196 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



and has selected his particular lot or lots with that end in 

 view. He is prepared, and can afford, to give more for 

 it than a man who buys on speculation only, and who 

 runs the risk of having his purchase depreciated in value by 

 a fall in the market, or by having to hold it in stock for an 

 indefinite period. The large buyer only buys dearly when 

 his stock is low, and he is unable to meet his present demands, 

 or when the timber lies close to his hand. In the former 

 case he buys on exactly the same principle as the small 

 buyer, and in the latter, the short carriage of the timber enables 

 him to buy dear. It is clear that when a large number of 

 sales are held simultaneously in one district the local market 

 is in danger of being glutted, and buyers must either be 

 obtained from a distance, or the timber pass into the hands 

 of one or two big buyers who buy on speculation, and 

 consequently cheaply. 



On the other hand, there is little doubt but that a 

 steady and constant supply of timber tends to create a 

 demand for it. So long as the supply is erratic and un- 

 certain, local trade always exists in a disorganised condition, 

 for a business cannot be properly developed unless the raw 

 material upon which its existence depends is easily procurable. 

 A timber consumer who has to obtain his material in small 

 parcels from points at wide distances apart is always at a 

 disadvantage, for both time and expense are incurred in 

 finding and collecting to a common centre, which might well 

 be saved if larger quantities of one class of timber were 

 grown in one spot. The mixed character of English woods 

 is often a cause of their unprofitable condition, especially when 

 they contain conifers, such as spruce or pine. In small lots 

 these species are often practically unsaleable, but, when grown 

 clean and in large masses, an enterprising timber merchant 

 will often find a use for them in a special line of some 

 kind. 



If, therefore, a satisfactory working plan could be drawn 

 up for the whole or greater part of the woods of a district, 

 we believe it would benefit both the timber grower and 

 timber consumer in the long-run. In the case of under-wood, 

 of course, a working plan is imperative, but, when confined to 

 one isolated estate here and there, it can do little good 



