42 



verst, or one mark, equal to tenpence sterling, per Finnish mile of 

 ten versts, or between six and seven miles English. At the hotel 

 (Hotel Nordin) every assistance will be courteously given to the 

 traveller. 



At Wyborg there may be found facilities for visiting the famous 

 Falls of Imatra. These I visited many years ago, long before these 

 facilities were created ; and I have given an account of my visit to 

 them in a volume on the " Hydrology of South Africa," pp. 24 26. 



In the issue of the Queen, the Lady's Newspaper, for October 12 

 last, is a cut representing a sketch of the falls, but one which I would 

 never have recognised as such. It is accompanied by the following 

 account of them : 



" Fir land, with its boundary of bold and precipitous granite cliffs, and its 

 magnificent forest, lake, and mountain scenery, may be called the Switzerland 

 of Scandinavia, and is a favourite resort for Russian tourists during the short 

 but genial northern summer. One of the most frequented sights are the 

 Imatra Rapids, which have been made easily accessible by a company which 

 provides every accommodation for travellers. The rapids are formed by the 

 river Wuoksi, which joins the Lake Saima with Lake Ladoga. On its way it 

 has to traverse the mountain side of Salpansfelka, in a furrow 140 feet wide. 

 Through this narrow channel of about three thousand feet length, with a fall 

 of sixty-three feet, sixty-seven millions of cubic feet of water force their way 

 every hour; and the grandness of the sight may be imagined when we learn 

 that within the same time the Niagara Fall sends only about forty-two million 

 cubic feet into the basin below. 



" High above the present bed of the rapids the roaring waters have hollowed 

 out immense caverns in the adjoining rock, which show the progress of the 

 river tunnelling from immemorial times. The communication between the 

 two banks is effected by means of a wire rope, 170 feet long, and only three 

 and three-eighths of an inch in diameter, along which a basket runs,with room 

 for two passengers. On the spot where the rush of the waters has attained its 

 greatest velocity, a pavilion erected on a rock affords shelter to enjoy the sight 

 iu comparative comfort." 



A journey of four hours by rail will bring the traveller from Wyborg 

 to St. Petersburg. 



A perusal of what has been stated in the article on the School of 

 Forestry at Evois, which appeared in this Journal last year (vol. i., pp. 

 545 551 and 701 707), may suffice to give some idea of the present 

 state of forestry in Finland ; and therefore here there is brought under 

 consideration only the practice of Roehden, as it is there called, that 

 of burning a portion of the forest for the temporary culture of 

 cereals, differing thus from the extensive clearing away of forests 

 for permanent occupation and agriculture. It consists in simply 

 cutting down the trees on a spot which the people design to cultivate, 

 and burning upon this the felled trees, that the ground may be 

 fertilized with the ashes. The ground is then sown with rye, barley, 



