Describes microscopic television scanning of wood, including the use of a geometric scanning unit of hexagonal shape which can interpret various combinations of black or white points. Certain wood structures, such as the clustering of vessels, can be characterized by automatically computed variograms. Examples are given of the application to transverse sections of beech <1(Fagus sylvatica) and poplar (Populus sp.) wood, and one interesting result is that individual beech trees can apparently be distinguished by the ellipticality of their vessels. Various uses are envisaged, e.g. in genetic studies on wood. -- AATA