EXCURSION TO SWEDEN. 81 



due to the method of tending. Thinnin2;s are not commenced 

 till the woods are about thirty years of age. Even then, only 

 a light cutting takes place, by the removal of dead, quite 

 suppressed, and undesirable trees. The growth of the forest 

 indicates when other thinnings are to follow ; but they are 

 frequent and light. What they yield is made into charcoal ; 

 the kilns being erected within the forest area in October, when 

 there is little fear of damage to the forests by fire. As a pre- 

 caution against fire, the woods are divided into compartments 

 by belts of birch, or by open rides at intervals of 100 yards. 

 Cattle are allowed into the woods when the trees are eight years 

 old, the great scarcity of pasture being offered as excuse for 

 the practice. At present, the woods are said to yield annually 

 pver 1,000,000 cubic feet of timber and charcoal. There is a 

 much greater local demand for charcoal than can be satisfied. 

 The day at Osterby was one full of instruction. Mr O. M. 

 Stromberg, R.V.O., did everything in his power for his visitors, 

 and received them at his house with the utmost hospitality and 

 kindness. 



The party travelled the same evening northwards to Gefle. 

 Gefle is described in the Society's itinerary as " a very going 

 ahead place," and so it is, no doubt, for it is one of the foremost 

 towns in Sweden. Still, to a Briton it appears quiet enough. 

 There is nothing about it of the hum and bustle of a British 

 town of like population. The streets have an almost deserted 

 look, no one is hurrying ; apparently this placid people conducts 

 its business with less fuss than we do ! Its chief interest for 

 the arboriculturists lay in its timber trade and saw-mills. The 

 Korsnas Saw-mill at SkutskJir, visited under the guidance of the 

 managing director, Mr Martin, is a huge concern. The company 

 brings its timber from Dalecarlia, 300 miles away, where it 

 owns 850,000 acres of forest. The logs, felled, marked, and 

 dragged to the waterways in winter, are floated during spring 

 and summer by rivers and lochs, supplemented by canals, up to 

 the doors of the saw-mill. In the water the logs are held, 

 floating behind a boom or breakwater, until they are required ; 

 some being stacked over the ice for use in winter. By means of 

 chains they are drawn up wooden slides into the factory, where 

 the frame-saws are ready to receive them. The Korsnas Mill 

 is considered to be the most up-to-date in Europe, all the 

 latest mechanical appliances having been introduced to secure 



VOL. XVII. PART I. F 



