PEODUCTIOX OF YOUNG OAK-BAEK. 501 



3. Assortments of Bark and formation of Sale -Lots. 



In estimating the yield of bark, greater care than is usually 

 bestowed should be given to the business of assorting the bark 

 according to quality; the forest manager should go beyond 

 customary limits of assortment, and have at any rate two classes 

 of silver-bark, for these are the lots which really determine the 

 value of the produce. This is both in the interest of the forest 

 owner and of the purchaser, and will materially decide the results 

 of the sale. 



Dry bark is sold differently in different places. Usually larger 

 or smaller bales of it are prepared ; or, as in Franconia, it is made 

 into round bundles. 



In the Pthine-valley, three sorts of bark are recognized : silver- 

 bark, seconds and coarse bark. Silver-bark {Glanzrinde, Sjnegel- 

 rindc) is the bark cut from shoots up to 8 centimeters (3 in.) 

 diameter, in Wiirtemberg, 12 centimeters (4| in.), when 

 measured unpeeled ; seconds (Baitelrinde) is from stems 8 — 25 

 centimeters (3 to 10 in.) in diameter, in Wiirtemberg, (4^ to 

 10 in.), also the smooth bark from the branches of these stems ; 

 coarse bark {Grohrinde) is from branches and stems exceeding 

 25 centimeters (10 in.) in diameter. Silver-bark is also sub- 

 divided into three classes. No. 1, that from the lower part of the 

 stem, No. 2, from its upper part, and No. 3, from branches. The 

 third class is, however, the richest in tannin, sometimes thrice 

 as rich as the 1st class, although traders value them in the 

 inverse order. 



The bales of bark are of various dimensions, according to 

 locality. In some of the Rhineland districts large bales weighing 

 30 — 35 kilos (say 70 to 80 lbs.) are usual, which can hardly be 

 moved by a man. Tanners prefer the bales to be about one 

 meter long and of the same girth ; these dimensions are 

 obligatory in parts of South Germany, and each bale then weighs 

 about 15 kilos (34 lbs.). 



As soon as the bark is dry, it is made into bales ; this is either 

 done by hand, or in presses. The important points, in either 

 case, are to give the bale its proper dimensions and fasten 

 it so securely that it may withstand the shocks of ordinary 

 transport without opening, or the loss of any bark. AYhenever 



