2 Miscellaneous Circular 75, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture 



fort is made to obtain competitive bids, and before a contract is 

 awarded all possible opportunity is given prospective purchasers 

 to become familiar with the logging chance in question. 



Always the right is reserved, and on occasion exercised, to reject 

 the highest bid if its acceptance might lead to monopolistic control of 

 local markets, or if on other grounds the public interests might be 

 unfavorably affected. Sealed bids to be opened at a specified time 

 are submitted, and following the award of the sale, a contract is exe- 

 cuted. This contract 

 gives the quantity 

 and kinds of timber 

 and its location, the 

 price, and the periods 

 within which the 

 timber is to be cut; 

 prescribes how the 

 timber is to be marked 

 and scaled and what 

 is to be done with the 

 brush ; and enumer- 

 ates the various neces- 

 sary measures in the 

 way of forest-fire pre- 

 vention and control, 

 and such other spe- 

 cial features as need 

 to be covered in the 

 particular case. In 

 all large sales and 

 sometimes in small 

 ones a bond is re- 

 quired. The timber is 

 not paid for in a lump 

 sum, but in install- 

 ments in advance of 

 cutting, each install- 

 ment covering not less than two months' cut. From the purchaser's 

 standpoint, such a system of payment has obvious advantages. 



Before any trees are cut they are marked by a forest officer. (Fig. 

 1.) The usual method is to blaze the tree at breast height and on the 

 stump, and stamp " US " on each blaze. Thus after cutting, the 

 evidence remains on each stump that the tree was allowably cut under 

 the contract. Trees are marked for cutting with the idea of har- 

 vesting all of the mature and overmature timber, leaving for the 

 •next crop the younger trees and sufficient seed trees of valuable 



Fiu. 1. — Marking a poplar for cutting, Pisgah National 

 Forest. Before cutting each tree is marked by a forest 

 officer, " US " being stamped in the blazes at breast 

 height and on the stump where the evidence remains 

 after felling to show that the tree was lawfully cut 

 under the contract 



