198 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



The white pine is used for almost 

 every purpose. The smaller sizes and 

 inferior grades find their best uses for 

 boxes, while the better grades and larger 

 sizes are most valuable for furniture, 

 interior finish, and for special uses, such 

 as molds, match stock, etc. The aver- 

 age price is $23.75 per thousand feet. 



The red pine is used for much the 

 same purposes as the white pine. 



The pitch pine or yellow pine is used 

 mostly for lumber, and is inferior even 

 for that purpose. Near metallurgical 

 works, such as smelters, a special use 

 for this is found in the form of poles 

 used in the reduction process. Pitch 

 pine is often marketed in the smaller 

 sizes for cordwood. 



Spruce is used mostly for pulp wood, 

 and larger sizes for ordinary building 

 lumber, and, to a certain extent, for 

 boxes. The average price is about $19 

 per thousand feet. 



Tulip Poplar or yellow Poplar is used 

 mostly for interior finish, cigar boxes, 

 and furniture. It is a high grade wood 

 and generally can command a special 

 price. The average price is about $40 

 per thousand feet. 



LUMBERING COSTS. 



The owner, having estimated the 

 amount of wood which he has standing 

 and knowing the value of it in the 

 markets, which he can reach conven- 

 iently, now wishes to know what it will 

 cost to get his material from the tree 

 to the market. When he knows that 

 he is in a position to place a value on 

 the standing timber. 



In this discussion, we are taking ac- 

 count only of standing timber of mer- 

 chantable size, which, it must not be 

 forgotten, is much below the real value 

 of the whole woodlot. 



The costs of marketing the timber 

 are: 



First. Cutting down the trees and 

 working them into logs, poles, ties, 

 cordwood, etc. 



Second. Skidding into convenient 

 piles, or to a sawmill, if there be one on 

 the tract. 



Third. Hauling logs to a sawmill, if 

 it is not on the tract ; or hauling lumber 

 and other products, such as ties, etc., 



to market, loading on cars, if necessary. 

 Fourth. Cost of sawing, piling, etc. 

 While the costs of these various factors 

 differ greatly according to circum- 

 stances, the following figures are given 

 as fair average costs under general wood- 

 lot conditions and will serve as a guide 

 in valuing timber. 



COST OF HAULING. 



Naturally the most variable cost is 

 that of hauling, on account of the 

 different distances to be hauled; be- 

 cause of difference in the nature of the 

 country and condition of the roads; 

 and through difference in weight be- 

 tween seasoned and greenwood, etc. 



A large share of the lumber from 

 woodlots is cut by small portable mills. 

 These can be moved for from $50 to 

 $100, and a stand of 75,000 to 100,000 

 board feet will warrant a "set up." 

 Therefore, where the haul to any 

 established mill is too long to be profit- 

 able, it may pay to have a portable 

 mill come in and saw the logs. Often 

 where there is not enough in one wood- 

 lot, two or three owners might combine 

 to have a portable mill set up. 



In hauling, an average load for a 

 team along ordinary country roads is 

 about 1,000 board feet of lumber; 32 

 first class ties, 38 second class ties, six 

 25-30 foot poles, four 30-35 foot poles, 

 two 35-45 foot poles, or one cord of 

 wood. 



Ordinarily a team will average for a 

 day's work, loading, hauling the load 6 

 to 9 miles, and then returning. The 

 best time to haul is in winter, when 

 sleighing is good. 



The cost of a team and driver varies 

 from $4 to $5.50 a day. Generally a 

 team can be hired cheaper in winter 

 than in summer, as in the former season 

 farmers want work for their horses. 



In the following figures, it will be 

 assumed that the average cost of haul- 

 ing is $5 per thousand board feet that 

 is, that the average load above given, 

 will be hauled; that only one trip per 

 day can be made, and that the wages 

 for the team and driver are $5 per day. 

 This is an average high price for haul- 

 ing. Generally, it is considerably 

 lower. It is used to be conservative 



