502 BARK. 



tlic l)ark is dried on trestles (fi<,'. 27^), the bale is tied as it lies 

 on the trestle. The presses used in the Odenwald are made 

 as follows : — four stout peeled stakes are driven in pairs into the 

 ground at distances somewhat less apart than the proposed 

 length of the bale. Between these pairs of stakes the withes 

 and the bark are laid on the ground. Large rolls of bark are 

 placed first and are piled on either side between the stakes. As 

 many smaller pieces of bark as a man can take in both arms are 

 then placed in the press between the large rolls of bark, until 

 the bale has become about the right size, when large rolls of 

 bark are placed on the top and the bale is then fastened by means 

 of withes, iron wire, or Manilla hemp. The whole exterior of 

 the bale then consists of the larger rolls of bark, the smaller 

 pieces being inside. The fastenings should not be too tight, or 

 the bark may crack and break into pieces, and the bale become 

 loose ; this is important, considering the distance to wdiich bark 

 is sometimes transported. The large external rolls will, how- 

 ever, generally stand fairly tight fastening. 



The peeled wood is stacked in the usual manner. 



4. Sale of Bark. 



No forest produce is sold so variably as tanning-bark. Taking 

 into consideration whether the sale is chiefly left to the pur- 

 chaser, or conducted by the forest owner ; the chief kinds of 

 sale are : — of the coppice, by area or unit of produce ; and of 

 the converted material by weight or volume. As regards the 

 public or private nature of the sale, sale to the highest bidder 

 is the rule ; but although to the apparent prejudice of the forest 

 owner, sales by private contract are not unusual, often before 

 the market-])rices of the previous year's bark are known. 



(a) Sale by Area. — The mature coppice is subdivided into 

 larger or smaller lots, and each lot, both wood and bark [or these 

 separately. — Tu.], is sold to the highest bidder. The purchaser 

 of a lot converts both wood and bark at his own risk, subject to 

 certain sylvicultural conditions imposed on him at the sale, and 

 endeavours to dispose of the produce to the best advantage. 



As by this method it is impossible to form any correct estimate 

 of the value of the crop, it should be absolutely abandoned. At 



