There are no trees from the original surveys in my area. I have seen trees in other areas of the country noted as "Witness Trees" while others are "Bearing Trees". While I know what a Bearing Tree is which has distance and direction taken to it, are Witness Trees marked more for the approximate line, or are these terms often interchanged?
(Photos taken from Google Images).
A witness tree's testimony is admissable in a court of law.
Otherwise, no. No difference whatsoever in my neck of the many woods.
In this area it is common for the BLM to use Bearing tree and the state to use witness tree. The very same thing, but a little different on blazing and scribing procedure.
Don't sink the nails all the way like that.
[sarcasm]Is it a lay witness tree if it merely witnesses to a monument position, but an expert witness tree if it purports to witness to the corner?
[/sarcasm]
>While I know what a Bearing Tree is which has distance and direction taken to it, are Witness Trees marked more for the approximate line, or are these terms often interchanged?
In Texas they are generally interchangeable. The common 19th century practice was to refer to marked trees tied to survey corners as "bearings", as in: "bearings found, present and perfect", so "bearing tree" is closer to the common early usage. I use "bearing tree" myself, and suspect that "witness tree" is an EAST Texas usage that has crept into Texas from points further East.
Take a look on page 341 of White's book for a historic distinction between the two terms.
The only slight difference I could pretend to see is that a bearing tree actually has a bearing/distance to/from the corner. A witness tree might only "point" to the corner with no bearing and distance. However, I suspect in reality it's local custom.
A Witness Tree, after it falls down, becomes a "Lay Witness Tree". Because it just lays there.
A Bearing tree, can bear witness, so long as it is not moved, then it can be accused of "Bearing False Witness", but if it falls, well, it just becomes a "Lay Witness, that is Bearing False Witness". Then it's testimony can be discarded.
If a Bearing tree, gets harvested, and taken to the mill, then it has entered the "Witness Protection Program".
I hope this clears things up for you.
N
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.
OFFICE OF THE SURVEYOR GENERAL
OF WISCONSIN AND IOWA,
Dubuque, May 28,1846.
8. Bearing trees are those of which you take the course and
distance from a corner. They are distinguished by a large
smooth blaze or chop, fronting the corner, upon which is
marked, with an iron made for that purpose, the number of
the range, township and section, except at quarter section
corners where l/4 S. will supply the number of the section,
thus;
R-------- E. or W.
T ________ N.
S ________ or 1/4 S.
The letters B. T. are also to be marked upon a smaller chop,
directly under the large one and as near the ground as is
practicable.
9. Witness trees are signalized and marked as above, but
the course and distance to them, as well as the small chop, are
omitted.
10. Trees, employed either for the purpose of bearing or
witness trees, are to be alive and healthy and not less than
five inches diameter.
" I use "bearing tree" myself, and suspect that "witness tree" is an EAST Texas usage"
Nope, we call them bearing trees in East Texas and have a lot more of them here than you have in your area, so you probably picked the term up from us.
We ain't got no trees, but if we did.....
Would witness trees be found along a line with the blaze marks being on the side of the tree nearest the line while bearing trees would only be found close to corners and marked as above? Does a tree directly on a line get a blaze on opposite sides consistent with the alignment of the line or what?
> Nope, we call them bearing trees in East Texas and have a lot more of them here than you have in your area, so you probably picked the term up from us.
My understanding is that you while you have a nearly inexhaustible supply of trees for surveyors to cut marks into and measure bearings and distances to, they may not be the *same* trees in many cases. In Central and West Texas, the odds favor the *same* trees still being there. :>
Also White, p. 341
18. Whenever the true place of establishing a corner is inaccessible, except it occurs in a body of water that is to be meandered, you are to establish a witness corner as near thereto as is practicable and either due north, south, east, or west of it. Such corner is to be constructed in all respects like the one for which it stands as a witness, with the addition of the letters W.C. immediately over the numbering, both upon the post and trees.
-----
I take that to mean that a witness corner would usually be a post, but may be a Witness tree if it is near the inaccessible corner and on line, and it may have Bearing trees associated with it.
Witness and Bearing Trees Regional Usage
Witness tree and bearing tree may simply be regional usages. You'll recall that New Englander Robert Frost didn't write a poem about a *Bearing Tree*.
We ain't got no trees, but if we did.....
A witness tree would be found in conjunction with bearing trees at the corner point. A tree on the line would be marked with two hacks where the line intersects and leaves the tree.
9. Witness trees are signalized and marked as above, but
the course and distance to them, as well as the small chop, are
omitted.
That doesn't make much sense to me. Why would you go through all the trouble to blaze and mark this tree but then not record the bearing and distance?
Was this a Table A checklist item? :-S
This reminds me of the Twix commercial.
Which do you like more? Mouth-watering Left TWIX® or drool-inducing Right
TWIX®? Try both and pick a side at Twix.com
> " I use "bearing tree" myself, and suspect that "witness tree" is an EAST Texas usage"
>
> Nope, we call them bearing trees in East Texas and have a lot more of them here than you have in your area, so you probably picked the term up from us.
Not all of us. They are witness trees here. As Kent said, they are interchangeable though.
> >While I know what a Bearing Tree is which has distance and direction taken to it, are Witness Trees marked more for the approximate line, or are these terms often interchanged?
>
> In Texas they are generally interchangeable. The common 19th century practice was to refer to marked trees tied to survey corners as "bearings", as in: "bearings found, present and perfect", so "bearing tree" is closer to the common early usage. I use "bearing tree" myself, and suspect that "witness tree" is an EAST Texas usage that has crept into Texas from points further East.
Maybe, but it was in the 19th century as I was looking at some survey notes this morning and they noted "Witness marked" instead of "Bearings marked".
We call them witness trees in Cherokee County, but I have no problem discerning between the words.