The Republican journal., 1909-05-13
When is a Cord Not a Cord?

WASHINGTON, D. c., May 10th. To the
farmer harvesting his small woodlot and
to the man laying in logs for the large
fireplace of his country or seaside home;
to the paper manufacturer buying pulp
wood, and to the proprietor of the Or
binary city woodward, 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 cord is less than cord, and
many conditions when it is more. School
arithmetics say that cord of wood is 128
cubic feet, or the contents Of 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 requirement, no mat
ter whether the sticks are long or short,
straight or crooked, round or split, unless
there is an understanding to the contrary.
Nevertheless, cord, though it comes up
to legal measurements, is an uncertain
quantity, even when the seller is hones'
and the buyer satisfied.
A lumberman may have tract Of
pulpwood which he sells to paper mill
at SIS cord, for as many cords as it will
make. 1t is in the contract that he shall
cut and stack it. He cuts it in 12-foot
lengths, and when the job is complete, it
measures 200 cords, and he receives ST.
900 for it. Would he have made or lost
by cutting 4-foot lengths instead Of II?
He would have lost in the first place
from the additional labor required to cut
4-foot wood, but his principal loss would
have resulted from greatly 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 12foot 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 advan-
tage to have it cut in 4-foot lengths. He
would have received the same actual
quantity of wood for $120 less.
1t also makes considerable difference
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
4-foot wood, with sticks inches in diam
eter, the chip 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 sawdust loss is
scarcely the half of one 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 to-
gether, and a cord contains more wood
and less air. For given lengths, sticks
of softwoods are usually 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 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 OPS cubic feet of 4-foot hard
wood usually contains about 80 cubic feet
of solid wood; cord of 3-foot wood av-
erages 80 1-2 cubic feet; of 2-foot wood,
"a feet, and of 1-foot wood IS feet The
conifers, softwoods, contain 80 to SO cubic
feet. Thus the purchaser receives on an
average about two-thirds of cord of
real wood and one-third of 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 if he receives green
wood when he wants dry. According to
timber testing engineers of the United
States Forest Service, wood may lose
half or more of it's green weight in sea-
soning. Cedar for lead pencils is bought
by weight in this country. The pieces
are so small and Of such irregular size
that they can not conveniently be stack
ed and measured as cord wood
The bulk Of nearly all woods decreases
as seasoning goes on. A hundred cords
green will make from 80 to SO cords
when dry. This is factor of no small
importance to dealers who handle large
quantities.
Woodlot owners and farmers who have
small forest tracts from which they
expect to sell cordwood are no less inter-
es ted than contractors who buy and sell
| arge quantities. 1t will stand them in
hand to know how much difference it