FORESTS IN EUROPEAN RUSSIA 83 



a striking illustration : Only some 4 per cent, of 

 Russian houses are built of stone ; 30 per cent, have 

 plank roofs, 70 per cent, thatch or wooden tile roofs, 

 and only J per cent, have iron or metal roofing ! 



The forests in European Russia and the Caucasus 

 have been demarcated approximately and their con- 

 tents ascertained. Those in her Asiatic territories, 

 which are still vaster, are but little known. In their 

 eastern parts and in portions of Western Siberia, 

 investigations have been made to determine the extent 

 and contents of the forests. But much remains to be 

 explored. In the Caucasus 16 per cent, of the total 

 area is under woods, these latter covering approxi- 

 mately 19,354,000 acres. The greater part of these 

 forests extend along the Black Sea region, half of the 

 area of the two Governments of the Black Sea and 

 Kontais being afforested. In European Russia 

 510,300,000 acres are afforested, representing 39 per 

 cent, of the whole country or, omitting Finland (which 

 has 63 per cent, of its area under woods), there is still 

 37 per cent, of European Russia under forest. If the 

 large lakes, marshes, etc., are excluded 33 per cent, of 

 Russia in Europe may be taken as afforested— a high 

 percentage. As regards the distribution of Russia's 

 European forests, the north is well wooded, whilst the 

 steppes of the centre are nearly free of woody vegeta- 

 tion. The south is less well wooded than the north, 

 its average being about 20 per cent. In the north 

 two-thirds of the forests are principally found in the 

 following seven governorships — Archangel, Vologda, 

 Olonetz, Novgorod, Kostroma, Viatka, and Perm. The 

 Governments of Archangel and Vologda alone cover 



