LAND VALUES 59 



following figures are typical of the average operation under the 

 conditions in 1914: 



PerM 



Felling and bucking $o- 75 



Hauling to railway 3 ■ 00 



Railway freight 3 ■ 00 



Milling 400 



Freight 5 co 



$14-75 



Deducting these costs from an average sale value of $25 leaves 

 a margin of $10.25 for stumpage and profit. As a matter of 

 fact prices paid for stumpage are now (1920) between $5 and $10 

 per M. 



Expressed in terms of man and horse hours per M the following 

 figures give an idea of average conditions: 



Man hours Horse hours 



Felling and bucking ^ 2^ 



Skidding and hauling to mill 8 16 



Milling 4 



Total i4i 16 



Land Values. — The problem of setting a proper valuation on 

 southern pine land is difficult because it has in most cases a poten- 

 tial value for agriculture. The climate permits of the raising of 

 a variety of crops and the lands are frequently so accessible to 

 water or rail transportation that they appear susceptible of 

 intensive cultivation. Three factors tend to offset these advan- 

 tages, however; in the first place, the sterility of pine soil has 

 become a by-word and since there is a large amount of erosion 

 due to the open winter and heavy midsummer rains fertilization 

 is a constant and heavy charge. Furthermore, there is the cost 

 of clearing the land of stimips and the distance to market. 

 Twenty-five to fifty dollars an acre must be figured on to put 

 the land in shape for thoro cultivation. Altho sandy land is 

 well adapted for market gardening if heavily fertilized the dis- 

 tance from market militates against a rapid spread of this indus- 

 try. Virginia and North Carolina pine lands within a few hours 

 of the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets have been profitably 



