FINANCIAL ASPECTS OF AFFORESTATION 223 



whole area. An equally important point is to allow a 

 fair margin for contingencies, bad or diseased timber, and 

 other accidents which diminish the market value of a 

 crop. These accidents are more likely to increase with 

 some species than others, and also increase with the 

 length of the rotation. Larch and spruce, for instance, 

 amongst conifers invariably contain a percentage of faulty 

 or diseased stems, while oak and ash seldom give a large 

 return in first-class timber. 



Above all, it is necessary to remember that yield tables, 

 or the results of sample plot measurements, indicate stand- 

 ing timber crops which are 25 to 50 per cent, greater than 

 may be expected from average yield from the forest or 

 wood in Avhich they are grown, assuming that the soil is 

 uniform throughout. In Forest Management ^ Sir William 

 Schlich quotes in Appendix ill. German yield tables of 

 Scots pine, beech, spruce, silver fir, and oak. The calcula- 

 tions are expressed in cubic feet and acres, but the former 

 are evidently obtained by calliper measure, and conse- 

 quently must be reduced by 22 per cent, to bring them to 

 English measure. After this is done yields of from 6000 to 

 10,000 feet of timber per acre three-inches diameter and 

 over on first-class localities are given. Equally high returns 

 are shown in Tables v. and vi. A British forester in sell- 

 ing large blocks or woods at one operation would seldom, 

 if ever, find average stocks of timber of this kind on the 

 ground, even after allowing for gaps and other defects in 

 the crop. Timber measured down to three inches in 

 diameter must also include a great deal which must either 

 be burned on the ground, given away, or sold at a nominal 

 price for firewood. Larch is perhaps the only tree which 

 carries little waste in the shape of small timber, but with 

 other, and especially broad-leaved species, considerable 

 allowance must be made for branches and small tops 

 which, at the best, can only be sold at half-price. 



^ Vol. iii., Schlich's Manual of Forestry . 



