568 JOURNAL OF FORESTRY 



and with the foreslation of cut-over lands. Lately a law has been 

 enacted to prevent the cutting of immature trees unless such cutting is 

 necessary in order to improve the condition of the forests. Reforesta- 

 tion has been carried on in Sweden by both public and private enter- 

 prise. The forest owners regard it as a commercial and paying prop- 

 osition. 



The cutting of saw logs is carried on only during the winter in order 

 to prevent deterioration in the quality of the logs through discoloration. 

 Stumps seldom exceed three inches in height. The utmost care is given 

 to the cutting of suitable log lengths and sizes so that the best possible 

 results may be obtained when the logs are cut into lumber. No logging 

 machinery of any kind is generally used in Sweden, though American 

 tractors have lately been introduced into that country for hauling logs. 

 The logs are loaded on sleighs and taken on the snow to the nearest 

 waterway, where they are piled on the river bank or on the ice ready 

 to be dumped into the water in the spring. The floating of logs is 

 usually carried on by a number of floating associations established by 

 log owners, the logs being floated for joint account. 



Cheap transportation from the forest to the mill accounts for the 

 fact that Sweden can efifect a very close utilization of its forest prod- 

 ucts. Top logs, even down to one or two inches in top diameter, are 

 bunched and strapped with steel wire and floated to the nearest char- 

 coal plant, where they are converted into charcoal. The saw logs are 

 on the average from 63^ to 7 inches in top diameter and average in 

 length from 17 to 18 feet. The logs are generally barked in the woods, 

 in order to prevent an accumulation of bark in the river and at the 

 mills, which would seriously hinder floating. 



Through long experience in lumber manufacture the Swedes have 

 produced a type of machinery especially adapted to the Swedish con- 

 ditions. Following the increased value of stumpage, their machinery 

 has been constructed with a view to accepting the largest possible 

 saving in raw material. The gauge of the saw blade is always very 

 small. All large mills are equipped with gang saws. Only the smaller 

 mills have circular saws. The gang saws give the best results because 

 they saw lumber to exact sizes. Careful manufacture is the principal 

 feature of Swedish sawmills. The green lumber is given a certain 

 excess to provide for shrinkage. After it has been seasoned it is exact- 

 ly the required dimension. All guesswork is eliminated from the Swed- 

 ish sawing schedules. The method of obtaining the most profitable 



