COMPARISON OF MODES OF SALE. 463 



(b) Sale to the highest Bidder. Sale by public auction, 

 provided that enough competitors are present, may be con- 

 sidered as the most usual mode of sale. The chief 

 advantages and disadvantages of its different varieties are 

 as follows : 



i. Li Sale by Detail. 



When converted timber is sold in small lots by public 

 auction, sufficient competition will ensure the best prices, for 

 owing to demand and supply prices in this case most nearly 

 represent the true local value of any sale-lot, including its 

 quality, utility, portability, etc. By auctioning forest produce, 

 it is distributed among the consumers in the simplest manner, 

 and according to the measure of their requirements. If 

 there are exceptions to this rule, they are less numerous and 

 remedied more easily than in sales by private contract. Much 

 less time is occupied in auction-sales than in sales by private 

 contract, a matter of great importance. All unjust dealing 

 and respect for persons which may easily occur in private 

 sale, or complaints of which may be brought against the most 

 honourable foresters, are avoided by public auctions. The 

 superiority of public auction over sale by public contract is 

 proved by the fact that nearly everywhere in Germany, sale 

 by private contract has been supplanted by auction-sales. 



Amongst the disadvantages urged against sale by public 

 auction, the following is worthy of notice, namely, the possi- 

 bility of the purchasers coming to an understanding before 

 the sale. This is especially to be feared when the attend- 

 ance at a sale is small ; when too much material at a time 

 is offered for sale ; in the case of wood-assortments that not 

 everyone can buy, either because their cost is prohibitive or the 

 demands for them are small ; or finally, when the seller pur- 

 posely tries to maintain prices above their proper local figure. 

 Coalitions of purchasers are very frequent in the sale of 

 merchantable timber, rafted wood or firewood intended for 

 trade, for which local competition may be nil, or of a very 

 limited nature. 



Coalition of purchasers is becoming a common affair in 

 Germany, being much more frequent than is imagined, both at 



