1885.] ON ROSS-SHIRE FORESTRY. 225 



And at the present moment this same sleeper would only fetch 

 2s. lOd. in Sunderland, less 2^ per cent. Now, allowing that Mr. 

 Gunn could dispose ot" this sleeper in Ross-shire to the railway 

 company here at their nearest station, he would save the cost of 

 freight, dues, and insurance, which is equal to 5d. per sleeper, 

 leaving 5s. still to be got for his sleeper ; whereas the utmost that 

 he can get for it is 2s. lOd., leaving a balance on the wrong side 

 of the account of 2s. 2d. 



If we then look at herring-barrel staves, and say Mr. Gunn pays 

 Is. 6d. per cubic foot for the larch, we will see that there would be 

 a still greater loss than we had on sleepers. It will take from 

 75 to 80 cubic feet of timber to make 1000 superficial feet of 

 f inch staves, oftener 80 than 75. 



Say 80 cubic feet, at Is. 6d. per foot, . £6 

 Cross-cutting and carting to sawmill, . 3 



Sawing, and tear and wear of machinery, . 6 6 



Carting to station, measuring, and trucking, 3 6 

 Eailway charges from Eoss-shire to say Wick, 9 



Total, £7 2 

 Prices at present obtainable delivered at Wick, 3 10 



£3 12 

 Leaving a balance of £3, 12s. per 1000 superficial feet on the 

 wrong side of the account. Again, from this it will be seen that 

 from 6^d. to 7d. per cubic foot is nearer the price of stave wood 

 larch, and we have before stated that a wood merchant can only 

 afford to pay from lOd. to lid. per cubic foot for sleeper larch. 

 For picked larch suitable for railway carriage works, boat-building, 

 etc., from Is. 2d. to Is. 4d. per cubic foot may be obtained, delivered 

 at the consumer's yard ; and when the cost of haulage to railway, 

 and carriage, say to Inverness, Wick, or Fraserburgh, is deducted, 

 should the seller find that he has Is. per cubic foot left to pay the 

 first cost, he may think himself lucky. 



Regarding the prices of fir timber, Mr. Gunn would be nearer 

 the mark if he reduced his figures from 8d. and lOd. to 4d. and 5d. 

 per cubic foot. We are quite within the mark to say that every 

 sleeper will cost lid. to manufacture and send to ISTewcastle, and 

 to deliver the same at Forres will cost 7d. ; now one sleeper is 

 equal to 3 cubic feet, this at 8d. per foot. ]\Ir. Gunn's price gives 

 a first cost of 2s. per sleeper ; add to this cost of manufacturing and 

 sending to Forres, and we have 2s. 7d. ; and the Highland Railway 

 Company get their fir sleepers delivered at Forres for Is. lOd. each, 

 thus giving a loss of 9d. per sleeper. The same sleepers delivered 

 at Newcastle will only fetch from Is, lOd. to 2s. each. The stave 

 trade in fir would be equally unremunerative if the wood merchant 



