162 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



locality has its special features in this respect, and these 

 often make a difference of as much as 6d. per foot in the 

 value of those species which are of minor importance, and 

 which may be in demand in one locality and not in 

 another. The staple timbers of the home trade, such as 

 oak, ash, elm, beech, larch, etc., vary comparatively little, 

 and such variations are chiefly due to the position of the 

 timber and its distance from a consuming centre. When 

 lying in a favourable place for removal, and within five 

 miles of the purchaser's sawmills, the cost of delivery ought 

 not to exceed 3d. per cubic foot, and this sum may be fairly 

 allowed off the maximum or delivered price for sound 

 timber. But when badly situated, and at a considerable 

 distance from the consuming centre, the cost of delivery 

 may be doubled or trebled, and may even reduce the selling 

 price to a nominal figure. All this is a matter of judgment 

 for the valuer when fixing what is considered a fair price, 

 and if he can get within 2d. per foot or so of the sum 

 actually obtained he does not do badly. 



But in the case of less common species, such as Scots 

 fir in a hardwood country, beech in a fir country, or such 

 species as alder, sycamore, horse-chestnut, etc., his valuation 

 may be a long way out of the price actually obtained. In 

 such cases everything depends upon the right class of 

 purchaser being forthcoming, for the man who has an 

 immediate use for such species can afford to give double the 

 price for them as another who buys on speculation only. 

 Herein lies the importance, as stated elsewhere, of growing 

 any kind of timber in fairly large quantities. A lot of 

 10,000 feet of any timber which is used at all is sufficient 

 to bring the user of that timber from a distance, for the 

 quantity offered is sufficient to pay him for the trouble 

 of looking at it. But a small lot of 200 or 300 feet, in 

 the absence of any local demand, will only be bought up 

 at a nominal price, and on the chance of being resold at 

 some time or another. The valuer of such lots, therefore, 

 must trust a good deal to chance, for he has little upon which 

 to base his estimate. 



A mistake often made by proprietors and agents is that 

 of valuing their own timber on the strength of reports of 



