NATIONAL ASPECTS OF FORESTRY 25 



In spite of immense areas of barren rock, swamp, and 

 waste, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Norway contain an area 

 of estimated forest land somewhat exceeding 500,000,000 

 acres. Throiigliout this vast tract of country the popu- 

 lation probably does not exceed on an average 50 head 

 per square mile, while domestic cattle are equally scarce. 

 The importance of this forest belt to Europe generally, 

 and Great Britain in particular, probably lies less in the 

 actual stock of timber it contains, or the quantity it 

 exports at the present time, than in the fact that it is 

 essentially adapted by Nature for timber-growing, and for 

 very little else. Long, severe winters, rocky and uneven 

 ground, and the inaccessibility of a large proportion of its 

 surface to the ordinary trader or merchant, practically 

 preclude the possibility of agricultural or industrial 

 development, except, perhaps, in a few mining centres. 

 This fact is of special importance in connection with 

 present or future planting operations on a large scale 

 in this country, and more particularly when it is taken 

 into account that spruce and Scots pine form the bulk 

 of the timber grown in Scandinavia and Northern 

 Russia, and these, or closely allied species, can alone be 

 used on poor land in Britain. Fire, reckless cutting, and 

 a general neglect of regenerative measures may imperil 

 the productivity of this natural forest area for a time, but 

 sooner or later, as its value as a national asset becomes 

 more clearly recognised, more effective measures for its 

 perpetuation will be formed, and, as a matter of fact, 

 much in this direction has already been accomplished. 



The answers to the questions propounded above may, 

 therefore, be generally answered as follows : — 



1. The annual domestic consumption of timber per 

 head of population in any country may be roughly 

 estimated at 5 to 10 cubic feet, or the average yield of 

 from one-fourth to one-half of an acre of forest under 

 systematic management. This quantity is exceeded in 



