CHAPTER VII 



SELLING, VALUING, AND MEASURING TIMBER 



Selling. 



It is rarely within the power of the estate owner to create a 

 market for his timber after he has grown it. The demands 

 for particular kinds of timber often vary in each district, 

 according to the particular trades and industries. Other 

 kinds, again, vary little iu value, except as influenced by 

 situation and distance from market. In the one case there 

 exists a local or limited demand, or want of it, as it may be ; 

 in the other, the timber can always find a market, but the 

 price may vary according to period or locality. The staple 

 timbers in the English trade are oak, ash, elm, and larch. 

 These four species have a recognised position in the market, 

 and will always sell at a price of some kind. Other species 

 may sell if the right kind of buyer can be found, or a special 

 market exists for them in the locality. The distiuction 

 between these two classes of timber is important when it 

 comes to the question of selling them, for it is evident that 

 a method which will sell the one will not always sell the 

 other. In the one case, an announcement of the fact that 

 the timber is to sell is usually sufficient to bring forward 

 buyers ; in the other, special means should be taken to bring 

 the timber to the notice of the particular trades or merchants 

 likely to find a use for it. 



Of the various methods of selling English timber, three 

 stand out fairly distinct. They are — Ist, Sale by private 

 treaty ; 2nd, Sale by tender ; 3rd, Sale by auction. The aim 

 of the seller in each case is, one may assume, to get as much 

 money in exchange for his timber, and the aim of the man 



