FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION 395 



into railway ties, for which only the more durable oak, chestnut, 

 and locust are suited. Long, straight trees, especially of chestnut, 

 are always in demand for telegraph and telephone poles, which 

 however, cause considerable trouble in handling and transportation. 

 Tops and other refuse should be cut into cord wood, even if little 

 more than expense is safely covered, for even in this case it furnishes 

 employment and removes rubbish, which is always a nuisance and 

 frequently a danger to the young growth, which should be left 

 standing. Effort should be made to utilize all kinds of trees and all 

 parts of every tree. Generally, it is easier and safer to convert trees 

 into lumber only, since this is always salable, the largest trades all 

 using wood in this form, but it is often more profitable to attend to 

 the wants of other consumers and prepare wood for special uses, and 

 even where this is not the case it may promote a more perfect utiliza- 

 tion of all the material. In this connection attention may be called 

 to one of the common mistakes made by small concerns. It consists 

 in neglecting both proper selection and care. The good should 

 always be kept with the good, for it does not pay to sell the good 

 with the bad, and in no case is it profitable or even excusable to 

 spoil good lumber by bad piling, as is often done on unsuitable, 

 damp ground, with no care as to ventilation or cover. A fair profit 

 may easily be converted into a serious loss by neglecting to care for 

 the board after it is made. In oak timber the bark will usually 

 prove a valuable source of revenue as tan bark. It should be peeled 

 off in the spring and carefully dried, preferably under cover, since 

 it molds if damp, and is also injured by rain. 



An illustration of what may be done by careful, systematic 

 management is shown in the following particularly interesting case 

 of timber exploitation, in no feature imaginary or theoretical, but 

 actually carried out a few years ago : Forty-three acres of well-stocked, 

 rough timber land in eastern Pennsylvania were bought for $5,800, 

 together with 48 acres of improved farm land, for which $2,500 

 additional was paid. A portable second-hand mill was purchased 

 for $1,000; mill shed and shanties were erected, and this outlay, 

 together with all the wages (nearly $4,000) and cost of hauling, 

 railway and canal freights (little over $4,000), brought up the total 

 outlay, land included, to $18,855. As the mill was at once set in 

 operation, some income was derived from the first, thus obviating 

 the necessity of considering the interest on the several expense 

 accounts. The following represents the cut from these 43 acres 

 made in just two years, with only the partial personal attention of 

 the owner and without the employment of a special superintendent : 



Amount and value of articles and lumber sold. 

 Miscellaneous : Sold for. 



Ill tons of oak bark $1,224 



801 cords of firewood 2,640 



196 telegraph poles 500 



16,800 hickory spokes 388 



66,000 feet slabs (running measure), used largely in mines 333 



For custom sawing 130 



Sawdust 7 



Total $5,222 



