The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1909-05-06
A cora Of wood.


for the large fireplace OF his countr!
or seaside home; TO the paper manu-
facturer buying pulpwood and to the
proprietor of the ordinary city wood
yard, to all OF these men this ones
ton has an important dollar-and-
cents meaning.
Queer to say, and contrary TO the
belief'of most people, there are many
times when a cord Is less than a cord
and many conditions when 1t is
more. School arithmetic says that
cord of wood is 1928 cubic feet. or
the contents of a pile eight feet long,
four feet high and four feet wide.
Wood Is marketed on this basis. A
pile whose length. breadth and
height multiplied together gives this
number OF cubic feet fills this re-
lnirement, no matter whether the
sticks are long or. short. straight or
crooked, round or split. unless there
is an understanding to the contrary.
Nevertheless, a cord, through 1t
comes up to the legal measurements.
Is an uncertain quantity. even when
the seller is honest and the buyer
satisfied.
A lumberman may have tract Of
pnlpwood which he sells to paper
mill at s. cord. for as many cords
as 1t will make. 1t is in the contract
that he shall cut and stack it. He
cuts 1t in 12-foot lengths. and when
the job is complete, 1t measures 200
cords, and he receives $1,000 for It,
Would he have made or lost by cut
ting 4-foot lengths instead OF 10?
He would have lost in the first
place from the additional labor re-
CURED to cut 4-fot wood, but his
principal loss would have resulted
from a greatly diminished number OF
cubic feet, due to the fact that short
sticks lie closer together than large.
Had the 200 cords of 12-foot wood
been cut in 4-foot lengths, there
would have been only 176 cords, and
the owner would have received for it
$3.50 instead of $1,000. 1t was.
therefore, clearly TO his advantage to
cut 12-foot lengths, but it would
have been to the buyers advantage
to have 1t cut in 4-foot lengths. He
would have received the same actual
quantity of wood for $l2O 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 4-foot wood. with
sticks 6 inches in diameter, the chin
loss is from six to eight per cent. /;
and, of course, the shorter the sticks
are cut the greater the loss. If the
wood is sawed the saw dust loss is
scarcely half of one per cent.
The difference due to space he.
tween the sticks of course depends
very much on the shape and size 81
the sticks. Straight, smooth sticks
lie closer together. and cord con.
tains more wood and less air, 70,
given lengths, sticks of soft wood
are nsully straighter and smoother
and when stacked lie closer together
But whatever the kind. cords oil
long sticks are pretty sure to contain
more empty space than cords mad,
of short pieces. Likewise. cords o
split wood contain less than cords o
round sticks. Hence. wood dealer
are often willing to sci
kindlings, all sawed and split. 70
the same price per cord as nnspli
wood. They get back the cost of Ia
bor in the increased hulk.
A cord 12S cubic feet) or 4-foo
hardwood usually contains about S
cubic feet of solid wood. A cord q
S-foot wood averages S3h cubi
feet; of 2-foot wood, 81 feet, and {
l-foot wood So feet. The confer.
softwoods, contain 80 to 90 cub
feet. Thus the purchaser receive
on an average about two-thirds OF
cord of real wood and one-third of
cord of spaces.
In some countries wood is bougl
by weight, and the buyer comes MOI
nearly getting what he bargains fol
but even then he may miss 1t If !
receives green wood when he wan
dry. According to timber testing e
gineers OF the United States Fore
Survey Service. wood may lose ha
or more Its green weight in seaso
ing. Cedar for lead pencils
bought by weight in this countr
The pieces are so small aud of SUI
Irregular size that they cannot
conveniently stacked and measur
as cotdwood.