GENERAL SALES PROCEDURE 293 



According to Article 19, forest boundary stones must be of good quality 

 and for the outside boundary of the forest must be 31 inches high and 

 8.7 by 7.1 inches square. They extend 14 inches above the ground and 

 are engraved with letters 3.1 inches high. Boundary pillars of felling 

 areas are 24 inches high by 7.9 by 5.9 inches square. They extend 7.9 to 

 9.9 inches above the ground, and have numbers painted in black 2 to 

 2.4 inches high. 



Maps. Separate maps, issued for each State forest, rarely give 

 contours but include roads, trails, towns, villages, houses, telephone 

 lines, ranger stations, fire lines, boundaries of forest, working groups 

 and compartments, names of border forests, areas of compartments, 

 alienations, ponds and streams. The usual scale is 1/20,000 or even 



larger. 35 



SALE OF TIMBER 



General Sales Procedure. There are five main steps necessary 

 before French timber under forest management can be cut: 



(1) The working plan prescribes the area to be cut over in final fell- 

 ings. Frequently the working plan also indicates, in the order of im- 

 portance, when stands of timber should be cut, but considerable leeway 

 is left to the local officer in charge, since a good deal depends upon seed 

 years, the reproduction, weed growth, windfall, and other unforeseen 

 accidents. 



(2) The trees on the area where the cutting is to be made are care- 

 fully marked, usually under the supervision of an officer of the rank of 

 deputy supervisor (assistant inspector) or forest supervisor (inspector). 

 After the marking in any forest is completed the local inspector makes 

 a formal report showing the number, size, and volume of the different 

 species marked, and the approximate value. A minimum price is always 

 established. 



(3) Announcement is made when an auction will be held and a detailed 

 description of the timber to be sold is printed for general distribution. 

 The data furnished include the location, the estimated products, bound- 

 aries, method of removal, and assessed road charges, if any. 



(4) At the time appointed for the auction the bidders assemble and 

 each lot or sale is auctioned off by calling the maximum possible price 

 for the lot first and gradually reducing the price until a bidder calls 

 " I take it." 



(5) After the sale is made and all charges paid in advance, cutting is al- 

 lowed after certain formalities (see contract clauses) have been completed. 



The French sale on the stump is in reality a sale for a lump sum on 

 the basis of the scale of the standing timber. 



The French consider that their method of selling timber standing is 

 35 For grazing, dune, and reforestation betterments see Chapters VI, VII, and VIII. 



