180 OUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



left too high, that the tops are fuJly utihzed, that 

 the slashing or brush is disposed of according to 

 the contract, and that the operator is keeping all 

 his agreements in the contract. 



The First Step in Purchasing Government Tim- 

 ber. After the desired body of timber has been 

 located, the first step for any one desiring to pur- 

 chase government timber is to communicate with 

 an officer of the National Forest in which the tim- 

 ber is located. If only a small amount is desired — 

 less than $50 in value — the local Ranger can ar- 

 range to make the sale without delay. Amounts 

 valued at more than this can be sold only by the 

 higher officials of the Service, that is the Super- 

 visor, District Forester, or the Forester, according 

 to the size of the sale. The Supervisor can sell up 

 to two million feet; larger sales are made by the 

 District Forester or the Forester. All sales ex- 

 ceeding $100 in amount must be advertised, except 

 those made to homestead settlers and farmers in a 

 private sale. Sales are advertised in order to se- 

 cure the largest number of bidders possible and thus 

 prevent the monopoly of large bodies of timber by 

 large timber operators. 



Procedure in an Advertised Sale. After the ap- 



