THE VALUATION OF WOODS OR PLANTATIONS. 399 



considerations ; but hardly to the extent of leaving the whole of 

 the woods, with the land on which they stand, out of the account. 

 Both should be valued — the wood at its commercial value, and 

 the land at the rent which it would bring in if not covered with 

 timber. The valuer can then consider what deductions from the 

 amount so obtained should be made on the grounds of amenity, 

 whether it be of landscape or shelter; and also what allowance 

 should be made in consideration of the fact that the agricultural 

 and grazing rents are maintained by means of the shelter afforded 

 by the wood", and that they would not be realised but for the 

 presence of the trees. On sporting estates the woods may be an 

 important factor in the let, and a like deduction may have to be 

 made under this head. 



We will now take up in detail the valuation of the various 

 classes of wood-crops. 



1. Matured Woods. 



Here the question before the valuer is to define the money 

 value of the crop of full-sized marketable timber, plus the value 

 of the land on which the crop stands ; and the first step is to find 

 the contents in cubic feet of the marketable timber. The methods 

 in practice among wood-valuers in calculating the cubic contents 

 of growing timber may be stated as follows : — (1) The trees being 

 counted, the valuer simply estimates by the eye the number of cubic 

 feet that each tree contains. This requires considerable experience 

 on his part. (2) He actually measures the height and girth of each 

 tree, and finds the contents by the usual method of measuring 

 round timber. By both these methods the valuer can arrive at 

 the cubic contents of the wood ; but the process involves con- 

 siderable time and expense, and where the crop is at all regular, 

 many valuers proceed somewhat on the following lines. All the 

 trees are first counted. A sample area, of say -^ part of an acre, 

 is then marked off, and the contents of each tree thereon are 

 estimated. A second acre is taken, another ^ part is marked 

 off, and the contents of each tree thereon are estimated, and so 

 on throughout the whole wood. Taking the trees on the areas 

 measured off as samples, the valuer then strikes an average, and 

 calculates therefrom the contents of the remaining trees. Where 

 the crop is regular a fairly correct estimate can be arrived at by 

 the above method ; but, of course, in many woods it cannot be 

 adopted, on account of the irregularity of the stock. Having 



