kate wrote in message ...
Wouldn't it be 60" divided by 3.14 x 5 = 95.55?

Isn't there a fairly good way to estimate a tree's age (without killing
it, that is?) What other ways are there for knowing when a tree has
reached it's maturity? (For instance, does it stop getting new growth?)

Kate

See if you can borrow a nice sharp "increment borer". It's a device
for taking a small core sample of the tree. Boring into hardwoods
isn't very fun and counting the rings can also be difficult on an old
tree. It leaves a tiny hole, which some foresters plug back up with
the core when they're done. How bout it, guys? Any thoughts of that
practice? I worked with a former FIA plotter who claimed that it
wasn't necessarily the best thing to do, possibly inviting fungi and
diseases into the wood of the tree. I know that pines are very well
adapted to plugging the hole on their own.

Larry