58 THE FOREST LANDS OF FINLAND. 



possible this mode of culture. In consequence of this, and 

 the introduction of improved agriculture, Svedanje has been 

 greatly diminished. It is practised now to a very limited 

 extent in the Lan or district of Nyland, in which Helsing- 

 fors is situated, and in that of Abo, and throughout the 

 greater part of Tavastehus Lan to the north-east and north 

 of these districts, and of Wasa, on the coast of the Gulf of 

 Bothnia, and the greater portion of the Uleaborg Lan. It 

 may be said to be in these districts practised only occa- 

 sionally, as on the uprooting of clumps of trees growing 

 in the middle of a field or meadow, or with a view to 

 preparing pasture land for cattle. Consequently the pro- 

 duct of Svedanje in these districts is small, very small in 

 comparison with that obtained by the usual mode of 

 agriculture. Svedanje is not practised now in the eastern 

 Lans, except in Lans which are near the coast and in the 

 south, where, for example, in the south-west of Wyborg Lan 

 it is only occasionally practised; and at Borga, Wyborg, and 

 Nykyrka, it has been altogether abandoned. On the shores 

 of Lake Ladoga it is strictly prohibited, in consequence of 

 the scarcity of wood. In most other parts of the Lan where 

 it is still practised, this is done as a necessary, and at 

 present unavoidable, means of support. The produce of it in 

 Sackjarvi is in proportion to that otherwise obtained as 1 

 to 3. In other places it is as 1 to 2. In St. Michael's, 

 further to the west, it begins to be limited. The poverty 

 of the land, and the limited produce yielded by regular 

 agriculture, lead to the greater use of Svedanje. 



It is in consequence of the injurious effects of the prac- 

 tice that it has been thus limited. 



This mode of culture has been observed to impoverish 

 the soil so much that the forest destroyed is not always 

 replaced by a new growth, and now only in districts where 

 the uneven and stony condition of the ground renders it 

 difficult to carry out regular husbandry does it still prevail. 



From what is said by W. von Schubert in his ' Resa- 

 genom Sverige Norrige, Lappland/ &c., published in 



