Forestry Conditions in Szvcdcn. 55 



the forests were more and more opened up by the improvement of 

 rivers and streams for rafting and driving. 



The demands of the sawmills were at first the determining 

 factor for the system of cutting. Forestry ideas as a rule did 

 not gain consideration until in later stages of exploitation, if it 

 was then still possible to consider them. 



This was not accomplished generally, until the spruce found 

 a strong consumer in the wood-working industry, and since ra- 

 tional charcoal manufacturing methods and the decrease in the 

 expense of rafting have made it possible to utilize inferior species. 

 The latter find their consumers in the meilers as well as in retort 

 charcoal plants, since the smelters of Sweden still consume enor- 

 mous amounts of charcoal — furthermore in the rapidly develop- 

 ing export of mining timbers, in the manufacture of paper pvtlp, 

 chiefly by the mechanical and sulphite process for spruce, and 

 the sulphate process for pine. Sweden afifords a conspicuous 

 example of how the possibility of utilizing inferior species limits 

 forest destruction and advances scientific forestry. 



In considerable portions of south and central Sweden, the 

 forests have already been through all the stages of forest utiliza- 

 tion. The formerly high returns have decreased and, if some 

 capital had not been used for care and management of the forests 

 they would have deteriorated much more in their productive ca- 

 pacity. 



The extensive form of forest destruction has thus gradually 

 given way to the intensive form of forest management, as can 

 be seen in many of the forests in central and south Sweden, 

 where it almost approaches the German method of management. 

 The farther north one proceeds the more extensive methods are 

 employed, consisting largely in a mere harvest of the virgin 

 forest. The degree of misuse of the forest has always varied as 

 greatly as the character of utilization. The more the forests 

 were opened up and the more accessible they were rendered for 

 the places of consumption, the sooner the period was rea,ched 

 which might be termed that of misuse. 



On the whole, the forest of southern and central Sweden 

 have been so misused, though in varying degrees. 



Norrland, however, which contains more than half of the 

 forest area of Sweden, still contains large bodies of timberland 



