24 STATUS OF FOKESTKY IK THE UNITED STATES. 



CHEAP STUilPAGE PRICES. 



Cheap stumpage is the chief natural obstacle to the wide extension 

 of private forestry. Forestry involves an investment in growing 

 timber. If the investment is to show a satisfactory profit, the 

 product must not sell too cheap. As long as the product sells cheap, 

 expenditures will not be made to produce it, and the timberman will 

 continue to be the nomad and the speculator which past conditions 

 have inevitably made him. In order to hold out inducements to 

 private enterprise, forestry must offer a reasonable margin of profit 

 above the cost of growing the timber. 



This obstacle to forestry is being steadily removed by the depletion 

 of the virgin forests and the consequent rise m stumjDage prices. 

 Already, as the following examples show, the scarcity of supplies has 

 resulted in a number of cases in the holding of tracts for more than 

 a single crop. 



EXAMPLES OF PRIVATE FORESTRY. 



The heavy loss from fire has led to the greatest progress thus far 

 made toward the practice of forestry on private lands. In Oregon, 

 TVashington, and Idaho large tracts have been placed under organ- 

 ized protection by associations of timber-land owners, each member 

 of which pays pro rata toward the cost. For example, the four fire 

 protective associations of northern Idaho expended for fire protec- 

 tion in 1908 $52,284.11, protecting directly 1,257,787 acres of forest 

 owned by members, and incidentally large areas of adjoining forest. 

 The average cost of this protection, including fire fighting, was a 

 little over 4 cents per acre. One of the associations, however, lost 

 far more heavily than the rest, owing prmcipally to incomplete patrol. 

 Three of the associations protected their holdings at a cost, respec- 

 tively, of 3 cents, 2j cents, and 2f cents per acre. The reports of the 

 associations show that the main emphasis was laid upon patrol. 

 Thus one association apportioned its expenditures as follows : 



Per cent. 



Patrol 49. 23 



New trails 16. 98 



Cleaning old trails 12. 98 



Fire fighting 10. 57 



All other items 10. 24 



Next to patrol the chief expense was trail building, which in the 

 above case was 29.96 per cent of the total protection cost. Provision 

 was made for tool boxes at convenient places, for tools, and for horses, 

 as well as for lookout stations. 



Equally successful results have not yet been achieved over large 

 areas of private forest lands by either individual or associated efforts 



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