42 AN AUSTRALIAN STUDY OF AMERICAN FORESTRY. 
Armed with these and estimates of the timber stand, the Forest Service 
logging engineer visits the site of the proposed sale and proceeds to make an 
investigation of its possibilities. 
He considers the silvical requirements of the site, the rules for the 
marking of the trees which may be felled, the question of brush and waste 
disposal, and protection of the young growth, and the methods of cutting 
prescribed by the Forest Service. 
He then ‘determines the boundaries of the sale area, eliminating 
unmerchantable timber and ground on which logging is impracticable, the 
proportion of each species which can be cut under the methods of marking 
established for the chance or forest type, and the estimated cut by species and 
lumber grades.” 
He works out the general scheme of exploitation which should be adopted, 
the size and type of the mill, and the duration of the operation. He locates 
the main artery of log transportation, whether driveable by stream, railroad, 
sledge road, or flume, and projects the logging spurs, chutes, and skid roads. 
He then divides the area into exploitation units and computes for each 
the cost of felling and skidding from the stump to the landing. 
He works out the costs of the whole enterprise and its upkeep, and 
calculates the operating expenses from logging and transportation to manu- 
facture. 
Finally he considers the quality of the timber and ascertains the value 
of the manufactured product in the available markets. 
He calculates what may be a reasonable profit for the purchaser, depending 
on the size and permanency of the operation and the degree of hazard attending 
it. Twenty per cent. on the investment is adopted as a general standard. 
Having made an intensive study of investments, costs, and profits, with all 
., the data. before him he determines the stumpage rate on royalty to be charged, 
that is the actual value of the timber as it stands on the stump on the sale 
area. The logging chance is then submitted to public competition. 
The cost of brush disposal, protection of the young growth, methods of 
cutting and other requirements of the Forest Service, is duly allowed for in 
arriving at the decision. 
Such is the science of stumpage appraisals as developed by the United 
States of America Forest Service in an endeavour to determine the market 
value of the timber in its forests. 
Queensland incorporated the principles of this system in her timber sale 
policy from the outset. 
The New South Wales practice of charging a fixed royalty is one purely 
of expediency and must disappear wtih the establishment of business forestry. 
It has served its purpose, but must be replaced in the very near future by a 
well-considered plan of timber valuation leading to a selling rather than a 
taxation policy. 
The adoption of “super-royalties” in the north-west district of New 
South Wales is a successful attempt to initiate a rudimentary selling plan. 
Its development along similar lines to those of the United States of America 
appraisal scheme is necessary. 
As far as practicable, appraisals are made in anticipation of applications 
and in connection with general reconnaissance work. It is the duty of officers 
to ascertain the areas most in need of cutting, to have them ready for sale, 
and direct applicants to them. 
