:^34 The yonrnal of Forcslry. 



closes the limit of arboreal vegetation ; and to the east it not only 

 spreads over European Paissia, but extends through Siberia as far as 

 the sea coast of Kamtschatka, "When young the birch tree grows very 

 fast ; afterwards its growth is slower, so that a full-grown tree of from 

 60 to SO feet high is seldom more than 1 ft. in diameter, but trees are 

 occasionally met with 2 ft. diameter. The Carelian and wavy 

 birch are modifications of the conmion birch with knotty excrescences, 

 and they grow principally in Finland. 



The common walnut tree grows in the government of Kherson 

 and the Crimea, and is very abundant in the Caucasus, where it often 

 attains to a great age and size, and generally reaches a height of from 

 60 to 80 ft. 



Beech is met with in Eussia in large quantities only in the Crimea 

 and the Caucasus, although it is also found in limited quantities in 

 Poland, and other parts of mid and south Russia. 



Boxwood grows to good size and quality, for wood engravers' 

 blocks, in the Crimea and the Caucasus, and is largely exported for 

 that purpose to other parts of Europe. 



Although coal has been discovered, and is worked in some parts of 

 Bussia, its consumption is very limited, the yearly output for 

 the whole of the empire not exceeding 1,190,000 tons, including 

 brown coal, consequently the quantity of wood fuel, consisting of such 

 valuable material as pine, fir, and birch, consumed by nearly all the 

 railways, factories, and works of Ptussia,and used in private households, 

 is enormous. Entire districts have been laid bare which were formerly 

 dense forests, the finest trees being cut down in the most ruthless 

 manner, without the least regard to economy or a rational mode of 

 procedure, such as characterizes the forest culture of Germnny. Then 

 there are extensive districts denuded of forests by fires, which 

 are of very frequent occurrence. 



Throughout Russia these have caused in many localities a scarcity of 

 wood, and consequently enormously high prices. The extent to 

 which the destruction of forests is carried out in Russia, may be 

 gathered from the fact that the Volga and Kama steamers alone 

 consume something like 35,000 cubic fathoms (of 7 ft.) of wood 

 yearly, which, together with the towns situated on the Volga, is 

 estimated at 500,000 cubic fathoms, consisting principally of pine, 

 fir, and birch. The small consumption of coal is attributable to the 

 dearness of its carriage inland, but much of this is evidently due to 

 mere routine or interested motives ; and as an example of this the 

 following case may be taken : — For some time anthracite has been 

 conveyed over the Volga Don Railway and then down the Volga. 

 Here the somewhat curious sight has been seen of a train laden with 

 coal being drawn by an engine burniug wood fuel ! 



