36 



THE WESTERN HEMLOCK. 



For fairer comparison the merchantable stand of Red Fir given in the 

 tables was computed according to the average diameter limit to which 

 the Red Fir is cut throughout the State, and not, unless through coin- 

 cidence, according to local practice. Except in the case of pile or 

 spar camps and of a few small concerns supplying tie mills, there is no 

 great variation in the diameter limit to which Red Fir is cut on the 

 stump. Usually a forest stand in which most of the trees are not over 

 3 feet in diameter is not considered merchantable at all. A common 

 standard considers no tree merchantable which will not cut two 24-foot 

 logs, each of which will square 16 inches. The distance into the top 

 to which the tree is utilized varies greath', however. Since the cost 

 of logging, or of transportation, the quality of timber, or the demand 

 for logs of certain lengths, may influence the amount taken out of a 

 tree of a given diameter, it follows that each camp has its own standard, 

 and this standard may fluctuate. 



The following table shows the diameter inside the bark in the top to 

 which Red Fir was being cut in several of the largest camps in Wash- 

 ington at the time they were visited by the agents of the Bureau of 

 Forestry: 



Table 11. — Diameter limit hi tops. 



Locality. 



Buckley 



Orting 



Matlock 



Elma 



Little Rock 

 Hoquiam 



Average 



Diameter. 



Inches. 

 31.8 

 17.5 

 25. 7 

 26.8 

 27.4 

 33.3 



27.1 



It is evident, from the above table, that volume tables made at Ort- 

 ing and Hoquiam would produce widely different results if applied to 

 the same stand. 



LOGGED-OFF LANDS. 



Hitherto the problem of dealing with logged-off land has been given 

 uniform treatment by Western lumbermen. It has been the custom to 

 sell the land which had value for agriculture for what it would bring, 

 especially for grazing, and to abandon the rest. Large tracts of 

 logged-off land have been sold for 40 cents an acre. Occasionally an 

 owner pays taxes on such property, but he is the exception, and often 

 has some peculiar motive for doing so, such as a desire to show a large 

 acreage. Very few expect to log a second time. 



Excessive taxation in the United States is one of the greatest obstacles 

 to conservative forest management by private owners. In western 



