28 FORESTRY IN LATER TIMES 



timber imports began to come into the country on 

 a large scale. The Admiralty had already some 

 time before begun to use teak from the Moulmein 

 forests. Oak was no longer the only stand-by 

 for the Navy. But above all, the steamship made 

 its appearance, and with it a system of more rapid 

 communication. The home forest product, however, 

 still readily found its market, as duties had to be 

 paid on all imported timber. In 1846 a step 

 towards free trade in this respect was taken by 

 removing the import duties on Colonial timber. 

 This was followed by an upward leap in imports 

 and a corresponding depression in home timber 

 values. But already the demands of the markets 

 were changing. The old methods of building ships 

 were changed by the use of steel, etc., the building 

 trade were employing cheaper materials, which 

 replaced the fine old English timbers by the long, 

 straight, clean-grown firs and pines of the North 

 European forests. The old furniture industry was 

 following suit. We had arrived at the Mid-Victorian 

 age. The soft woods were capturing the markets. 

 The final death-blow to British forestry was dealt 

 in 1866, when the import duty was removed from 

 all foreign timber. This gave the Scandinavian 

 forests their great opportunity. The timber export 

 industry in Sweden had its first beginnings about 1850. 

 It had already assumed fair proportions by 1866. 

 With the removal of the British duties, Sweden, 

 in the altered conditions of the market, became 

 one of our chief suppliers for many years to come. 

 Norway and, later, Russia began exporting largely 



