Editors Box. 431 



With regard to this matter I may just say that during- my thirty years' 

 experience in tliis business I have bonght timber fi'om most of the landed 

 proprietors (inckiding Lord Seafiekl, Cnllen House) within a boundary of 

 20 to 30 miles, and I never heard of, nor paid, nor got anything like what 

 the Cnllen House Forester quotes in your first number, page 31. and I will 

 now offer as good quality of wood as ever grew on the Cullen House 

 estates at 30 to 50 per cent, less than the Forester's quotations, for the 

 reason that T cannot get those prices anywhere. It happens sometimes 

 that a farmer or a boat or ship builder may go to a forester or timber 

 merchant in quest of a few pieces of wood which must be had of a certain 

 description, and for which an extreme price may be paid, but this I main- 

 tain should not be quoted as being the current price of timber in a 

 district. — I am, Sir, respectfully yours, 



Macduff, Scpl 19, 1877. Alexander Dallas, 



M^ood Merchant. 



81R, — I have watched with much interest the discussiLin upon these 

 long prices at Cullen, and I have simply kept quiet till now to see what 

 was to be the result between the two foresters. I am afraid, from my 

 own experience in the trade, Mr. Michie will have some difficulty to prove 

 to us wood merchants that he can get such large prices at Cullen. I have 

 sold almost all sorts of home-grown timber in and around Cullen, and I 

 find those in the trade there know the current market prices as well as I 

 do myself, and can drive as hard a bargain. Mr. Michie's prices look 

 somewhat preposterous on the very face of them, when he says he can 

 get Is. 6d. per foot for Scots fir, when I have to pay railway carriage to 

 Aberdeen, and get only Is. per foot : of course mine is correctly measured . 

 Then as to his ash at 4s. 6d. Certainly he could not think we wood 

 merchants would believe any such thing, whatever foresters might do. I 

 have on hand at present from 1,000 to 1,400 ash trees of excellent quality, 

 and should he be so kind as to send a substantial customer ray way, I would 

 only be too glad to treat with him for something less. Then as to his 

 other prices, 1 consider they are simply not worth taking notice of. I was 

 very glad to see that they were completely refuted by Mr. Smyth's remarks 

 in the last number. I am anxiously looking for the next number to see 

 what he has got to say in explanation ; but possibly he will take no further 

 notice, which will be much the better plan for himself, as the numerous 

 readers of the Journal of Forestry will have their minds made up by 

 this time as to the accuracy of his statement about such enormous prices 

 being realized. Had I not been in hopes of getting a customer recom- 

 mended prepared to give the Cullen prices, for which I Avould gladly sell 

 out, I would hardly have cared to waste time and your space in noticing 

 the matter. 



An Aberdeenshire Wood Merchant. 



[The Correspondence on this subject must now cease. — Ed. J. F.] 



