913 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



class three is the vahie of the reproduction on about one-third of its 

 area, which has attained a growth of about ten years. The replacement 

 cost has been advanced as the value of reproduction destroyed by fire 

 on Government lands, and it is understood that in certain cases damages 

 have been settled by that measure. On such a basis the value of the 

 young growth on these class two lands would be 28.5 per cent. of a 

 reasonable cost of planting carried forward at a low interest rate for 

 ten years. However it is not probable that plantihg could be done at 

 present with profit in this locaHty, and probably 50 per cent of replace- 

 ment cost would be more nearly representative of present value. 



Evidence of the value of this young growth from another angle is 

 given by the investment put into second growth by the regulations on 

 National Forest timber sales. In this locality the Forest Service cuts 

 irom 25,000 to 30,000 feet per acre from its timber sales. An operating 

 cost of at least 40 cents per thousand is involved in the piHng and 

 burning of the brush, with the object of insuring second growth without 

 fire damage. This expense is a direct operating charge on the part of 

 the operator and apparently must reduce stumpage rates proportionately. 

 Consequently it must be considered that with a cut of 25,000 per acre 

 the Government is willing to invest $10 per acre at the time of cutting 

 to the account of young growth. It is believed the reproduction on the 

 class two areas is as satisfactory as that obtained from timber sale areas, 

 and that after ten years the debris has disintegrated to an extent that 

 with reasonable protection the fire risk is not much greater, with the 

 exception that under this unregulated cutting young growth has cov^ 

 ered 28.5 per cent of the ground and under regulation it is expected 

 that the entire area will be eventually satisfactorily stocked. Thus it 

 may be assumed that if it is good business to invest $10 per acre in 

 brush disposal on regulated cutting on timber sales the young growth 

 on the class two areas had a value of $2.85 per acre- after logging. 

 This would also be in the nature of a replacement value and for the 

 same reasons as above 50 or 60 per cent of the actual investment is 

 believed more representative of value. The extra cost of logging on 

 timber-sale areas involves other items in addition to brush and snag 

 disposal, such as increased construction costs through lighter cut and 

 expense of more careful and lighter logging. These costs are difficult 

 to determine, vary greatly, and may be to some extent offset by the 

 higher average quality of logs cut on a timber-sale area. The point is 

 that the Forest Service believes it eood management to invest well over 



