182 THE FOREST LANDS OF FINLAND. 



forests by themselves, and then only to an inconsiderable 

 extent. 



The aspen (Populus tremula), rare in the extreme north, 

 is everywhere else pretty common. The common alder 

 (Alnus glutinosa) is met with in the south up to 64 lat. 

 The oak (Quercus pedunculata Ehrh.) is only found in the 

 south along the coast of the Gulf of Finland ; and it forms 

 but rarely woods, and these but small, as at Runsala, near 

 Abo. It does not grow wild beyond 60 35', but cultivated 

 it is met with to the north of this, as for example at Woro 

 63 Jat. The cracking willow (Salix fragilis), the lilac 

 (Syringa vulgaris), the Siberian pea-tree (Garagena arborcs- 

 cens), the honeysuckle (Uonicera caprifohum), the Tartarian 

 honeysuckle (M. Tartarica Lin.), the Tacamahac (Populas 

 balsamifera) } and the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastaneum), 

 &c. 



In regard to the birch it is reported by Dr. Blomqvist 

 that the white birch (Betula verrucosa Ehr.), and the pube- 

 scent birch (B. glutinosa Waller), growing in Finland, are 

 often confounded. In the western part of the country the 

 white birch is met with up to 68 15', in the eastern part 

 of the country it is found to 66 25'. The pubescent birch 

 grows throughout the whole country, extending beyond its 

 northern limits, and in the extreme north of Lapland it is 

 this tree alone which constitutes the forests found there. 



In an economical point of view the birches are, after the 

 Scots fir and the Norway pine, the kinds of trees of most 

 importance in Finland. They supply the best firewood, 

 and the wood yielded by them, which is close-grained and 

 tenaceous, is made use of in the fabrication of machines, 

 tools, utensils, &c. The variegated wood is especially 

 sought after. The exterior layers of the bark are made 

 use of in a variety of ways, and in some parts of the 

 country they constitute an article of commerce. 



There were exhibited at the National Exhibition in 

 Moscow, in 1882, several articles made by a boy of 1 1 years 

 of age in Finland, to show what is done extensively by the 



