Forestry Conditions in Szveden. 49 



Snow and ice play an important role in forestry in Sweden, 

 first in connection with the growth of the forest, and second, 

 with forest utilization. 



The covering of snow, which for months protects the little 

 plants, is doubless of the greatest importance. In late spring they 

 emerge from the cover of snow almost immediately into the most 

 vigorous vegetation. On the other hand damage by snow is a rare 

 occurrence, as there is a low degree of atmospheric moisture 

 in the winter and the snow falls dry. 



The snow also offers cheap transportation of wood. By freez- 

 ing over lakes and swamps the winter opens up the most inaccess- 

 ible and distant forest regions. When a cutting is to take place, 

 shacks are constructed for the crew and horses. Skidding trails 

 are staked out, following the streams, swamps and lakes, avoid- 

 ing the loss of timber. The snow on these roads is iced and steep 

 grades covered with brush or grass. The logs are loaded on 

 sleds and skidded to the nearest driveable stream by the small 

 but strong woods horses. The ends of the logs are stamped 

 with the mark of the owner and left on the ice or the bank of 

 the stream until thawing sets in. The drive begins with the 

 breaking up of the ice on the small streams and continues until 

 midsummer, the streams and rivers being gradually cleared 

 towards their mouths. At the sorting booms above the industrial 

 districts they are caught and rafted from there on downstream. 

 The numerous rapids and falls are avoided by improvements of 

 all sorts. 



At watersheds or divides raising apparatus and means of trans- 

 portation are constructed at advantageous points in order to 

 make possible the transfer of logs from small river systems into 

 larger ones. The necessary dams, booms, etc., for rendering 

 the streams of Norrland and Dalekarlien driveable represent a 

 capital of 8,000,000 to 11,000,000 dollars. Driving and rafting 

 are usually conducted by special boom companies, of which the 

 timber owners, sawmill owners, pulp manufacturers, etc., are 

 members. The cost of transportation is thus reduced to a mini- 

 mum. On a well managed driveable stream the cost is hardly 

 more than one-half a cent per mile per saw log, to which must 

 be added the cost of sorting, which amounts to from ^ to i cent 

 according to the size and equipment of the sorting gap. As 

 skidding on sleds in winter is also cheap, provided the distances 

 4 



