AMERICAN CASE 25 



When buying this land it was cruised in the ordinary way and 

 he has, therefore, about the following information : 



Area: 30,000 acres, all surveyed land (United States Survey) 

 practically solid ; in two Townships. 



Forest and Lands: about 25% originally pine on sandy lands, 

 now cut and the land burned over. About 60% uncut hardwood 

 and Hemlock on loam and clay lands with about 6 M. ft. merchant- 

 able timber. About 15% of Tamarack and Cedar Swamps, esti- 

 mated to average 3 M. ft. 



His local representative has informed him that the saw fly is 

 destroying the Tamarack, and that the fires of T90S injured part 

 of the hardwood forest ; exact figures lacking. 



His estimates are by 40-acre tracts and usually include a few 

 notes concerning land and topography. The property cost him 

 $450,000 and is assessed at this figure. His taxes are $15 on every 

 $1000 worth of property or $6750 total ; his expenses for representa- 

 tive, a local lawyer, for occasional cruising to watch for trespass, 

 costs another $2500 per year. 



2) The owner sends for a Forester; and after a brief interview 

 he decides that he will pay the Forester $600 for a preliminary report 

 on the tract (i. e., two cents per acre). The owner prefers a brief 

 preliminary report because he is not certain what he should do with 

 the property, and it is the chief function, therefore, of this prelim- 

 inary report to state truthfully and conservatively those facts which 

 the owner should have in order to judge, intelligently, as to the best 

 policy to pursue. 



The Forester now goes to the locality, usually with letters and 

 maps and a list of lands making up the property, commonly as list 

 and also in form of township plats. His work will arrange itself 

 as follows : 



a) Visit to local representative. Here he gets names of men 

 who can be helpful, chiefly local cruisers, persons to see and to stop 

 with while going over the tract, names of county and town officials, 

 names of timber people, loggers, sawmill men and buyers. In many 

 cases he may need county map and town plats, usually obtainable at 

 the courthouse. 



b) Examination of the tract. For the purpose in hand, this 

 is a hasty survey, covering the 30,000 acres in about three weeks. 



