124 



Canadian Forestry Journal. 



with prodigal activity, and, until com- 

 paratively recently, no steps have been 

 taken in these countries to ensure the 

 continuance of the forests on the denud- 

 ed areas. When a coniferous forest is 

 felled it is an easy matter to secure the 

 presence on the same area of a young 

 wood of the same or of an equally valu- 

 able species. This may be done either 

 by arranging the fellings in such a way 

 that the denuded ground, while still in a 

 receptive condition, is naturally sup- 

 plied with seed, or by artificially sowing 

 or planting the area. But in Scandin- 

 avia and Russia no such steps have been 

 taken in the vast forests from which 

 much of Britain's supplies are drawn. 

 I say deliberately "have been taken," 

 for steps are now being taken, and will 

 no doubt be taken to a greater extent in 

 future, to secure better results, but the 

 vast areas of forest land that have 

 already been cleared are at present 

 almost a wilderness. Even under im- 

 proved methods of regeneration, one 

 must not forget that in the great forest 

 lands of Sweden and Russia, situated as 

 they are in high latitudes, tree growth 

 is very slow, so slow indeed that a pine 

 or spruce is no larger at 150 years of age 

 than would be the case in Central Europe 

 at half this age. 



^ Professor Schwappach, of Eberswalde, 

 as a result of his visit to the forests of 

 Russia in 1901, has supplied us with a 

 vivid picture of the condition of things 

 in that covmtry. From his report I may 

 make the following tran.slat ion: 



"It is to be noted that in these north- 

 em districts, where the temperature is 

 low and the air moist, the soil is con- 

 cealed beneath a thick layer of raw 

 humus, which in spruce forests bears a 

 covering of moss, and, in pine woods, of 

 blaeberry and similar plants. When the 

 trees are felled it takes at least six to 

 eight years before the humus is suf- 

 ficiently decomposed to permit of seed- 

 ling pines and spruces establishing them- 

 selves. In the interval the birch and 

 aspen occupy the ground in enormous 

 quantities, while grass and other herb- 

 aceous weeds form a matted mass on 

 the surface. As no attention is given to 

 protecting such young conifers as may 

 have sprung up they are rapidly choked 

 out by the vigorous competing vegeta- 

 tion. Where the soil is wet the forma- 



1 Schwappach. Forstliche Reisebilder aus 

 Russland, Zeit. f. Forst und Jagdwesen, 1902. 



tion of peat begins directly a forest is 

 cleared ; Pol5rtrichum and Sphagnum 

 rapidly occupy the surface, and on such 

 an area young pines are scarce, while 

 spruces are entirely absent. Further 

 south, between St. Petersburg and 

 Moscow, peat does not form so rapidly, 

 but for some reason or another natural 

 reproduction is so rare that the most 

 diligent search only resulted in finding a 

 pine seedling here and there Aspen and 

 birch, on the other hand, spring up 

 quickly and grow vigorou.sly." There 

 are signs of the State doing more in the 

 future than in the past to secure re- 

 generation of the denuded areas, but 

 there would appear to be no doubt that 

 from the areas already cleared practic- 

 ally no second crop can be expected. 



M. Melard, the distinguished French 

 forest statistician, in the review of the 

 world's timber supply that he presented 

 to the International Congress of Silvi- 

 culture in Paris in 1900,^ points out thai 

 "In Russia population is increasing at 

 a faster rate than in any European 

 country," and continues^ "When in the 

 middle of the twentieth century Russia 

 will have a hundred and fifty million of 

 inhabitants, when its smelting furnaces, 

 cotton mills and indvistrial enterprises of 

 all kinds have extended as far as we have 

 every reason to expect, its timber ex- 

 ports will have ceased, and it will be 

 fortunate if Russian forests have been so 

 carefully managed as to supply her o^vn 

 local wants." Speaking at a Conference 

 held in London in 1907 Sir William 

 Schlich pointed out that although 

 timber-exports from Finland had in- 

 creased of recent years, those from 

 Russia proper had actually decreased, 

 a state of things that seems to confirm 

 M. Melard's forecast of seven years 

 previously. With regard to Finland 

 Schlich said: 



"It is asserted by the Forest Staff of 

 Finland that already the increment of 

 the Finnish forests is smaller than the 

 annual cuttings by twenty per cent, 

 which is not a very cheerful prospect. "- 



I regret that I have no Schwappach, 

 Schlich or Melard to quote in regard to 

 the condition of things in Sweden, but 

 at p. 620 of the volume on the industries 

 of that country, edited by G. Sundborg, 



1 English Trans, bv Fisher in Trans. Eng. 

 Arb. Soc. Vol. iv. p. 386. 



2 Report of a Conference on the subject of 

 Afforestation, 1907, p. 13. 



