A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



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FRANCE 



Although timber consumption in France is low in comparison with 

 some other countries, it has been increasing gradually. French forests 

 supply chiefly fuel wood, mine timbers, and other low-grade material, 

 and large quantities of construction timber are imported. During 

 the war and subsequently there has been considerable overcutting 

 in French forests. The normal annual consumption of timber, not 

 including firewood, is estimated to have been 353 million cubic feet 

 in 1912, 424 million in 1919, and 565 million in 1930. 3 



RUSSIA 



Russia, because of her vast forest resources, is of particular interest 

 in tracing the changes in the use of wood. 



Pre-war estimates of wood consumption in Russia, including Finland 

 and the Baltic Provinces, placed it at about 353 cubic feet per capita 

 for the northern part of the country and about 17.5 cubic feet for the 

 south. The average for European and Asiatic Russia together was 

 probably about 60 or 65 cubic feet. 



Immediately after the close of the war and during the Revolution, 

 Russian economic life came practically to a standstill. Timber export 

 completely stopped, sawmills remained idle, and timber cutting as an 

 organized enterprise practically ceased. Very little timber was cut 

 except for firewood to heat the houses and maintain the feeble railroad 

 transportation. Cutting was concentrated in the forests near the 

 villages and for distances of 20 to 30 miles back from the railroads and 

 the rivers. Statistics of wood consumption during this period are not 

 available, but it must have been greatly reduced. According to some 

 estimates, it averaged only one fourth of the pre-war consumption, or 

 about 15 cubic feet per capita. 



Beginning with 1922, there was a gradual revival of forest industries 

 and an increase in wood consumption. Since the Five-year Plan went 

 into effect the needs of the country for wood have had to be more 

 definitely determined and plans developed for meeting these needs. 

 According to the official statistics, 4 the actual cut from Russian forests 

 during the period 1924-30 was as follows: 



Until recently, firewood constituted about half of the total cut in 

 Russia. Although the plans call for an increasing cut of saw timber, 

 the proportion of firewood is to be gradually reduced. The total cut 

 of all classes of wood increased from 24 cubic feet per capita in 1925 

 to 54 cubic feet in 1930, or 125 percent. As only about 5 percent of 

 the cut is exported, the consumption and cut of wood may be con- 

 sidered as practically identical. The 1930 consumption was still 

 slightly below the pre-war average. 



3 Hervet, Gilbert. La question forestiere depuis la guerre. Dijon, 1931. 



4 Buchholz, E. Zustand und Entwicklungstendenzen der russischen Wald- und Holzwirtschaft. 

 erswalde, 1932. 



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