22 



River would be pine, chestnut, red oak, hemlock, white oak, cedar, 

 maple and birch. 



This order may again be modified in many cases by the condition 

 of the tree; as, for example, a dominant pine tree of a valuable species 

 might be suffering from a disease, in which case it should come out. 



The task of selecting the trees to be thinned requires considerable ex- 

 perience and judgment, and should be in the hands of a trained man. 



Thinnings are usually let out by the cord at a price somewhat in 

 advance of that for cutting wood clean, because the process of selection 

 makes it slower work. A greater part of the thinnings on the area in 

 question, however, will not be fit for cordwood, and laborers working 

 for the city have to be paid by the day, at the rate of $2.25. The 

 usual basis for reckoning the expense of thinnings must therefore be 

 changed. In the small hardwoods two men should be able to cut and 

 pile the brush on about 1 acre a day. Among the medium hardwoods 

 of an acre would make a full day's work, and among the large hard- 

 woods i of an acre would be the limit even for good choppers, because 

 of the large amount of cordwood to be cut and piled. This makes 

 the cost of thinning per acre respectively $4.50 to $6 for small hard- 

 woods, $10 to $15 for medium, and $18 to $25 on the large. Where 

 merchantable cordwood results from this work, its value should be 

 deducted from the labor cost in order to obtain the net cost of the work. 

 The value of cord wood piled in the woods is equal to its stumpage 

 value, averaging $1, plus the average cost of chopping, which is $1.25 

 per cord. 



Using the above figures, we obtain the following summary of the 

 amount of thinning to be done and the net cost thereof: 



Small hardwoods: 



405 acres at $4.50 to $6.00 =$1,822 to $2,430. No returns. 

 Medium hardwoods: 



230 acres at $10 to $15 = $2,300 to $3,450; less 340 cords of wood at $2.25 a cord 



($765), leaves a net cost of $1,535 to $2,685. 

 Large hardwoods: 



81 acres at $18 to $25 = $1,458 to $2,025; less 800 cords of firewood at $2.25 per cord, 



leaves a net profit of $342, or a net cost of $225. 

 Pine and hardwoods: 



102 acres at $10 to $15 = $1,020 to $1,530; less 200 cords of wood at $2 per cord (400), 



leaves a net cost of $620 to $1,130. 

 Large cedar swamp: 



30 acres at $10 to $15 = $300 to $450; less 30 cords of wood at $1.50 per cord ($45) 



and 60 cords of dead cedar at $1 ($60), leaves a net cost of $200 to $350. 

 Maple, pine and hemlock: 



42 acres at $10 to $15 = $420 to $630; less 80 cords of wood at $1.75 per cord, leaves 



about $300 to $500 as the net cost. 



Total cost of labor, $7,320 to $10,510; value of 1,500 cords of wood, $3,220; total net cost, 

 $4,100 to $7,290 on 890 acres. 



