468 DISPOSAL AND SALE OF WOOD. 



Sale by private contract recently has been extending in a 

 remarkable manner, especially in North Germany, and desires 

 for its further extension have been expressed. This may be 

 justifiable for certain districts, but in most cases, and especially 

 in sales of State forest produce, it should be considered rather 

 as a necessary evil, enforced by a limited demand in slack 

 times, than as an even tolerably regular mode of sale, for 

 where trade is brisk, no forest-owner w r ould wish, by private 

 sales, to reduce the competition at auctions.* 



SECTION III. BUSINESS PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN THE SALE OF 



WOOD. 



1. General Account. 



Owing to the moderate net-revenue resulting from forests, 

 and the considerable amount of invested capital which they 

 involve, it is evident that every forest-owner should strive, by 

 improving the markets for his produce, to obtain as high a 

 price as possible for it. The forest-owner may be unable to 

 exert any influence on the general current prices of wood, and, 

 as regards the sale of his own produce, may be fettered by the 

 situation of his forest, the state of the local wood market and 

 many other conditions ; nevertheless the financial results of 

 the sale of his wood, under the given conditions, depend 

 greatly on his skill in managing sales. Much has been 

 said already on this subject in the preceding sections ; it is, 

 however, necessary to discuss, in a general way, the principles 

 and experience of mercantile business which are most nearly 

 related to the above objects. 



In order to sell wood profitably, a forester must be a trader, 

 and must have the same aptitude for trade as other dealers 

 who sell wares. 



* [In Britain, coppice is sold generally at so much an acre, or the wood felled 

 and sold in assortments after conversion. Stain lards over coppice are sold at 

 fixed prices per cubic foot that increase with the girth of the tree; only the 

 bole is cubed, and the crown given-in to cover cost of felling. In beech selec- 

 tion forests, the marked trees are felled usually by the owner, and the lo,u's and 

 faggots sold as thgy lie in the forests, and this is also the case with oak and 

 Scots pines in the Crown forests, the price being fixed by private contract. 

 Tr.-J 



