OUR TIMBER SUPPLIES FROM ABROAD. 355 
It is thus seen that Norway and Sweden furnish us with about 
40 per cent. of our timber supplies, and the 2,643,666 loads sent 
to us are made up of 673,305 loads of rough and 1,970,361 loads 
of manufactured timber. 
The question may naturally be put—Why is Scandinavian timber 
so much favoured by us? It must be better or cheaper, but that 
is only true toa limited extent. The great development of Swedish 
imports is a matter of only recent years. It is impossible to make 
an accurate comparison of the qualities of imported timber, treating 
it nationally, because the shipments of some ports are superior to 
the shipments of other ports in the same country; but, on the 
whole, the balance of quality in respect of both the Scots fir and 
the spruce, which form 90 per cent. of the imports, is considerably 
in favour of Russia, The freight from Russian ports is also 
generally from 10 per cent. to 15 per cent. lower than from the 
upper ports of Sweden, whence the larger bulk is shipped. The 
Swedes, however, have displayed characteristic enterprise in adapting 
their conditions to meet the situation. They have greatly improved 
their machinery, more carefully selected their timber, and lowered 
their prices so as to secure British orders, and have thus equalised 
matters with their Russian competitors. Not content, however, 
with having placed themselves on an equal footing with Russia, 
they have turned the scale in their favour in the eyes of the British 
buyer by granting six months’ credit on all transactions, the Russians 
being unable or unwilling to give more than three months. It is 
in this way that the merchant has had so much influence on the 
development of the trade, to which we made allusion in the early 
part of this paper. These specially favourable terms induced an 
accumulation of stock in our merchants’ hands, and allowed them 
to place before the consumer, in the most favourable light, the 
merits of Swedish supplies, and generally influenced their use. 
The question arising here is, of course,—Can Sweden maintain 
the annual output of such enormous quantities of timber? The 
answer is generally admitted to be, on the whole, in the affirmative. 
Great Britain and Ireland receive one-half of the total quantity of 
wood shipped ; and, when the vast area is considered, it must be 
admitted that even the figures given are only capable of clearing 
out the woods of a comparatively limited area; and Scots fir and 
spruce being fast-growing trees, the re-afforestation is proceeding as 
quickly as the deforestation. 
