298 Sweden. 



for ground rent, or which had been disposed of and 

 on which the conditions of settlement had not been 

 fulfilled. In 1869, a law applicable only on the island 

 of Gotland provided a dimension limit, and that in 

 case of neglect of regeneration on private fellings the 

 owner may not cut any more wood for sale, until the 

 neglect had been remedied. 



Exactly in the same manner as the homestead and 

 other colonization laws in the United States have 

 been abused to get hold of public timber lands, so in 

 Sweden large areas of government land had been taken 

 up for settlement, but actually were exploited. It 

 was to remedy this evil that in 1860 an examination 

 of the public lands was ordered with a view of with- 

 drawing portions from settlement and of making 

 forest reservations. The royal ordinance of 1866 re- 

 sulted, which was to regulate the cutting on settled 

 lands and in such new settlements as were thereafter 

 allowed. 



Here, private owners at first were allowed to cut 

 only for their own use, and the new law prescribed 

 the amount of yearly cut and required the marking 

 of timber designed for sale by the government 

 officers. 



This "compulsory marking" or "Lapland" law 

 with a dimension limit, was, in 1873, extended to all 

 private forests in Norbotten, and in 1888, to Vester- 

 botten. This law limits the diameter to which fell- 

 ings are to be made (8 inches at 15 feet from base), and 

 if the cutting of smaller trees is deemed desirable for the 

 benefit of the forest these are to be designated by 

 forest officials. 



