156 



CRIPS AND SLIPS. 



[Dec. 



'Sept. 8, 1883, Sir,— Mr. Gladstone 

 has had the honour to receive j'our letter 

 of the 3rd inst., and desires me to 

 inform you that he will make known 

 the subject of it to his son on his return 

 from abroad, as he regulates matters of 

 the nature referred to. I am, Sir, yourobe- 

 dient servant, G. W. Sppincer Lytleton. 

 Mr. H. T. Hill.' Last month Mr.W. H. 

 Gladstone wrote : — ' Erskine, Glasgow, 

 Nov. 10, 1883. Sir,— In reference to 

 your letter of September 3, which Mr. 

 Gladstone has handed to me, I beg to 

 ask you how many feet of timber you 

 require. We have a Beech of about 16 

 feet available, but I fear the carriage to 

 London would be heavy. — I am, &c., 

 W. H. Gladstone.' Mr Hill at once 

 replied, asking that the tree might be 

 sent on, and on Saturday afternoon it 

 arrived safely. It is 18 feet long, and 

 in two pieces. Tiie butt is some 30 in. 

 in diameter, and the weight about one 

 ton and a half. The tree has been cut 

 in the shape of a wedge above the ground 

 and each mark of the axe is quite dis- 

 tinct and clean. — Times. 



The Deforestation of Russia. — 

 According to a Russian paper, Russia 

 in several of her provinces is threat- 



ened with deforestation. The reckless 

 cutting down of trees is threatening to 

 convert into barren deserts some of the 

 best wooded provinces in Russia. A 

 wood famine is threatened in Viatka and 

 Kostroma, and the wood merchants, to 

 satisfy the wants of the southern dis- 

 tricts, have recourse to the province of 

 Perm, where the destruction of forests 

 will greatly compromise the develop- 

 ment of tlie mining industry. Since 

 1864 the Ministry of the Domains has 

 made manj^ attempts"to lay down general 

 rules for preserving the forests ; but all 

 these attempts were paralysed by the 

 obstinate and constant opposition of 

 private interests. M. Ostrovsky has 

 now a new project to submit to the 

 Council of the Empire. It is time, in 

 M. Ostrovsky's opinion, to go back to 

 the doctrine of Peter the Great, who 

 placed the Russian forests under Im- 

 perial administration. This arrangement 

 was ab rogated by Catherine 11. in favour 

 of the nobility ; but experience proves 

 that this was a mistake. If the forest 

 question is not speedily dealt with 

 sooner or later it will be found that the 

 destruction of forests is complete in the 

 centre and south of the empire. — Daily 

 Paper. 



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