

EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. Ill 



extend from the northern part of the Lake Latcha along 

 the river Onega, which flows out of this lake, to the small 

 village called Porog, where booms are placed across the 

 river to direct aright the floating timber. This is the 

 first district and it is that from which the largest and best 

 trees are obtained. The second district, Podporog as it 

 is called, is from Porog to the town of Onega. This 

 includes all the tributaries of the river Onega from its 

 source to its mouth. Kargopol is in the Olonetz Govern- 

 ment, 61 N. and 56^ E. of Greenwich. It is pro- 

 hibited to cut down any tree within six versts of the banks 

 of the river Onega or any of its tributaries ; this is in order 

 to prevent the earth along the banks of the rivers crumb- 

 ling away, and thus the rivers to shift their water-courses. 



' The Onega Wood Company have to pay what is called 

 hand-money, in a prepayment of 55 kopecs per tree for all 

 intended to be felled. Thus, if they intended to fell during 

 the following winter, for this always takes place by law 

 when the sap has gone into the roots and there is little 

 vegetable vital action in the tree, say 100,000 trees, they 

 would have to pay 55,000 roubles. 



* The Company make contracts with the peasants of the 

 various villages in their district to fell so many trees, this 

 being done not with a single individual, but with the whole 

 family, and this family have to get the trees from any 

 place in which they can find them beyond the prescribed 

 distance of six versts from the river, and to bring the log 

 to its banks : the only proviso made by the Company 

 being that the river, or rather rivulet, shall be able, when 

 the snows melt in the spring and the ice is gone, to float 

 the timber. 



' The Government make the additional proviso that the 

 tree shall be felled not higher from the root than one 

 arshine, or 28 inches, under penalty of twice the value of 

 the tree. The log is to be 16 arshines long, and by the 

 diameter at the smaller end the size of the tree is deter- 

 mined. The Company also make a stipulation with the 

 peasants that the log shall not have root-rot or lip, a place 



