The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-05-12
HOW WOOD SHOULD.
Be CORDED
FACTS WHICH ARE OF INTER
EST TO THOSE WHO DEAL
IN THE COMMODITY

| To the farmer harvesting nus Snlals
woodlot and to the man laying in logs
! for the large fireplace on his country
or seaside home; to the paper manu-
liacturer buying pulpwood and 10 the
proprietor OF the ordinary city wood
yard, to all OF these men this question
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 cord,
and many conditions when il is more,
School arithmeticS say that cord OF
wood is l2S cubic feet, or the con-
tents OF a pile eight feet long four
feet high and four feet wide. Wood
lis marketed on this basis. A pile
whose length, breath, and height mul;
tiplied together gives this number OF
cubic feet fills this requirement, no
matter whether the sticks are long
or short, straight or crooked round
or split, unless there is an under
standing to the contrary, Neverthe-
LESS, cord, though it comes up to
legal measurements, is an uncertain
quantity, even when the seller is hon
est and the buyer satisfied
A lumberman may have tract Of
pulpwood which he sells to a paper
Imill at S. = cord, for as many cords
as it will make, II is in the contract
that he shall cut and stack il He
cuts it in l2-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 cut,
ting 4foot lengths instead Of II?
He would have lost in the first
place from the additional labor re-
Quired to cut 4-ioot wood, but his
principal loss would have resulted
from a greatly diminished number oi
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 l2-foot wood
been cut in 4-foot lengths, there would
have been only 10 cords, and the
owner would have received for it
$3.50 instead of $1,000, 1t was, there
fore. clearly to his advantage to cut
l2foot lengths, but it would have
been to the buyers advantage to have
it cut in 4-foot lengths. He would
have received the same actual quaint
Iity of wood for $120 less.
1t also makes considerable differ.
ence to the seller whether wood is
chopped or sawed. 1t chopped, the
chips are lost. Where the logs are
large this loss amounts to no small
total. In a cord Of 4.foot wood with
sticks & inches in diameter, the chip
loss is from six to eight per cent;
iand 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 one per cent
The difference due to spaces be-
tween 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 softwoods are usu-
ally straighter and smoother and
when stacked lie closer together. But
whatever 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 kind
lings, 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 (l28 cubic fcet) OF 4-foot
hardwood usually cntains about 80