CHAPTER XV. 

 METHODS OF SALE. 



THERE are two methods of sale viz., by public auction 

 and private sale. Again, there are two methods of 

 preparing timber for sale viz., by marking and selling 

 standing and when felled. 



The object of the forester will be to obtain the 

 highest possible value for his timber ; and he will 

 exercise his own judgment as to whether he will effect 

 this best by auction or private sale. When the 

 quantity for sale is large, there can be no doubt that 

 auction is the best, as purchasers are brought together 

 from various districts, and local rings are rendered 

 almost impossible. In auction sales, too, especially 

 if the class of timber is varied, there are sure to be a 

 number of lots suitable for small buyers, for men who 

 are doing, perhaps, small jobs ; and these men are 

 willing, as a rule, to pay fairly for the accommodation 

 thus afforded. These odd lots, if merged with timber 

 of a large and more valuable size, are seldom cal- 

 culated in private sales, but, allowed, as a rule, to 

 serve the purpose of an indirect discount. By this 

 process a considerable sum is lost to the seller, as the 

 presence of these odds and ends does not really 

 improve the prices of the more valuable timber. 



