BY STANDING TREES. 449 



it therefore closely resembles sale by detail, difiering from it 

 only in the fact that the prices are fixed for each wood-assort- 

 ment before the trees are felled, and that the purchaser contracts 

 to pay at rates previously agreed upon for all the wood of the 

 assortments he has bought. 



Such sales are at present frequent in Germany, Austria- 

 Hungary, Switzerland, France, &c. They usually extend to the 

 produce of a whole felling-area, and the fellings may be of any 

 character, as neither sylvicultural interests nor the revenues of 

 the forest are prejudiced by the mode of conversion. As the 

 prices are fixed separately for each wood-assortment, and for 

 different classes of assortments by the unit of cubic contents 

 (cubic meter), an approximately correct estimate of the real 

 value of the yield is secured. When experience of the results of 

 former fellings does not guide the owner (by taking percentages) 

 as to the volume and quality of the crop, the probable produce 

 from each tree should be calculated separately, and an estimate 

 thus made of the volume and quality of the yield of the whole 

 felling-area. It is, however, evident that no guarantee should be 

 given to the purchaser of the exactness of this estimate. 



Where this mode of sale is applied to single trees (as, for 

 instance, large oak-trees) and not to entire felling-areas, a better 

 forecast of the real value may be obtained. 



ii. Conversion by the Purchaser. 



When trees are sold standing and the purchaser undertakes 

 their conversion into timber and firewood, if the seller and pur- 

 chaser are not to be quite in the dark as to the real value of the 

 trees, a much more careful forecast of the yield should be made 

 than in sales by unit of produce ; if this is not thoroughly well 

 done, the forest owner will certainly come out of the business at 

 a loss. 



These sales may deal with all the standing trees on a felling- 

 area or on a demarcated portion of a felling-area. In such 

 cases, the estimate of their value depends on an accurate survey 

 of the area, and a calculation of the average yield of an acre, 

 which is possible in the case of homogeneous woods, such as 

 pure coniferous even-aged woods, or coppice. Care must then be 



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