer 
These simple little instruments, the last of which can 
be home-made if necessary, are very serviceable in forest 
work, particularly in timber estimating. 
3. The Dendrometer 
The dendrometer is an instrument for measuring the 
diameter of a tree at a considerable distance above the 
ground. There are several forms of this instrument, 
most of them costly and complicated, that are employed 
in scientific investigation. With these the practical woods- 
1 See Appendix on theory and accuracy of this instrument. 
