The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-07-07
VARIES IN QUANTITY
A Cord of Wood Is a Rather Un-
certain Proposition.
ODD FACTS ABOUT ITS BULK.

There Are Many Different Condition,
That Affect tho Measurement Of tn,
PiIe-Ths Interesting Result Of a.
Experimental Test.
When is a cord not a cord?
To the farmer harvesting his small
wood lot and to the man laying in logs
for the large fireplace of his country
or seaside home, to the paper manu-.
facturer buying pulp wood and to the
proprietor Of the ordinary city wood
yard, to all of these men this question
has an important financial meaning.
Queer to say and contrary to the be-
lief Of most people, there are many
times when a cord Is less than a cord
and many conditions when it is more.
School arithmetics say that a cord of
wood is 12S cubic feet, or the con-
tents Of q pile eight feet long, four feet
high and four feet wide. Wood is mar
keted on this basis. A pile whose
length, breadth and height multiplied
together gives this number Of cubic
feet fills this requirement, no matter
whether the sticks are long or short,
straight u crooked, round or split, un-
less there is an understanding to the
| contrary. Nevertheless, q cord, though
it comes up to legal measurements, Is
an uncertain quantity. " when the
seller is honest and the buyer salts
fed.
A lumberman may have a tract Of
min V,006 Vvh{Nh ho co1yo RI n NM
mill at SIS q cord for as many cords as
1t will make. It is in the contract that
he shall cut and stack it. He cuts it in
twelve foot lengths, and when the job
is complete it measures 200 cords, and
he receives $1,000 for it. Would he
have made or lost by cutting four foot
lengths instead of twelve?
He would have lost in the first place
from the additional labor required to
cut four foot wood, but his principal
loss would have resulted from q great
ly diminished number of cubic feet,
due to the fact that short sticks lie
closer together than large.
Measurements and experimental tests
have been made to ascertain exactly
how much actual wood is in cords Of
different lengths, sizes, shapes and
species.
Had the 200 cords Of twelve foot
wood been cut in four foot lengths
there would have been only 176 cords,
and the owner would have received
for it $3.50 instead Of $1,000. It was,
therefore, clearly to his advantage to
cut twelve foot lengths, but it would
have been to the buyers advantage to
have it cut in four foot lengths. He
would have received the same actual
quantity Of wood for $3.50 less.
1t also makes considerable differ
enc to the seller whether wood is
chopped or sawed. If chopped, the
chips are lost. Where the logs are
large this loss amounts to no small
total. In a cord Of four foot wood,
with sticks six inches in diameter, the
chip loss Is from G to s per cent, and, |
of course, the shorter the sticks are
cut the greater the loss. If the wood
is sawed the sawdust loss is scarcely |
the half of l per cent.
The difference due to spaces between
the sticks, Of course, depends very
much on the shape and size Of the
sticks. Straight, smooth sticks lie
close together, and a cord contains !
more wood and less air. For given
lengths sticks Of soft woods are usual |
ly straighter and smoother and when |
stacked lie closer together. But what
ever the kind, cords Of long sticks are
pretty sure to contain more empty
space than cords made Of short pieces. |
Likewise cords of split wood contain
less than cords Of round sticks. The
finer the wood is split the more it
makes; hence wood dealers are often
willing to sell kindlings, all sawed and
split, for the same price per cord as
unsplit wood. They get back the cost
Of labor in the increased bulk.
A cord (12S cubic feet Of four foot
hardwood usually contains about
eighty-three cubic feet of solid wood, |
a cord of three foot wood averages
eighty-three and one-half feet, Of two |
foot wood eighty-four feet and Of one
foot wood eighty-1ve feet. The conf |
fers, soft woods, contain ninety to
ninety-six cubic feet. Thus the pur.
chaser receives on an average about !
two-thirds Of a cord Of real wood and |
one-third Of a cord of spaces.
In some countries wood is bought by |
weight, and the buyer comes more
nearly getting what he bargains for,
but even then he may miss It II he re-
cetves green wood when he wants dry.
According to timber testing engineers
Of the United States forest servtee, |
wood may lose half or more it's green !
weight in seasoning. Cedar for lead
pencils Is bought by weight in this
country. The pieces are 60 small and
OF such irregular size that they cannot
conveniently be stacked and measured
as cordwood
The bulk Of nearly all woods de-
creases as seasoning goes on. A hun
dred cords green VIII make from
eighty-nine to ninety-three cords when