Teaching the Scientific Method 31 from my eye with the zero end of the stick down and level with a spot one foot from the base of the tree, where the tree will be cut. Without moving my head, I sighted to the point on the tree trunk where the top of the last usable log would be. I noted where this line of sight intercepted the stick. The marks on the stick indicate the number of sixteenfoot logs in the tree. Then I turned the stick in my hand and read the number of board feet which there are in the logs of each tree.