256 Russia. 



Here, in Siberia, the first attempt at a management 

 was made in 1897 in the government forests, which 

 are estimated at over 300 million acres; in addition 

 about 400 million acres have been declared reserved 

 forests. Not one-third, however, even of the govern- 

 ment forests is well stocked and less than 4 million 

 acres are under some form of management. 



In European Russia, the forest area comprises about 

 465 million acres, or 36% of the land area. The 

 population being now over 120 million (nearly one- 

 half escaped from serfdom only since 1861), the forest 

 area per capita is only about 4 acres, somewhat less 

 than in the United States, half of what is claimed for 

 Sweden and Norway, although seven times as large 

 as that of Germany or France. 



It will be seen, therefore, that Russia, although 

 still an exporting country, has reasons for a conserva- 

 tive policy, even if only the needs of the domestic 

 population are considered, which alone probably 

 consumes more than the annual increment of the 

 whole forest area; and the consumption is growing 

 with the growth of civilization as appears from the 

 increase of wood consuming industries, which in 

 1877 showed a product of 8 million dollars, in 1887, 

 of 12> million, in 1897, of 50 million dollars. 



This assertion, that the era of over-cutting has 

 actually arrived, may be made in spite of the stated 

 fact, that in the northern provinces only two-fifths 

 of what is supposed to be a proper felling budget, is 

 cut and marketed, and that other most uncertain 

 estimates make the cut 17 cubic feet per acre of pro- 

 ductive forest area, and the annual growth, on still 



