28 SELLING WOODLOT PRODUCTS ON MICHIGAN FARMS. 



space. Thinnings should not, how^ever, be made so heavy as to admit a 

 great deal of light into the woodlot, except when the soil is plentifully 

 stocked with young trees which will shade the ground.* 



In selling fuel wood there are two units, both called "cords," which 

 are apt to be confused, with danger of loss to the seller. These are the 

 "standard" cord and the "stove-wood" cord. Both are piles 8 feet long 

 and 4 feet high, but the standard cord consists of 4 foot lengths, so that 

 the pile is 4 feet wide; while the stove- wood cord consists of 16 inch 

 lengths, so that the pile is 16 inches wide. The solid volume of a cord 

 of stove-wood is thus only about a third that of a standard cord. Since_ 

 the shorter the pieces, the less the amount of crookedness, a cord of stove-" 

 wood will actually contain a little more than one-third the volume 

 of a standard cord. Cords made up of thick pieces contain more wood 

 than those of small pieces, while round sticks give a higher wood volume 

 than split ones of about the same size. Considerable maple and beech 

 body wood is shipped from upper Michigan ports in 4 foot lengths, but in 

 the southern part of the State stovewood lengths are more often under- 

 stood in woodlot sales. 



The price of wood for fuel depends on its heating value, the rate at 

 which it burns, and its abundance and availability. Compared with 

 coal, the heating value of different species is about as follows : one ton of 

 coal is equal to a standard cord of hickory, oak, beech, birch, hard maple, 

 ash, elm, locust, or cherry ; a cord and a half of sycamore or soft maple ; 

 and two cords of cedar, poplar, or basswood. The greater abundance of 

 wood and the smaller population in the northern part of the State give 

 it a somewhat lower value than in southern Michigan. 



Wholesale values for stove wood in some of the cities in the central 

 and southern counties average from |2 to |2.50 per cord. Retail prices 

 run from $3 to $3.75 per cord. By working up a direct market for his 

 wood among town consumers the farmer can frequently better his sales 

 by 50 cents or |1 a cord. 



Stovewood of beech, birch, and maple usually brings from |2.25 to 

 |2.50 per cord, wholesale. The best second-growth oak and hickory 

 often sells to dealers for no more than $2.50 per cord. Elm and other 

 softer woods usually sell for from |2 to $2.25 per cord. Except where 

 sawmills have accumulated slab-wood in excess of the demand, hard- 

 wood slabs from portable mills can often be disposed of for from $2 to 

 $2.25 per cord. 



Lime kilns and brick yards use a great deal of wood, which they buy 

 in 4 foot lengths. They can use very low grade material, and since the 

 shipment must often be for long distances, do not pay high prices for it. 

 Low as the prices are, however, they may make it possible for farmers to 

 clean up their clearings and make day wages in doing it. The prices are 

 apt to be from |2 to $2.75 per cord of 4 foot lengths. 



CONDUCTING THE SALE. 



Timber may be sold either standing ("on the stump") or felled and 

 eut into logs, bolts, ties, or other products. Standing timber may be 

 sold either by "the lot," by "acreage," or by "stumpage." Selling by the 

 lot or by acreage is the easiest method, but it presents the greatest like- 



*S6e U. S. Department of Agriculture farmer'a bulletin 711 — "The Care and Improvement of the 

 Woodlot," which can he obtained free of charge on application to the Forester, Washington, D. C. 



