WUUD INDUSTRY. 109 



CHAPTER VIII. 

 AV^ood Industry. 



IN consequence of the abundance of timber in some parts of Eussia, wood 

 working has always been one of the most extensive industries, occupying large num- 

 bers of men and having an economical influence upon the life of the population. 

 Dwellings, farm buildings, furniture, household utensils and agricultural implements 

 are all principally made of wood in Eussia, and therefore wood working is a well 

 known trade to the greater part of the rural population, from time immemorial 

 accustomed to handle the axe and other carpenter and joiner tools. Nearly the 

 whole of Eussia is studded with numerous village workshops, such as coach builders, 

 coopers and carpenters, supplying the neighbouring and sometimes distant markets 

 with their cheap and often excellent goods. 



The greatest degree of development was naturally attained in those localities 

 rich in timber; in some places where the forests are already largely consumed, the 

 inhabitants still pursue their usual calling, the materials being obtained from other 

 places. These cases are however rare as the village trades are mostly subordinate 

 to the fundamental rural industry and the chief factors for determining the degree 

 of development and future condition of the wood working trade in a given locality 

 would therefore be the proximity of forest land, cheapness of timber and facilities 

 of transportation. 



In order therefore to arrive at a true understanding of the condition of the 

 wood working industry in Eussia, it is necessary' to determine the degree of wood- 

 iness of its various districts. Great importance must also be attached not only to 

 the general extent of forest lands, but also to that part of them which are under 

 the direction of the Department of Woods and Forests, as being more thoroughly 

 investigated, subjected to better cultivation, and, what is most important, sufficiently 

 guaranteed from destruction. The following table, compiled from the latest statistics 

 of the Forests Department of the Ministry of Crown Domains, shows the degree of 

 woodiness of the different parts of Eussia. 



