Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-07-12

he shall cut and stack 1t. He cuts 1t in
twelve foot lengths. and when Inc JoD
Is complete 1t measures 200 cords. and
he receives $1,000 for 1t. 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 great
ly diminished number of cubic feet,
due 10 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 lac cords.
and the owner would have received
for it $3.50 instead of $1,000. Ii was.
therefore. clearly to his advantage To
cut twelve foot lengths, but II would
have been to the buyers advantage to
have 1t cut in four foot lengths. He
quantity of wood for $40 less.
1t also makes considerable differ
ence 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 cord of four foot wood.
with sticks six inches in diameter, the
chi In ie - IN
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 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 1t
| 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 OBS 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-tive 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 Il 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 lie may miss it If he re-
ceives green wood when he wants dry.
| According to timber testing engineers
Of the United States forest service
wood may lose half or more its green
weight in seasoning. Cedar for lead
pencils Is bought by weight in this
country. The pieces are so 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 will make from
eighty-nine 10 ninety-three cords wher
dry. This IS factor of no small i'm
portance to dealers who handle large
fguantities.
Wood lot owners and farmers who
Nave small forest tracts from which
they expect to sell cord wood are n,
less interested than contractors who
buy and sell large quantities. 1t vii
stand them In hand to know how
much difference it makes whether
wood is cut long or short, chopped OF
sawed. whether the sticks are roun(
or split whether large or small ant
whether the measurements are to b.
made while the wood Is green or aftel
it is seasoned.
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