Ripe timber on the forests, of which there is a large amount, is sold at a fair price to the highest bidder. Anybody may purchase tim ber, but no one can obtain a monopoly of it or hold it for speculative purposes. The govern ment is anxious to sell the mature umber on the forests because it is no longer growing at a profitable rate and should give way to young trees and seedlings. As few restrictions as possible are imposed upon purchasers of tim ber, only such as will ensure cut-over areas be ing left in the best condition for future growth. Experienced woodsmen estimate the quantity and quality of National Forest timber and its approximate value, as a basis for the price to be charged. In fixing this, all factors which affect the cost of lumbering, such as accessibil ity, number, and kind of improvements neces sary, etc., as well as general market conditions, are taken into account. The prices asked allow the purchaser of National Forest timber opportunity for a fair profit. Attractive log ging chances are made known to the public; and full information regarding them and the conditions of sale are given to inquirers.
The trees to be cut on a sale area are marked in advance by forest officers, the ob ject being to make provision for a second crop of timber on the same land; unless the land is more valuable for agriculture. The method of cutting is always determined by technically trained foresters and in conformity with silvi cultural principles; but the practical difficulties attendant on each operation are given full con sideration. The system under which any partic ular forest is managed and under which the cuttings are done depends chiefly on the char acter of the timber and the main purpose for which the forest is managed. Timber on the watersheds of streams is never cut enough to impair the protective cover that the forest affords; for one of the chief objects of the National Forests is to regulate streatnflow. Where the main purpose of the forest is tim ber supply, the system of cutting depends chiefly on the species present; and concessions made to the practical difficulties of the moment are equivalent in most cases to adopting a deferred cutting plan, by which ideal condi tions for reproduction not secured at once will be made possible at the next cutting. In Douglas fir stands it is usually possible to secure more nearly ideal conditions for re, production after a cutting operation than in the other types of virgin forest. The usual method with Douglas fir on the National Forests is to leave groups, strips, or single seed trees to reproduce the forest; the rest of the mer chantable timber is cut clear. In western yel low pine and sugar pine stands, what might be called improvement cutting is usually prac tised; large, over-mature, and defective timber is cut and the medium-sized, thrifty, and younger classes are left. Where there is not enough young timber, the selection system is used in order to secure sufficient trees. In the mixed Douglas fir and larch stands of northern Montana and Idaho, a selection sys tem is used, the large timber and all inferior timber being cut generally. Here, operations conducted to secure sawumber amount to im provement cuttings. Operations producing hewn cross-ties and making use of smaller tim ber are permitted only where the conditions are such that no disadvantage can result. In
the lodgepole pine stands, a selection system is used, but it is not the European selection sys tem. In some stands, heavy thinnings and im provement cuttings are used; in others the straight improvement cutting is employed. In tie operations, the smaller sized timber is taken out only where no financial or silvicul tural disadvantage is likely to result. As yet, spruce is cut comparatively little in the West because it is for the most part at too high alti tudes. Where it occurs lower down it is taken out along with other species. the National Forests of the East the general prac tice is to use improvement cuttings, both in the pine and oak of the Arkansas forests and in the hardwood and spruce of the Appala chians.
Small sales of timber are made by forest officers on the ground to avoid delay. Larger sales are made either by the supervisor of the forest, the district forester, or the forester, according to the amount desired. Small sales of timber for local use are encouraged. This is one of the ways in which the National Forests are made to serve the small lumberman and consumer. Though single sales have been made for as much as '800,000,000 board feet, over nine-tenths of the sales are for less than $100 worth of timber. Of the 10,905 timber sales made on the National Forests in the fiscal year 1915, 10,621 ,were of this latter kind. Home stead settlers and farmers may obtain National Forest timber for their own use at the actual cost of making the sale. No charge is made for the timber itself.
Sometimes natural regeneration of the for est fails and planting has to be resorted to.
Furthermore, there are within the National Forests, and now bearing little or no tree growth, about 5,600,000 acres of .land which are capable of producing valuable timber and are suitable for no other purpose. The Forest Service is planting these areas as rapidly as it can be done advantageously. Reforestation operations now cover from 12,000 to 15,000 acres yearly. Most of the land being refor ested consists of old burns, where recurring fires have ruined the former forest. In select ing the sites for sowing and planting, prefer ence is given to watersheds of streams supply ing water for irrigation or municipal use, lands which will produce quidk-growing and valuable trees, and regions where the supply of timber is not sufficient for local uses. Early attempts at reforestation often met with poor success; but after a great deal of experiment ing, methods of collecting seeds, nursery prac tice, and methods of sowing the seed directly or planting seedlings or transplants raised in the government nurseries have been . so im proved that plantations are now established with good assurance of success. The best time for planting, the exposure most favorable to the species to. be planted, and many other details which have an important bearing the probable success of a plantation can now be determined with reasonable certainty. Eight experiment stations are maintained in the West, however, where investigations are being continued; and while denuded areas arc being reforested in accordance with the prin ciples already determined, new data are con stantly being sought and the uncertainty that formerly attended planting operations is being done away with more and more.