458 DISPOSAL AND SALE OF WOOD. 



standing trees, the sale - notices should be more widely 

 published. In such cases the forest-manager should select 

 the best newspapers for his advertisements, and too much 

 economy would be out of place. Whenever purchasers from 

 a distance may be expected, they should be informed by adver- 

 tisements of the chief conditions of the sale. 



Whether the sale should be conducted by Forest or Accounts 

 officials, depends on the special administrative arrangements 

 of different countries. Although unnecessary expense in this 

 matter cannot be justified, it is, on the other hand, unde- 

 sirable to leave all responsibility for the sale to the Forest 

 Department. The Accounts officials are, in any case, better 

 acquainted with the buyers than the foresters and should 

 therefore be responsible for their solvency ; this is the case in 

 Prussia, where the Forest Accountant attends all State forest 

 auctions.* 



The auction commences by an official reading out and 

 explaining the conditions of sale. These include : a state- 

 ment whether the sale is with or without reserve ; the terms 

 of security for payment to be offered by the purchasers ; con- 

 ditions under which unknown strangers are allowed to bid ; 

 measures of security against a conspiracy among the buyers to 

 keep down prices ; dates of payment, and limit to which credit 

 is given ; a list of roads by which the wood may be removed, 

 and the conditions of removal ; special political and silvicul- 

 tural conditions which are considered advisable ; finally, that 

 no complaint will be entertained as regards any lot after it has 

 once been knocked down. 



The upset-price at which the lots are offered for sale must 

 evidently be less than that expected from the purchaser. How 

 much lower it should be is a question not without importance 

 as regards the obtainable price. Too high an upset-price 

 frequently prevents the purchasers from bidding freely ; when 

 too low, it causes delay, and if the competition is limited, 

 leads to inferior prices being obtained for the wood. Although 



* [In France, the Prtfet or Smtx-prcfct presides at State forest auctions. In 

 Belgium, sales of standing trees in private forests are conducted by a Xota'tre, 

 or notary public, who charges 11% commission, 3% of which is a State tax, and 

 .'j-ii:ir;intees the solvency of the purchasers. In France, the 



