120 THE FORESTS OF FINLAND 



The oldest fellings in the forests of Finland were 

 made for what may be termed purely domestic require- 

 ments, such as firewood, charcoal, timber for building, 

 household and other purposes, for small enclosures, 

 and for obtaining tar. The fellings were undertaken 

 without system, the best materials for the purpose in 

 view being selected and the remainder left standing 

 on the ground. In this fashion, in the neighbourhood 

 of villages and townships, the forest gradually became 

 open and honeycombed with holes and glades in which 

 birch, alder, and aspen made their appearance. The 

 trees were also topped and hacked about to provide 

 litter or fodder for cattle and sheep. When an out- 

 side demand for timber sprang up and made itself 

 felt in the country, the really destructive fellings 

 began ; and certain of the privately owned forests 

 have been more effectively ruined by the methods of 

 felling employed than by all the previous damage they 

 suffered from fire, shifting cultivation, and cuttings 

 made to supply local requirements. 



The sales from private forests commenced with the 

 introduction of the saw-mill industry in the middle of 

 last century. At first only material for the mills was 

 required, and the damage done was not of great con- 

 sequence. But soon the demand arose for pitwood, 

 wood pulp, etc. ; and private forests were felled whole- 

 sale. Great stretches of them were often sold standing 

 to the timber merchants, who cut everything on the 

 ground which could be sold, what was left on the areas 

 being worthless. Thus considerable areas of privately 

 owned forest were ruined. In the State forests, on the 

 other hand, the management went to the other extreme. 



