FORESTRY OF JAPAN. 6? 



The season of felling of trees has a close connection with 

 the situation of the forest and with the existence or non-exis- 

 tence of the advanced means of transportation but generally, 

 the season of felling of trees in Japan are seven months 

 beginning with the autumnal equinox to March of the next 

 year. In Hokkaido and the northern' part of Honshu, where 

 grounds are covered with snow for nearly one half of the year, 

 they set about felling of trees with the beginning of the snow 

 season, and slide down the logs to the banks of the rivers on 

 the snow, and thence in spring, when the snow begins to melt 

 and the rivers swell, the logs are floated down the stream. 

 There are of course not a few forests which are worked through- 

 out the year, for instance, the forest which produces charcoals 

 or materials for some industries, are usually worked throughout 

 the year. 



The timber felled in forests are brought to the final market 

 through various procedures according to the condition and 

 customs of the place. The transport of the timber is divided 

 into two stages. The first is the transport of timber from the 

 felling place to the timber depot, and the second is the 

 transport from that timber depot to the final market by the 

 organs of communication. In the first stage of transport, the 

 means employed from the old times has chiefly been, from 

 the geographical condition, floating on the river. This is 

 due to the geographical situation of the Japanese forests, most 

 of which are, as explained before, on the side of the steep 

 mountain slopes. In such places, the construction of cart roads 

 can not in most cases be hoped for. The forest roads are made 

 in the upper course of the river,' and the timber is brought to 



