Part IV

growth. greatly simplified by applied fores- try. 1 he facts 2>S Efficient management avoids this kind of waste. once definitely known afford a basis for all future decisions, and make unnecessary the continual consideration and reconsideration of the essentials involved. The owner or manager has at his command accurate plans showing growth and topography; a report giving present and perhaps future yields in timber; and definite plans for efficient handling. He also has complete sur- vey records by which his acreage is known, and on which he can execute definite deeds in case of partial or total sale. Moreover, his land is marked to correspond with his records. Proper management, however, is an elastic term. It varies from year to year, and with each locality. What was proper management fifty years ago is not proper management today. But the manager who lives up to the name makes it his business to know all that is necessary to be known about his property. How he will get his knowledge will vary with different men and conditions. On a small tract of land with limited business he may often obtain his knowledge at first hand. He will tramp through the woods himself, decide on his plans for cutting, do his own timber estimating, mapping and surveying. But this is possible only on a small tract The efficient ' orest manager 29 When management and with a manager who is not only capable of doing it, hut who has plenty of time at his disposal. In ordinary practice, especially in larger tracts of forest property, the manager is obliged to get his knowledge at second hand. The accuracy of that knowledge will largely determine the efficiency of his management, since no amount of wise management will rectify mistakes in the plans upon which operations are based. If the manager is one who works toward the higher standards of his calling he will desire accurate knowledge, and he will employ surveyors and explorers to define his boundaries, estimate his timber, and recommend scientific ways of handling. He will require them to provide him with intelligible and permanent records, which can be understood by other minds than his own. The records which are held in the heads of a few woodsmen will not be deemed sufficient. Granting that such knowl- edge is correct it loses much of its value by not being always accessible to the manager himself, as is possible only when records and reports are on paper. One of the great weaknesses of the older estimators and woodsmen is their lack of ability to put then- ideas on paper, so that the information con- tained therein will be available to other minds than their own. By intelligible records and reports a knowledge of property is preserved. When management changes the new manager has already at hand Comer post. the essential facts of his business, and can An experiment in white pine planting intelligently and economically carry on the policies best suited to the case. If the manager has at his hand the requisite information regarding his tracts he can have a proper check on taxation, can treat intelligently and advantageously with prospective buyers, and can know what to count on in the way of timber estimates. Having the boundaries properly delineated on the ground, by plain and correctly measured lines, will prevent trespass, allow better mapping control, and furnish needed data when considering exact area. The efficient manager finds that there is an advantage in having the land cut up into as many subdivisions as is consistent with practical economy. Such subdivisions may be had by running regular spotted lines or by using natural features of division, such as heights of land. Square artificial divisions are generally recommended as being more definite and more evident on the ground to the logger. In making logging permits territory can be granted by watersheds within these divisions if desired. Subdivisions allow control of cutting, prevent waste in left timber, make inspection easier, and provide a basis for more intensive operations. Estimates are concentrated to easily checked quantities, and the employment of finer methods of mapping and selling are also made possible. Detailed estimates of timber on each subdivision, and definite informatory reports as to handling will also prove invaluable to the Value of subdivisions Cost of forestry service Forest maps manager. With these he can avoid over-valuation for taxation, can buy or sell with correct bargaining, and can place his logging contracts in the right locality and under right restrictions. He can also avoid leaving over-mature or diseased timber to become total losses. At every point increased knowledge adds to the profit and increases the efficiency of operations. There is never a premium on not knowing the exact conditions with which one has to deal. The cost of obtaining definite knowledge, based on adequate field work, varies in price from 4 cents to 20 cents per acre, according to the fineness of the work, number of subdivisions, speed in carrying out contracts, accessibility of tract, size of area, character of topography, character of timber, etc. This means from }4% to 3% �f tne value of ordinary woodland. Considering that the work once done will furnish accurate information for a lifetime it will be seen that the cost is com- paratively small. As a record of this work the manager or owner will have before him maps of his property, showing boundary lines and interior division lines, lakes, impor- tant streams, roads, burnt areas, bogs, and clearings, with camps, dams and other definite feat- ures accurately de- lineated; barometric contour lines at the necessary interval to give topography; colored and de- scribed growth types. At a glance the manager can see his whole territory far better than by a casual examina- Have you slow-growing, shallow-rooted areas like this, which should not be thinned hut cut clean? tion in r K t- e , itself. the field 11. nronertv A Southern forest. One of our men estimated the timber on this tract. These plans and other records may be kept up-to-date, with little yearly expense, additions of information being made by the regular field force of the concern, so that the initial expense of preparation is the only one necessary to consider. In this way the manager is able at any time to furnish himself or his directors with a birdseye view of the holdings and operations, and is able to look for years in advance on the location and result of cuttings. Directors are able intelligently to apprehend what is being done, and the manager intelligently to explain it. Besides making surveys, estimates of timber, working plans, yield predictions and plantings, our services may be obtained for inspection of logging operations, planning of fire patrol systems, oversight and planning of logging railroad construction, and estimates of water power. Estates will also be managed for those who have not the desire nor the opportunity to act as their own agents. If the regulations of the land owner or the recommendations of the forester are to amount to anything logging operations must be inspected. This work should be carried out at first by trained practical men, who will know what should be done, A and compel it. profitable system is to have a technical forester introduce systematic methods of procedure, and arrange the work so it can be carried on by cheaper men. Other forestryservices Necessary inspections Protection against Will it pay- Fire is the great natural enemy of the forest, and the best insurance against it is the protection offered by patrolling or We by establishment of fire stations. plan this work, laying out necessary lines of communication, such as telephones, roads, or lines of protection, and overseeing their construction. We are also prepared to oversee the building of logging railways, making the surveys, and estimating the cost, making sure that the right of way becomes as much as possible a source of safety from fire rather than one of danger. Many tracts of woodland depend for their value on the presence of water power adequate to carry on a mill. We will give estimates of this power, and location for mills at proper We points. do not, however, construct the mills, but leave that to the engineer. The question of applying or not applying scientific forestry methods resolves itself into the question, "Will it pay?" The statement of cost per acre has been made. Now consider the cost per thousand feet board measure in ordinary lands. It will cost on an average about two cents per thousand to obtain definite, concise and permanent knowledge of the conditions underlying the operations. Stated this way the question an- swers itself. Few people could or would bring forth an argument to prove that definite knowledge is not worth that amount. The only remaining question is whether an owner or manager is sufficiently profit-loving to avail himself of knowledge which will prove of value far beyond the cost. 34 The end. APPLETON & 5LWALL COMPANY, INC. FORESTERS AND SURVEYORS 156 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK INVITE CORRESPONDENCE FROM LAND OWNERS AND MANAGERS OF FOREST PROPERTIES MAY 20 1912 GEORGE BATTEN COMPAN' ADVERTISING N EW YOR K i�