VOL. LXXIII, No. 4273. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 10, 1014. 
WEEKLY $1.00 PER YEAR. 
MARKETING THE TIMBER CROP. 
A Farmer’s Actual Experience. 
ONDITIONS INVOLVED.—I notice that the 
sale of timber is a matter that is interesting 
some of The R. N.-Y. family. I have a little 
experience along this line; while I am by no means 
qualified to speak as an expert on this subject, still 
I discovered a few of the ins and outs of the 
business. When I purchased my farm it contained 
two small tracts of timber, one of which, containing 
about 15 acres, was an old sugar bush. This sugar 
bush consisted of old trees, tall and straight of 
trunk, which had reached their prime, and in many 
cases, had begun to deteriorate. I had no outfit for 
sugar-making, and furthermore, had not the capital 
available for its purchase. In view of the condition 
of fhe trees it did not seem advisable to go in debt 
for tools, and it was evident that the value of the 
woods for timber was not increasing. But market¬ 
ing a crop of timber is an altogether different propo¬ 
sition from marketing most crops. To hear all the 
talk about the increasing scarcity of timber, and 
the necessity for its conservation, one would believe 
that timber buyers would he falling over each other 
to get a good tract. I did not find this to be the 
case. 
RETTING AT TIMBER VALUE.—My first step 
was to put a price on my trees. I confess that I had 
a very meager idea as to the value of standing tim¬ 
ber, nor do I know much about lumbering, and al¬ 
most nothing in regard to the lumber trade. Plain¬ 
ly, I needed expert advice, so I wrote to the College 
of Forestry at Cornell for help. They advised me to 
sell the timber on the stump, rather than to try to 
market the lumber myself, saying that the condition 
of the hardwood lumber trade and the system of 
grading was such that an amateur was almost sure 
to be beaten. However, they of course could not give 
me an idea of the stumpage value without inspec¬ 
tion, and that was at that time impracticable. I 
suppose it is good business to buy as cheaply as pos¬ 
sible, and this rule seems to be worked to its utmost 
in the purchase of timber. The fact that most peo¬ 
ple, like myself, do not know how to estimate either 
the amount or the quality of timber makes it easy 
for the buyer to make a purchase at a figure little 
short of a gift. 
LI MBERMAN'S ADVICE.—Not being able to get 
practical advice from the College of Forestry, the 
only course left was to get some experienced lumber¬ 
man or timber dealer who did not want to bap mi/ 
timber. Now it happened that in our town was a 
man who had had considerable experience in buying 
woodland and marketing the finished product, but 
who had retired from active business. I asked 
his advice, and he said he would be very glad to look 
over my timber. So a day was appointed and we 
went over the ground as thoroughly as possible in 
half a day. He estimated the timber at 250,000 feet, 
mostly maple, with some beech, elm. basswood and 
Black cherry. The value lay, he said, between 
$1,500 and $2,000. lie advised me strongly against 
trying to market the product myself. “They will 
beat you on scoring," was the way he put the same 
advice the college had given me. "Moreover,” he 
said, “it needed an expert to superintend the job, 
from cutting the trees to sawing the lumber.” 
THE HOME MARKET.—Then I began writing to 
lumber dealers, far and near. Not all of them even 
replied, but most of them wanted the particulars 
and the price. Then they faded away. I kept it up, 
however, and at last got a man to look at the tim¬ 
ber. He was favorably impressed with the better 
part of the maple, but his factory was so situated 
that the logs must be hauled on two railroads, and 
the freight would have cost more than the timber. 
He wanted stuff for veneering, and therefore could 
not use sawed lumber, which would make freight 
and handling charges higher. He wanted me to set 
a price on the choice of 300 trees, but that would 
leave me a lot of unsalable culls, and I let the matter 
drop. For several months nothing more was done. 
1 had exhausted the list of purchasers, and had to 
quit. Then I found I had committed a fault which 
1 believe is too common with us farmers. I had 
overlooked the home market. I had cut some 
HAPPY DAYS! GIVING THE TEAM A DRINK. Fig. 400. 
