LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIR REGION. 25 



In times past some logging operators wrote off an arbitrary- 

 amount for depreciation. This was done to equalize profits, a large 

 amount being charged off at the end of a prosperous year. Most 

 operators charge off annually a certain percentage of the original 

 cost, the amount being determined from an estimate of the life of 

 the equipment. For example, a logging engine with an estimated 

 life of eight years and no value at the end of that time is reckoned 

 as depreciating 122 per cent of its first cost each year. This method 

 is used in making national forest timber appraisals. 



AVERAGE TOTAL LOGGING COSTS. 



The cost of logging in the region varies greatly ; in 1913 it ranged 

 from $4 to $7.50 per thousand feet. An average logging cost figure 

 for a large region is rather indeterminate.' In a given case the cost 

 of logging may be lowest the first year or as soon as the business 

 hits its stride, and increase gradually from year to year, the books 

 showing the highest cost the last year, when the operator is clean- 

 ing up. This is due for the most part to the way the area is opened 

 up, the operator pursuing the logical method of logging first the 

 more accessible areas, which, as a rule, constitute the best logging 

 chances. Methods of accounting can be devised which will tend 

 to equalize the annual profits ; but they can not change the fixed con- 

 ditions which cause the actual cost of logging to be lower during 

 the early life of the operation. The conclusion to be drawn is that 

 an operator does not know what his average logging cost is until 

 the last log has been hauled. Such being the case in a given opera- 

 tion, any statement purporting to represent the average logging cost 

 for a region, even though it is based on sufficient accurate data 

 and correct mathematical principles, is nothing more than a close 

 approximation. 



Table 4 gives the average cost per thousand feet log scale for 

 delivering logs from the tree to the cargo mills of Puget Sound, 

 the Columbia Eiver, Grays Harbor, and Willapa Harbor in 1913. 

 The average cost for the Puget Sound region is based on the output 

 of 20 large camps, or about 900,000,000 feet, this output representing 

 75 per cent of the total output of the camps that dump into the 

 Sound. The average cost for the Columbia River region is based 

 on an output of 10 large camps, or about 385,000,000 feet. In the 

 case of Gray's Harbor and Willapa Harbor regions the average cost 

 is based on a smaller output, which makes the chance for error 

 greater. 



While it is reasonable to suppose that the average cost of logging 

 in these four regions is approximately the same, too much stress 

 should not be laid on the fact that this statement shows such to be 

 the case. These costs are based on the selling log scale, and lack of 



