20 Forest Management 



The owner of woodlands (and the forester) can only venture a 

 forecast, guessing at the future condition of the lumber market; big 

 trees have to say the least the same chance with small trees to be 

 money makers. And it is natural that the owner is inclined to either 

 remove or to leave all of his trees. 



2. Let us suppose that the owner leaves in the course of lumbering 

 all trees having under 18 inches diameter representing a stumpage of 

 1,500 feet per acre. The reduction of the cut by 1,500 feet per acre has 

 increased the logging expense per 1,000 feet of stumpage removed, 

 an increase which can be considered only as a new investment added 

 to the value of 1,500 feet per acre left. 



For a number of years to come, the small trees are non-removable, 

 since it cannot pay in the near future to remove a handful of inferior 

 lumber from an acre of ground. In the meantime, the property must 

 be watched and taxes must be paid. 



The owner leaving small trees embarks in a new venture which 

 cannot be countermanded nor altered, for years to come, without seri- 

 ous loss; and which is subject to more serious dangers than the old 

 venture. 



Small trees form, prior to the removal of the big trees mixed with 

 them, a tangible, merchantable asset. After the removal of the big 

 trees, however, they can be considered only as an intangible asset, an 

 asset of merely prospective value, an asset impossible to realize on. 



3. After lumbering, small trees left are much more endangered by 

 fire, windfall, insects, fungi than before lumbering. Where fires cannot 

 be controlled at a reasonable expense, conservative lumbering is, under 

 almost any circumstances, absolutely absurd. 



4. The soil on which small trees are left, in order to grow into 

 better dimensions and in order to act as seed trees for a third growth, 

 cannot be used for pasture without interference with the object at 

 stake. 



5. Conditions may arise, before a second growth of small trees 

 becomes merchantable, rendering the soil occupied by them valuable 

 for farming purposes. In that case -the small trees must be removed 

 without any benefits accruing to the owner from such removal. 



6. The taxes on land completely stripped are lower than the taxes 

 on land conservatively lumbered. When a long number of years is 

 required to convert a second growth left into a merchantable stand, the 

 taxes annually paid "ad valorem" and increasing at a compound ratio, 

 form a countercharge against the slowly increasing value of the second 

 growth difficult to countenance. 



Considering these various points, the financier cannot be called un- 

 wise when he prefers investments in first growth forest to those pos- 

 sible in second growth. 



Many a man in the United States and in Canada has made a fortune 

 by clever investments in first growth, whilst no one, practically, has 



