COMPARISON OF FOREST WITH AGRICULTURAL VALUES 235 



growth of the crop, just previous to planting. In any system 

 of natural seeding, and especially with selection cutting, the value 

 of forest "land" never reaches this low point, but is maintained 

 at a higher level by the presence of partly grown timber which 

 will bring in revenue in a shorter period than a full crop 

 rotation. 



If young timber is present on forest soils, it is not possible 

 to consider this timber as having no value without rejecting the 

 basis of all values, which is future income. We cannot consider 

 merely the forest value of the land itself, for this is derived 

 wholly from timber. The expectation value of the young 

 timber is more definite than the same value calculated for the 

 soil itself ( 1 1 6), as it is nearer and more certain than that from 

 non-existent future crops, or "soil." If land bearing young 

 timber is cleared for agriculture, the forest value sacrificed is 

 greater than that of forest land by just the difference that the 

 age of this timber makes in the present value of the income 

 expected from it. To ignore this value would be the same as to 

 consider a half grown crop of wheat as adding nothing to the 

 sale value of agricultural land. 



Nor can we ignore the future income from young timber as 

 an element of forest value on the grounds that this is not a 

 present but a future value, perhaps not attainable for several 

 decades. If agricultural values were based merely on the revenue 

 from the next year or decade, the capital value of farm land 

 would be much lower than it is. All future revenue is included 

 in such agricultural values as surely as it must be included in 

 finding the present value of forest property (85). The mere 

 fact that forest income is irregular makes it no less necessary to 

 value the entire future income in finding the value of the prop- 

 erty for forestry. 



245. Sale Value of Forest Property. As in the case of 

 agricultural soils, sales are the generally recognized basis of 

 value for forest property, soil and standing crops included. 

 But the sale value of forest property may suffer from ignorance 

 or lack of recognition of the true worth of the property ( in). 

 If young timber has been allowed to burn up in the past, or if 



