A Blighted Chestnut Operation 355 



cerns located at some distance and generally requiring shipment 

 by rail. 



The bulk of the sales fell under the second class, which con- 

 tained all of the largest customers, who also proved to be more 

 prompt in paying. During a period of six months the amount of 

 business done with out-of-town concerns made up 83 per cent 

 of the total business transacted, leaving only 17 per cent for the 

 local market. The out-of-town market took all the poles, piles, 

 railroad ties, and also took all the various kinds of products 

 manufactured except sawdust. 



The local market was principally taken up with small orders 

 of inch boards, some planking and dimension stock, occasionally 

 a barn or house frame and tapered fence posts, slabs, cordwood 

 and sawdust. All these orders were small and were either 

 delivered by team or called for by the buyer. For the most 

 part local orders were unsolicited and sometimes the buyers gave 

 the order before the timber had been cut, so that the sawing 

 could be done "to bill," which saved waste in the cutting. It is 

 a good practice to have the customer personally inspect the stock, 

 since it gives the manufacturer an opportunity to show what he 

 has to sell. All things considered, it would have been better to 

 have sold entirely to the local markets, had not the time limit 

 placed upon the work prevented this from being done. 



The key to the choice of selling policy, in local versus out-of- 

 town, resolves itself into a matter of freight rates and the wishes 

 of the owner. The price of chestnut lumber and timber of ordi- 

 nary dimensions ranges close to $25 per M feet anywhere within 

 shipping distance of the blight-infected section of the country. 

 Local sales, therefore, costing nothing for freight, will bring 

 the best return where such sales can be made, and, since a certain 

 amount of lumber is used in every community, there is usually 

 an opportunity to dispose of some chestnut in this way, especially 

 if the stock is well manufactured and promptly delivered. But 

 in the case of the utilization of blighted chestnut, there is often 

 a desire on the part of the owner to dispose of his material as 

 rapidly as possible, even if the stock has to be forced on the 

 market at a reduced price. This is an economic mistake and in 

 handling an operation of this kind the forester should be careful 

 to point out the situation to the owner, and then let him decide 

 whether he wishes rapid disposal of the material or the best 



