Forestry in Russia 571 



the oak without shading it or, in Mr. Tkatchenko's terms, "giv- 

 ing the oak an overcoat without a hat." These other species are 

 cut out year by year, as is necessary when they interfere with 

 the oak, and are used for fence posts, etc. 



In Central Russia the size of the timber at the end of the rota- 

 tion is calculated very closely and often it is cut to a ten inch 

 limit on a hundred year rotation. 



Sometimes, after cutting, the land is given over to the peasants 

 for agriculture for three years and then again planted with 

 trees. 



Very few grazing fees are collected, because there is little 

 grazing in the forests ; furthermore, it is the policy to permit the 

 peasants to graze their stock free, thus making them friendly to 

 the Forest Service. 



The loss by fires is much less in Russia than in this country, 

 due to the fact that the dry seasons in Russia are less severe than 

 in parts of the United States and that peasants must go to a 

 fire within a radius of fifteen wersts^ (approximately 9 miles) 

 without compensation ; but beyond this distance they receive pay 

 for their work. 



Mensuration. The cubic measurement is used entirely in 

 Russia. Two hundred and twenty cubic feet, comparable to our 

 1,000 board feet, is the unit of timber sale work. In scaling, 

 each log is cubed as the frustrum of a paraboloid. 



In accurate investigative work for determining the rate of 

 growth, the tree is cut at the surface of the ground so that the 

 entire age may be ascertained. The error which enters when the 

 tree is cut at some distance above the ground, and the total age 

 found by adding the number of years required by seedlings of 

 the present day to reach that height, is considered a great one. 

 The rings of annual growth are counted and measurements taken 

 much the same as in our work, though in many cases the distance 

 to each fifth ring, instead of each tenth ring, is measured. 

 Whether the rings are counted from the outside in or from the 

 inside out depends upon the character of the investigation. If a 

 volume study is being made, the first method is used ; if only the 

 rate of growth in diameter is desired, the latter method is em- 

 ployed. Complete stem analysis work is never carried on in con 



' 1 American mile=1.5 Russian "wersts." 



