Larry Harrell wrote:

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.

Is that pretty much how it's done, then? My curiousity stemmed from the
local electric company being on a tree trimming binge and concern that
they don't hack this one to bits as it's the only large old tree in the
yard. One thing led to another and here I am wondering how old it is.

Kate