4 BULLETIN 711, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



The ownership, acreage, and volume of the timber in western 

 Oregon and Washington are given approximately in Table 1, 



Table 1. — Ownership, acreage, and volume of timber in western Oregon and 



Washington. 



Ownership. 



Area. 



Per cent of 

 total tim- 

 bered area. 



Stand, 

 billions of 

 feet b. m. 



Per cent of 

 total 

 stand. 





Acres. 

 10,816,000 

 8,991,000 

 1,000,000 

 1,700,000 



48- 

 40+ 



4+ 

 8- 



162 



450 



40 



85 



22— 





61+ 



State and other Government land 



5+ 





12— 







Total '. 



22,507,000 



100 



737 



100 







LOGGING IN GENERAL. 



INDEPENDENT LOGGERS. 



To the general rule that logging and lumber manufacture are 

 conducted as one business the condition in the Douglas fir region 

 is a striking exception. Not far from 50 per cent of the timber is 

 logged by operators engaged solely in logging, who cut their own 

 timber and sell their logs in the open market. The independent 

 logger gets out most of the timber delivered to the waters of Puget 

 Sound and the Columbia Eiver; and he is an important factor at 

 Graj^s Harbor, but plaj^s a relatively small part at Willapa Harbor. 

 Wliether he has a permanent place in the lumber industry of the 

 region no one can confidently predict. 



So far, independent logging has seemingly worked out well, both 

 from the standpoint of the capital invested and from that of the 

 service performed. The independent logger, devoting his entire time 

 and talents to logging, finds it easier to be efficient. As he disposes 

 of his logs in the open market, the size of his operation is not limited 

 by the capacity of a mill. As soon as business conditions make 

 operating unprofitable, the independent logger, as a rule, can shut 

 down. With the possible exception of difficulty in disposing of Ixdw- 

 grade logs, he is not at a disadvantage in any respect at present. 

 The ojjening up of new tracts of timber on a large scale, however, 

 would probably change conditions. 



The percentage of timber logged bj^ contract is small. 



SIZE OF OPERATIONS. 



Logging operations vary in size, their daily output ranging from 

 40,000 to 500,000 feet. 



An operation may consist of one or several camps. In any case, 

 however, the camps are near each other, have a common ownership, 

 and are supervised by the same head. 



