The Forests of Russia and their Products. 



By JAMES EUSHFORTH. 

 {Continued from page 335.) 



Let lis now see what the Ptussians can do in the way of working 

 lip their wood. The manufacturing industry of Russia is carried on 

 in two different ways, — in the regular established manufactories and 

 workshops, and in the large villages called Selas, which are very 

 numerous throughout the empire. This latter kind of industry has 

 probably existed from time immemorial, and had its origin in the 

 long winter which follows the cessation of work in the field, during 

 which the artisan peasant exercised his ingenuity in particular crafts 

 which were found suitable to the locality in which he lived. Thus 

 in the forest districts, various articles of wood are manufactured on 

 an extensive scale. 



Although Eussia is rich in iron mines the production of iron is 

 small, and is not over 300,000 tons annually, the consumption of 

 iron per head of the population being not more than 10 lbs. yearly. 

 Numerous articles which with us are made of iron or earthenware 

 are made of wood in Eussia — from enormous bowls, in which a man 

 can float, to wooden spoons, which are made in millions. The bowls 

 which we see in the grocers' shops in Eussia, as well as the above- 

 named articles, are made of the lime tree, painted and lacquered, 

 principally in the villages of the government of IsTijni-Novgorod. 

 The common Eussian spade is made of wood merely tipped with 

 iron ; and there are wooden pumps, wooden chimneys, &c. Eussia 

 is not only a country of forests, but it may be regarded as a collec- 

 tion of extensive wooden villages, not towns properly speaking, for 

 with the exception of the capitals, and some of the larger provincial 

 towns wooden houses prevail everywhere. They are seldom 

 found to be less comfortable or convenient than stone houses, as they 

 are often constructed with great taste and with every possible con- 

 venience, though they naturally differ materially from the peasant 

 village or izla. 



The izla, or dwelling of the Eussian peasant, with its usual 

 surroundings, presents, it is supposed, the same appearance as it did 

 500, or even perhaps 1,000 years ago. The izla is made of logs 

 which are deeply dovetailed together at the ends. The axe is 

 almost the only instrument used in its construction. It should be 



