264 Russia. 



The devastation and its evil consequences on 

 waterflow and soil conditions had been especially 

 felt in the southern districts adjoining the steppe, 

 and these experiences were the immediate cause 

 for the enactment of the law, which, however, was 

 framed to apply conditionally to the entire European 

 Russia. 



The law makes an interesting distinction between 

 "protective," "protected" and non-protective, or 

 unprotected forests, as well as between different 

 ownership classes, and it makes distinction of four 

 regions as to the extent of its application. In the 

 far northern governments, densely forested (60%) 

 and thinly populated, only the protective forests 

 are under the operations of the law. In the Caucasus 

 also, none of the restrictions of private property ex- 

 cept in protective and communal peasant forests are 

 to apply, perhaps because the forest area (averaging 

 not over 17%) is there largely owned by members 

 of the imperial house and by nobles. In certain 

 districts adjoining the northern zone (with 37% 

 forest) also only the last two classes of forest, namely 

 protective and communal properties, with institute 

 forests added, are subject to the provisions of the law. 

 The rest, a territory of over one million square miles 

 with only 12% in forest, is subject to all the provisions 

 of the law, which is remarkably democratic in treat- 

 ing State, imperial and private forests alike. 



This law declares as "protective forests," to be 

 managed under special plans prescribed by the Crown 

 forest department, those forest areas which protect 

 shifting sands and dunes, the shores of rivers, canals 



