82 BULLETIN 909, TJ. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



measured between 15 and 16 inches, and low-grade logs were included 

 if they were not too defective. Comparatively little standing walnut 

 timber was purchased for a short time after the close of hostilities, 

 because of the large stocks on hand at the time of the signing of the 

 armistice. 



Prices of $75 to $175 a thousand board feet at the mill were re- 

 ported soon after the close of the war, $75 representing the price 

 for 16-inch logs, and the average cost for logs of all sizes being 

 about $90 a thousand. The higher prices were for large veneer logs 

 of special value. If $50 a thousand is allowed for logging and 

 freight costs, the variation of stumpage prices is from $25 to $125 

 a thousand for logs 16 inches and over, or an average price of about 

 $40 a thousand, this average price applying to a log about 19 inches 

 in diameter. These prices are given only for the purpose of indicat- 

 ing the variation. They vary greatly with the quality of the tim- 

 ber and the distance from market. While the prices paid shortly 

 after the war were slightly higher than those paid during the war. the 

 quality of the logs was much better, the prices applying to logs that 

 were comparatively clear. War-time costs of 16-inch logs at the mill 

 amounted to about $110 a thousand on the average, while $75 a 

 thousand was paid more recently for logs of the same size and of 

 better quality. During the first half of the year 1920 prices for wal- 

 nut and other hardwoods were very high. Prices paid in Indiana for 

 walnut logs at the mill in some cases averaged about $300 a thousand 

 board feet, log scale, and large, high-quality veneer logs brought 

 about $500 a thousand board feet at the mill. Whether high prices 

 will prevail depends for a large part on future prices of walnut 

 lumber and on prices of other hardwoods. The very high cost of 

 marketing timber is one of the main factors responsible for these 

 greatly increased prices at the mill. Highly figured wood, includ- 

 ing stumps, crotches, and burls, is worth more than the average 

 veneer log, the value depending on the size and quality of log and 

 the kind of figure. Burls are sold by weight, usually for 10 or 15 

 cents a pound and up. 



If the farmer has walnut trees which he wishes to dispose of, it is 

 generally more profitable for him to fell the timber and haul it to the 

 railroad than to sell it on the stump. After the timber is sawed into 

 log lengths its actual worth may be better judged than when it is in 

 the standing tree. Firms often buy standing timber by paying a 

 lump sum for the lot. It is generally more satisfactory, however, 

 to sell in conformity with a scale of prices, by the thousand board 

 feet, according to the size of logs. The size is generally determined 

 by the average of two diameters taken at right angles to each other 

 and measured inside the bark at the small end. A 14-inch log is 

 usually the minimum size desired ; however, 12-inch logs are taken if 



