29 



would yield if felled at various ages and the net price aj: vrbicb this material conld^ 

 be sold ; and it is, therefore, oiil>- in rave instances that the calculation caa be made. 



It may, therefore, be generally aflSrmed that, for practical purposes, the- 

 exploitable age of a forest crop is the age at which the individual trees furnish the 

 kind of produce most wanted. This is not by any meanj necessarily the age at 

 which the trees are largest : it may quite as well be tlie age at which the trecst: 

 furnish small rafters or fuel billets. 



3. Exploitable age for State forests.— There are two great 

 classes of forest proprietors, the private owner and the State. 

 With, the private owner we are not here concerned. He- 

 will arrange to suit his owa interests, felling the produce 

 when it will either best meet his wants, or so as to bring in 

 the highest annual revenue or the highest interest on the 

 capital invested in the forest. It is, however, frequently 

 asserted that the State, as representing the community at 

 large, should always have in view the production of large 

 trees which furnish produce most generally useful: for, 

 while a large tree will yield small timber, large timber 

 cannot be obtained from a small tree. This is, however, only 

 true in so far that, as a rule, the State alone can afford to- 

 grow large trees. Private owners will not do so, as it does 

 not pay them ; so that, if large wood is required, it must be 

 produced in forests owned by the State, The price realised 

 is the best measure of the utility ; and if large timber sells 

 well it is certainly in demand and is useful. By felling^- 

 therefore, trees of that size for which the highest price is 

 obtained, the public will, ia most cases, though not always,. 

 be best served. 



"Where the price of large timber is not higher than that 

 of small there is no pecuniary advantage in felling at an 

 advanced age. Exclusive of very young crops and those 

 in full decay, the average annual quantity of material 

 produced is not very much altered by the age at which the- 

 crop is felled, 



The following results were obtained from experiments made in a fir forest in 

 France : — 



