1884.] SALES. 79 



Sales. 



SALE OF TIMBER AT DAEKAWAY. 



THE annual public sale of timber, which, with the exception of 

 a few larch-trees, was composed entirely of hardwoods, and 

 chiefly oak, took place in Darnaway Forest on 15 th October last. 

 The sale was attended by a numerous company, which comprised 

 the chief timber merchants and cartwrights in the locality, and 

 also boat-builders, lish-curers, and others, both local and from a 

 distance. The competition throughout was very animated, which 

 resulted in better prices than expected being obtained for oak, 

 excepting the " burnwood," wfiich was not so much wanted as usual 

 for fish-curing purposes. Tlie following is the lowest, highest, and 

 mean average prices obtained j^er cubic foot : — Oak, from 8d. to 

 2s. 6^d., average Is. lO^^d., — very fine lots were sold under Is. per 

 foot; Ash, from Is. to 2s. 2|d., average Is. 6|d. ; Elm, from Is. 6d. 

 to 2s., average Is. 9d. ; Larch, from Is. Ojd. to Is. 4d., average 

 Is. 2|;d. Oak burnwood, 12s.; Birch for bobbins, 10s.; and fire- 

 wood, 8s. per ton. The chief purchasers were Messrs. Wilson & 

 Menzies, Forres ; Barron, Nairn; M'Ewen, Wick; Findlay, Burghead ; 

 Main & Findlay, Hopeman ; Slater, A. Wood, and W. Wood, Lossie- 

 mouth ; and J. & W^. M'Intosh, Portessie. This sale, and the prices 

 obtained, for at least some of the classes of timber, cannot be taken 

 as a general criterion of the state of the timber trade, which, unless 

 in the boat-building department, is very languid. The success of 

 these annual sales depends very much upon the fishings on the North 

 and East Coasts. If tlie herring fishing is good, a good sale is sure 

 to follow ; if bad, however, the opposite is generally the result. 



The following is the average of the prices realized at these sales 

 from IS 71 down to the current year, during which time many 

 thousand feet of timber have been disposed of. 



Yeak. O.iK. Asn. Elm. | Year. Oak. Ash. Elm. 



1S7S, 1/3S 1/10 I/IOJ 



1879, sa. 2/lJ 1/2J 



1880, 1/4J l/4i 1/5 



1881, lOJd. l/lj lOd. 



1882, 1/5S 1/3 1/Oi 



1883, 1/10 l/Oi lid. 



1884, 1/lOi 1/6^ 1/9 



In 1879 the fishing was bad, and the demand for oak miserable, 

 hence the very low average. In 1881, a deal of the timber was 

 small and straight, and the demand only middling. The quality of 

 the oak all over was good, but that of some of the ash was single 

 and inferior, and the elm generally small. J. S. 



