LOGGING IN THE DOUGLAS FIE REGION. 25 
In times past some logging operators wrote off an arbitrary 
amount for depreciation. This was done to equalize profits, a large 
amount being charged off at the end of a prosperous year. Most 
operators charge off annually a certain percentage of the original 
cost, the amount being determined from an estimate of the life of 
the equipment. For example, a logging engine with an estimated 
life of eight years and no value at the end of that time is reckoned 
as depreciating 12i per cent of its first cost each year. This method 
is used in making national forest timber appraisals. 
AVERAGE TOTAL LOGGING COSTS. 
The cost of logging in the region varies greatly ; in 1913 it ranged 
from $4 to $7.50 per thousand feet. An average logging cost figure 
for a large region is rather indeterminate. In a given case the cost 
of logging may be lowest the first year or as soon as the business 
hits its stride, and increase gradually from year to year, the books 
showing the highest cost the last year, when the operator is clean- 
ing up. This is due for the most part to the way the area is opened 
up, the operator pursuing the logical method of logging first the 
more accessible areas, which, as a rule, constitute the best logging 
chances. Methods of accounting can be devised which will tend 
to equalize the annual profits ; but they can not change the fixed con- 
ditions which cause the actual cost of logging to be lower during 
the early life of the operation. The conclusion to be drawn is that 
an operator does not know what his average logging cost is until 
the last log has been hauled. Such being the case in a given opera- 
tion, any statement purporting to represent the average logging cost 
for a region, even though it is based on sufficient accurate data 
and correct mathematical principles, is nothing more than a close 
approximation. 
Table 4 gives the average cost per thousand feet log scale for 
delivering logs from the tree to the cargo mills of Puget Sound, 
the Columbia River, Grays Harbor, and Willapa Harbor in 1913. 
The average cost for the Puget Sound region is based on the output 
of 20 large camps, or about 900,000,000 feet, this output representing 
75 per cent of the total output of the camps that dump into the 
Sound. The average cost for the Columbia River region is based 
on an output of 10 large camps, or about 385,000,000 feet. In the 
case of Gray's Harbor and Willapa Harbor regions the average cost 
is based on a smaller output, which makes the chance for error 
greater. 
While it is reasonable to suppose that the average cost of logging 
in these four regions is approximately the same, too much stress 
should not be laid on the fact that this statement shows such to be 
the case. These costs are based on the selling log scale, and lack of 
