Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1909-06-30
A CORD OF woon
contrary to General R,,..
variable Oua,t,..

To the farmer harvesting b;s -.
lot and to the man laying IL -. an wood
large fireplace Of his con,t. ss LOT tie
home; to the paper manufactn,e, seaside
pulpwood and to the proprieto, !, ..sasins
binary city woodward, to all of TN. Ae o.
this question has an impor,.n, se men
and-cents meaning. dollar
Queer to say, and contrary n ~.
OF most people, there are mapv ~; .Ae belief
a cord is less than cord, and nas ms When
otions when it is more. scboa, e0n-
metics say that cord OF wood il 100 af'.n-
feet, or the contents OF pilo 80 10 cubic
long, four feet high and four ~ sA' ieet
Wood Is marked on this basis ~ Wlde-
A pile whose length, breadth 49,,
multiplied together give this mn. aelsht
cubic feet fills this requirement ~ ~ OF
whether the sticks are long 'er
straight q crooked, round or sc,;, 'noft
there is an understanding to the oau .uiess
Nevertheless, cord, though il co n'sfy.
to legal measurements, is an unas up
quantity, even when the seller il IAN
and the buyer satisfied, "Vnest
A iumberman may have n trsc,
wood which he sells TO paper Mil pup
cord, Tor as many cords as it win ,n'~
1t is IN the contract that he shall o.. .e.
stack 1t. He cuts it in t,valra a
lengths, and when the Job is eou,,,.,.
measures 200 cords, and he receive. 81 ~
for it. Would he have made ., ,, ."
cutting four-foot lengths instead !,
twelve? VI
He would have lost. in the first n,soe
from the additional labor required 10 en-,
four-foot wood, but his PRINCIPAL ,,..
would have resulted from greatly di.
minished number of cubic feet, due to tina
fact that short sticks lie closer topetbs,
than large.
Measurements and experimental tess
have been made to ascertain exactly hon.
much actual wood is in cords OF different
lengths, sizes, shapes and species.
Had the 200 cords Of twelve foot weed
been cut in four-foot lengths, there would
have been only 176 cords, and the owner
would have received for it $50 instead Of
1900. 1t was. therefore, clearly to his
advantage to cut twelve foot lengths. but
it would have been to the buyers adyan-
tage to have it cut in four foot lengths.
He would have received the same actual
quantity OF wood for $40 less.
1t also makes considerable difference to
the seller whether wood is chopped or
sawed. IL chopped, the chips are lost.
Where the logs are large this loss amouut,
to no small total. In cord OF four-foot
wood, with sticks six inches In diameter,
the chip loss is from six to eight per cent;
and OF course the shorter the sticks are
cut the greater the loss. II the wood is
sawed. the sawdnst loss is scarcely the
half Of one per cent.
The difference due to spaces between the
sticks of course depends very mucl on the
shape and size OF the sticks. Straight,
smooth sticks lie close together, and
cord contains mere wood and less air. For
given lengths, sticks OF softwoods are US
ually 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 con-
tain 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. Thy
get back the cost OF abor in the increased
bulk.
A cord (12S cubic feet) OF four-foot hard
wood usually contains about eighty-three
cubic feet OF solid wood; cord Of three
foot wood averages eighty-three ana one
half cubic feet; OF two-foot wood, eighty
five feet. The conifers, softwoods, con-
tain ninety to ninety-six 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 il bought by
weight, and the buyer comes more nearly
getting what be bargains for but even
then he may miss it il he receives green
wood when he wants dry. According to
timber testing engineers Of United States
forest service, wood may lose half or more
its green weight in seasoning. Cedar LOT
lead pencils is bought by weight in TINS
country. The pieces are so small and Oh
such irregular size that they cannot con-
veniently be stacked and measured as
cordwood.
k.xNl - IL de
as seasoning goes on. A hundred cords
green will make from eighty nine 10
ninety-three 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 es-
pect to sell cordwood, are no less inter,
ested than contractors who Guy and sen
large quantities. II will stand them IN
hand to know how much difference "
makes whether wood is cut long or SNORT,
chopped or sawed, whether the sticks are