ESTIMATING 



165 



a great range in diameter and height require constant checking 

 to prevent errors. It is, of course, axiomatic that more time is 

 required to cover dense stands than open stands. Likewise, a 

 large nimiber of different species slows down the estimator. 

 Estimating in the mixed stands of the Southern Appalachians 

 takes more time than estimating in pure stands of white pine other 

 things being equal. 



The following table summarizes estimating costs including the 

 necessary office work in the different regions and offers a chance 

 for a comparison of the amounts required under various condi- 

 tions: 



Type of timber 



Spruce 



Northern hardwoods . . . 



White pine 



Northern swamp 



Southern hardwoods 



Cove 



Slope 



Ridge 



Bottomlands 



Southern pine 



Western yellow pine 



Lodgepole pine 



Engelmann spruce 



Silver pme 



Sugar pine 



Douglas fir 



Redwood 



Tropics 



Minimum costs are given because average figures would be of little 

 value without some knowledge of the range and the upper limits 

 are exceedingly variable. In fact the main use of the table is 

 to show the relative costs. For example, costs are ordinarily 

 lowest — two cents to four cents an acre — in such widely 

 separated regions as the western yellow pine type of the Rocky 

 Mountains and the tropics. In the case of the latter the low per- 

 centage estimated is sufficient to account for the low cost while the 

 uniformity of the stands, freedom from underbrush and low value 



