CHAPTER I. 



PRIMITIVE TREATMENT OF FORESTS IN FINLAND. 



DR IGNATIUS speaks of the practice of setting fire to the 

 trees in order to clear the ground. This may be considered 

 the primitive treatment of forests in Finland. It is not 

 unknown elsewhere, as I shall afterwards show at some 

 length. But Finland is the only country in Europe in 

 which it is still practised extensively, supplying an oppor- 

 tunity of studying it in detail. As intimated by Dr 

 Ignatius, free use has been made of the forests of Finland, 

 as have been made of forests elsewhere, to supply fencing, 

 building material, and fuel, and thus much wood has been 

 consumed; but it is to the practice known as Sartage 

 that the destruction of forests is mainly attributable. And 

 this being retained here while from other countries of 

 Europe in which it may have been practised extensively, 

 but is now only seen occasionally, it gives a special char- 

 acter to the forestry of the country. But while it has 

 been retained it is being restricted, and the most 

 advanced forest science of the day is being applied to 

 the management of the Crown forests. We see in this 

 the forest treatment of the future, and in that the forest 

 treatment of the past, which, though practised extensively, 

 and defended on intelligible grounds, may be reckoned 

 amongst the things which decay and wax old, and are 

 ready to vanish away. 



SECTION A. DETAILS OF THE PRACTICE OF " SARTAGE " 

 IN FINLAND AND ADJACENT LANDS. 



The designation Sartage, is that given to the practice in 

 the Forest Science of France. In Finland I have generally 

 heard it spoken of as Svedanje, 



