Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1909-05-13


cuts it In l2-foot lengths. and when the
job Is complete, ii measures 200 cords
and he receives 81 900 for IT. Would
he have made Or lost by cutting 4.oot
lengths instead OF II:
He would have lost in the first place
from the additional labor required to
cut 4-toot 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 bee n made to ascertain ex-
actiy how much actual wood is In cords
of different lengths, sizes, shapes, and
species.
Had The 200 cords of l2-foOt wood
been cut N l-foot lengths, there would
! have been only l76 cords, and the own.
er wou!d have received for it $3.50 In
steal of 81 900. 1t was, therefore,
clearly to his advantage to cut l2.toot
lengths, but it would have baen to the
buyers advantage to have it cut ia A.
foot lengths. He would have received
the same actual quantity ut wood for
1920 less.
Ii also makes considerable difference
TO the seller whether wood is chopped
or sawed. Ii chopped, the chips are
lost. Where the logs are large this
loss amounts TO 40 small total. In a
cord of 4-foot wood. with sticks inch
es in diameter, the chip loss is from
SIX TO eight per cent; and OF course,
the shorter the sticks are cut the
greater tie loss. II the wood is sawed.
the sawdust loss is scarcely the half of
one per cent
The difference due 10 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 cord contains more wood
and less air. For given lengths, sticks
OF soft woods are usually straighter and
smoother, and when stacked lie clo-e.
er 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 ia
split, the more it makes. Hence wood
dealers are often willing TO sell kind
lings, all sawed and split, Tor the same
price per cord as unspllt wood, They
get back the cost OF labor in The in
creased bulk.
A cord tl2S cubic feeU OF 4.foot hard.
wood usually contains about SO cubic
feet OF solid wood; cord of 3-foot wood
averages 49, cubic feet; of 2-foot wood,
"a feet, and of l-foot wood S. feet.
The conifers, softwoods. contain 30 to
96 cubic feet. Thus the purchaser re-
ceives on an average about two-thirds
OF cord OF real wood and one e-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 he may miss it if he re-
celves 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 for lead pencils is
bought by weight in this country.
The pieces are so small and OF such
irregular size that they can not con-
veniently be stacked and measured az
cordwood
The bulk of nearly all woods de- g.,
creases AS seasoning goes on. A hun
dred cords green will make from SO to
93 cords when dry. This is a 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 cord wood, are no
less interested than contractors who
buy and sell large quantities. 1t will
stand them in hand to know how
much difference it makes whether
wood is cut long or short, chopped or
sawed, whether the sticks are round
or split, whether large or small, and
whether the measurements are to be
made while the wood is green or after
it Ia seasoned.