Forest Conditions. 279 



Not more than 2.5 million acres, mostly in the south- 

 western sections, are actually under cultivation ;the 

 population being short of 2.5 million. 



The rigorous climate makes a large consumption of 

 fuelwood necessary, and, since houses are also mostly 

 built of wood, the home consumption is over 32 cubic 

 feet per capita. Over 10 million cubic feet of pine 

 are consumed in making tar, and a like amount for 

 paper pulp. The total cut is in the neighborhood of 

 370 million cubic feet, four-fifth of which comes from 

 private forests of the middle and southern area, and 

 over one-third of it is being exported. 



The country generally is a tableland with occasional 

 low hills. The forest consists principally of pine, the 

 latter a variety of the Scotch Pine (or species?), called 

 Riga Pine which excels in straightness of bole and 

 thrifty growth, and of spruce (10 per cent, of the 

 whole, mainly in the southeast). Aspen, alder and 

 birch, especially the latter, are considered undesirable 

 weeds, and fire is used to get rid of them where coni- 

 ferous aftergrowth is desired, although birch is also 

 employed for fuel, bobbins and furniture, and aspen 

 for matches. Basswood, maple, elm, ash and some 

 oak occur, and larch (Larix sibirica) was introduced 

 some 150 years ago. 



Long, severe winters and hot, dry summers pro- 

 duce slow growth, the pine in the north requiring 200 

 to 250 years, in the middle sections 140 to 160 years 

 to grow to merchantable size. 



Fires, used in clearing, have from time to time run 

 over large areas and have nearly killed out the spruce 

 except in the lowlands, but the pine being more 



