Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 308, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 December 1916 — Why the Cord of Wood Shrinks. [ARTICLE]

Why the Cord of Wood Shrinks.

Ralph Faulkner and Henry Sternberg, students in the College of Forestry at the University of Washington, have proved by experiment cord of full-length wood w r hen sawed and repiled in the ordinary stack shrinks on an average 24.76 per cent. As dealers buy-wood in full lengths and usually measure it for delivery before sawing it, they are often accused of giving short measure. A “cord” is the standard measurement of wood, and it Is defined as 128 cubic feet of wood, measured by a pile four feet high and eight feet wide of logs four feet long. The discrepancy betweep, the cord as bought by the dealer anjd as delivered to the customer, according to Prof. Hugo Winkenwerder, dean of the college, Is not entirely explained by the sawdust. When wood is piled up In four-foot lengths sphere are many spaces between sticks, caused by knots and curvatures. These spaces are eliminated when the wood Is cut up small.