196 TIMBER VALUATION 



on the assumption that hardwood has twice the fuel value of 

 softwood and is equal in fuel value per cord to a ton of coal. To 

 the objection that this is too favorable to wood it may be urged 

 that wood is a more flexible fuel than coal and is therefore used 

 more economically. 



Pulpwood, extract wood, and acid wood present the same 

 problems as firewood and have the same costs. 



Poles, whether intended for telegraph, telephone, or mining 

 purposes, represent one of the most economical ways of using 

 timber because there are few steps in their manufacture. They 

 are simply cut off at the stump and top and peeled and are ready 

 for use. These operations seldom cost more than $3 per M so 

 that the determining factor was the distance they had to be 

 hauled. One dollar per M per mile has been an outside figure for 

 the latter operation although recent advances in wages and 

 horse hire have upset even such a conservative figure. 

 Railway ties go through the following processes: 



Felling and bucking. 



Hewing or sawing. 



Hauling. 

 The cost of these steps per tie varies with the size of the average 

 tie. The standard for steam railway use has been a tie with an 

 eight-inch face and eight feet long. Switch ties were even longer, 

 usually 12 feet. Trolley railroad ties, on the other hand, are 

 smaller, being satisfied with a five or six inch face. Hence the 

 number of ties per M ranges all the way from 40 to 20 with an 

 average of 30 for the standard railway tie. Hewing is the only 

 new item and this has been done in most cases for less than $1 

 per M. The distance hauled has, of course, varied a great deal 

 but the margin between the sale value, $12 to $18 per M and 

 all costs including stumpage has seldom permitted ties to be 

 hauled by wagons more than eight miles. 



The cost of handling tanbark can best be expressed in values 

 per M of timber felled because it is seldom advisable to cut hem- 

 lock or chestnut oak bark for the tanning material alone. The 

 usual method is to handle it as a by-product. Hence, the wood- 

 land owner wants to know not how much bark an area will yield 



