306 FEATURES OF FRENCH NATIONAL FOREST ADMINISTRATION 



simply because the logging and transportation was difficult, when similar 

 timber in the Vosges and Jura on accessible forests was, in 1912, worth $9 

 to $12 and more. Such a divergence in price seems extraordinary when 

 one compares this price of 67 cents in the Pyrenees near a good market 

 with the $2 to $3 received for accessible timber difficult to log in our 

 western National Forests. Perhaps the American has solved the prob- 

 lem of cheap large-scale railroad logging better than the French. 



As already emphasized in other chapters, cordwood values of two cen- 

 turies ago have decreased and saw timber, especially softwoods and oak, 

 has increased. During the war there was much speculation in timber- 

 lands, labor was abnormally high, the value of the franc ^^ had deprecia- 

 ted, and transportation was extremely difficult, there was no real compe- 

 tition with import timber from foreign markets because it could not be 

 transported; all tonnage was requisitioned by the Allies solely for war 

 needs. Then, too, many French merchants wanted to have their capi- 

 tal in timberlands rather than in currency or loans. 



Before reviewing average local prices it is well to emphasize some of the 

 shortcomings and difficulties of giving average price figures. As in other 

 countries there are "variables" which affect the price of all classes of 

 timber — distance from market, cost and difficulty of logging, kind of 

 cutting (clear cutting or light thinnings), cultural and betterments costs, 

 other economic difficulties and expenses, species, size, quality, local and 

 general demand as compared with the local and general supply, and cost 

 of imported timber. Then, too, abnormal or unusual sales, such as occur 

 after heavy windfall, bring less than regular sales. Quite frequently a 

 local shortage, as in Haute-Savoie during the war, leads to unusual values ^^ 

 because in France there are distinct local markets. This is surprising 

 considering the small size of the country and the comparatively short 

 hauls necessary to enter the general market. It is partly due to the 

 effect of permanent forest production which protects and maintains small 

 local industries and prevents the local market from being exhausted. 

 Under normal conditions the price of French stumpage is the market price 

 for the manufactured product less the cost of cutting, logging, transporta- 

 tion, manufacture, and contractor's profit. In most sales the auction 

 price must be increased by so-called charges for road repair and damage to 

 other forest betterments and growing stock, which in the aggregate aver- 

 ages 5 per cent of the stumpage cost. The French usually chstinguish 

 three classes of product: (1) Fuel, (2) saw timber, and (3) miscellaneous 

 products (such as bark). The price of cordwood depends on its size; the 



*i With a gold reserve of only 16 per cent the French paper currency is really promis- 

 sory notes issued by the French Government with no date set for liquidation. 



^ Spruce and fir timber on steep rocky slopes, difficult to log sold in 1918 for over 

 100 francs per cubic meter or over $63 per thousand feet board measure for the stump- 

 age secured. 



