PRACTICE OF TIMBER ESTIMATING 
189 
carefully run and marked in advance by a survey party, 
or a compassman going along with the timber estimator 
may run and pace them. Topography may be mapped; 
notes are taken of swamp boundaries and other changes 
in the character of ground or timber. 
The strip estimated is either one or two chains wide, 
split by the line of travel; thus either 5 or 10 per cent of 
the gross area is covered. The estimating party proper 
consists of three men, two to caliper the timber breast 
high, and one of good training who is responsible for the 
work as a whole and who does the recording and estimat¬ 
ing. His note book has separate space for each species 
and under each a line for diameters by inch classes. Each 
tree on the strip is scored down as calipered, or it may be 
the number of 16-foot log lengths. 
In such a vast region there is bound to be much varia¬ 
tion in utilization, scaling, and mill practice so that when 
volume tables are employed they are usually of local 
origin to correspond. Since, however, the country is of 
very gentle topography, height and taper within the same 
species are unusually even. Two inches taper for each 
16-foot log above the butt log has been found to be widely 
characteristic of pine timber, and three inches of hard 
wood timber. Some tables then have been made up on 
the basis of these regular tapers. 
Small Diameter 
of Butt Log 
Inside Bark 
Number of 16-foot logs 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
Contents in Feet Board Measure 
15 
160 
280 
360 
410 
440 
16 
180 
320 
420 
480 
520 
540 
17 
200 
360 
480 
560 
610 
640 
18 
230 
410 
550 
650 
710 
750 
Accompanying is an extract from a volume table 1 con¬ 
structed on this plan, giving figures that, when manufac- 
1 From “Southern Timber Tables” by Howard R. Krinbill, 
Newbern, N. C. Copyrighted. 
