The Isolated State in Relation to Agriculture and Political Economy: Part III: Principles for the Determination of Rent, the Most Advantageous Rotation Period and the Value of Stands of Varying Age in Pinewoods

160 Pages·2009·1.31 MB·English

by  Johann Heinrich von Thünen (auth.)

The Isolated State in Relation to
Agriculture and Political Economy
Portrait of Johann Heinrich von Thünen by Wilhelm Ternite, 1840 (Thünen-
Museum-Tellow).
The Isolated State in
Relation to Agriculture
and Political Economy
Part III: Principles for
the Determination of Rent,
the Most Advantageous Rotation
Period and the Value of Stands of
Varying Age in Pinewoods
Johann Heinrich von Thünen
Translated from the German by
Keith Tribe
Edited by
Ulrich van Suntum
On behalf of Thünengesellschaft e.V., Tellow
© Thünengesellschaft e. V., Tellow 2009
Translation © Keith Tribe 2009
Foreword © Fritz Tack 2009
Preface © Paul A. Samuelson 2009
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-22251-9
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First published in German 1863
English translation published 2009 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-30810-1 ISBN 978-0-230-27411-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230274112
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09
Frontpage, written by Johann Heinrich von Thünen, deposited at the Rostock
University, U.A.R. TA F I 13.
The Isolated State, 3rd edition at the Thünen-Museum-Tellow; frontpage of
the 3rd part.
Contents
Foreword to the English Translation, by Fritz Tack x
Preface, by Paul A. Samuelson xii
Acknowledgements xv
Johann Heinrich von Thünen’s Contribution to
Forestry Economics: A Brief Introduction to Part III of
the Isolated State, by Ulrich van Suntum xvi
Section One 1
§ 1. Timber yield 1
§ 2. Timber value 2
§ 3. The determination of the value of
pinewood stock of a given age 5
§ 4. The determination of the value of
timber stocks of differing rotation periods 7
§ 5. The rent of the woodland soil 9
§ 6. Calculations related to the rotation period 12
§ 7. Thinning out 18
§ 8. The rent of woodland in comparison with
ground rent 26
§ 9. Underwood or brushwood 29
§ 10. The influence of the yield in value of thinnings
on the most advantageous rotation period and
on ground rent 32
§ 11. The thinning methods employed by
Chief Forester Nagel 34
§ 12. Ground rent and rotation period from
pollination, if thinning removes half the
wooded growth 39
vii
viii Contents
§ 13. Comparison of the two methods, in which
thinning removes 41
A. One-third of annual timber growth
B. Half of this growth
Concerning the part of the volume, which is
captured by thinning 41
Concerning the rent of woodland 42
Concerning the ground rent 44
Concerning the rotation period 46
Section Two 48
§ 14. How great does the space around each tree
need to be in relation to its diameter if
the annual growth in value of the
entire woodland is to achieve a maximum? 48
§ 15. The growth of individual trees in
diameter and in physical volume 51
§ 16. Calculation of the portion of the growth to be
removed in thinning 53
§ 17. Criticism 64
§ 18. Ground rent and the most advantageous
rotation period, if only 1 of the growth is left in
3
the remaining stock 74
Section Three 78
§ 19. What is the relationship between the
growth of the tree and the space which
each tree is given? 78
§ 20. Calculation of total growth 90
§ 21. Ground rent and most advantageous rotation
period for different degrees of interval
between trees 95
§ 22. What part of the timber reserve is at
different ages removed in decennial thinnings? 100
§ 23. Deviation of the results of
our calculation from reality 102
Contents ix
§ 24. Comparison of the ground rent of
woodland with that of arable land 105
§ 25. Applications 110
Continuation 114
Epilogue: A Chronicle of Editing the
Isolated State 134
Glossary 137