stony. Until quite recently, even long after exten- 

 sive state Forests had been set aside, it was the be- 

 lief of a majority of the people (and the Govern- 

 ment) that the forests should be cleared away and 

 that the land should be farmed. In spite of all of the 

 encouragement that could be given the farmed and 

 grazed lands have not, in many decades, produced 

 anywhere nearly sufficient food to satisfy the na- 

 tion's needs. It has only been within the last 25 

 or 30 years that the real value of the forests to the 

 nation has been realized. 



The Finnish Forestry Department was created in 

 1863. To it was entrusted the care and management 

 of the 32,078,457 acres of state owned forested lands. 

 Of this large area (approximately one-third of Fin- 

 land's total area) only 13,723,723 acres (43 per cent) 

 is classed as good quality forest land. The rest is 

 either swamp, poor sand or rock, and is either barren 

 or covered by a poor stand of tree growth. The 

 first duty of the Finnish Forestry Department was 

 to protect, especially from fire and trespass, these 

 state forest lands. In doing so the Forest Depart- 

 ment officials had to face the vigorous hostility of 

 the people for the latter had long considered the 

 cutting or burning of the state forests as within their 

 personal rights. During the earlier part of its exis- 

 tence, the Forestry Department was also hampered 

 by small appropriations ($107,000 for the year 1870), 

 the first income for that year being $51,000. The 

 annual appropriation was increased gradually until 

 in 1900 it amounted to $239,000 and in the mean- 

 time the annual forest income had reached $1,024,000 



25 



