Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1907-08-22
THE BEST TIMBER TREES.
How the Government Studies Tn m
for the Benefit of Forest Owners
and the Public.

The timber owners and manufacture
will be interested in the results OF tn
detailed studies of commercial timbe
tre ,s which the Forest Service of tn
U. b. Department of Agriculture is max
ing. The studies are not confined ex
clusively to the well-known trees @
recognized value. but, owing to tn
rapid decrease in the supply OF ou
valuable woods, include those cheape
woods whose properties are imperfectly
known. Such studies of the tupelo gun
and western hemlock have done much
to overcome the common prejudice
against these species and have added
materially to their commercial i'm
portance.
Commercial tree studies begin with
the tree in the forest and follow it all
the way to the finished propuct in the
market. The intermediate steps are
many and complex, but little expla-
nation of them may not be amiss, since
they typify the field methods of forest
investigation.
The selection of suitable place is the
first step. In this the aim is to obtain
average conditions as far as possible.
When the range of The species to be
studied is small, one locality may be
sufficient, but generally it is necessary
to take at least two localities. the data
from which, if similar, can be thrown
together or. if markedly unlike, kept
seperate for different regions within the
range of the species. For example, the
yellow popular, or tulip-tree, has very
wide range, but study of it's growth
and form would show very different
results in the North and in the South.
In getting at the rate of growth of a
species, the annual rings on the stumps
are counted and tha distance between
each tenth ring is accurately measured.
In other words, beginning at the outside
of the stump, the rings are counted in.
ward along the average radius, which is
obtained by actual measurement and
indicated by pencil line. The layers
of ten rings are marked off along this
line and then the distance to each mark
from the center of the pitch is measured
and Tailed. Additional data as to the
relative width of sapwood and heart.
wood, the width Of the bark, the height
of the stump. and so forth, are obtained
at the same time. These figures are
taken for great many stumps. in order
to secure fair average.
The results show the growth of the
average tree inside the bark at the
average stump height. In order to re-
duce th is to diameter growth outside
the bark at breastheight AZ feet above
the ground,) the taper d the average
tree must be known. This is fonud. by
measuring the diameter of a great many
trees at l, 2,3, 4 and 5 feet above the
ground and averaging the results. The
bark width is already known, SO that all
that is necessary is to add to it the
figure obtained for growth inside the
bark and subtract the loss through the
taper between stumpheight and breast
height.
As rule, number of seedlings are
measured to find out how long they have
taken to reach stumpheight. By adding
this period to the age of the average tree
on the stump the measurement of the
height growth OF the average tree ls
complete. This would not be the case
except for popularity in tree growth.
A given point on the trunk never moves
upward with the growth OF the tree.
Only the tip grows, and a nail driven
into the trunk at given height will
hold the same height always.
The taper measurements also serve as
q guide for fixing the proper height OF
stump in telling, so as to avoid waste
but still get above the stump-swelling
peculiar to some species.
Frequently felled trees are measured,
noting the diameter breasthigh, the