STATUS AND VALUE OF FARM WOODLOTS. 43 



dividual trees or even woodlots. Though it is rarely possible for 

 the farmer to become equally proficient, it is at least to his advan- 

 tage before selling to inform himself on the best paying uses for 

 his timber, the points which influence its value for these uses, and 

 the factors which should determine the price to be paid, such as 

 the distance and kind of haul to the manufacturing plant, the pre- 

 vailing market prices, etc. It is, of course, always advisable to ob- 

 tain as many competitive bids as possible, and in doing this it often 

 becomes possible to sell to several different buyers, each taking from 

 the woodlot the species or form of product he especially desires and 

 can pay the most for. 



In the pioneering regions the market for woodlot products is 

 much more limited and the prices are lower; but in spite of this 

 the woodlot sales, as shown in Table 10, have amounted to more in 

 these regions, through the extensive clearing practiced, than in the 

 more settled regions. Freight rates to the more settled regions are 

 high, and the farmers must sell, as a rule, to saw or pulp mills not 

 very far away, delivering their logs or bolts to points along the rail- 

 road. Excelsior and box factories in these regions often buy large 

 quantities of small or low-grade material from farmers, while lime 

 and brick kilns take a great deal of cheap fuel wood at a small price. 

 These small returns, however, may be indispensable to the settler for 

 maintaining a living until crops can be grown on the land cleared. 



