io8 THE FORESTS OF FINLAND 



growing stock, i.e. whether, owing to insufficient 

 demand in the past, or to a scanty population, to their 

 inaccessibility, or the existence of forests in the country 

 with better export facilities, these forests have been 

 left unexploited up to now. It is forests of this nature 

 which the world has been busily cutting out for over 

 a century, and more especially since the advent of steam 

 communication. The greater part of them have been 

 already exploited or ruined by fire and other causes. 

 Tracts of considerable size and practically untouched 

 do, however, exist ; and Russia probably owns the 

 greatest area of them in Europe. A considerable 

 portion of these forests are managed by the State 

 Forestry Department of the country, and, save in 

 the more densely populated parts, the fellings made 

 annually in these areas have been far below the possi- 

 bility ; in other words, want of demand or of export 

 facilities have rendered it impossible to remove the 

 annual amount of timber which proper forest conser- 

 vancy and a correct management of the areas on finan- 

 cial lines would indicate and justify. Russia proper 

 has been already dealt with. There remain Finland 

 and Siberia, both of which contain vast tracts of such 

 forests, some more accessible than others. It is pro- 

 posed here to confine ourselves to a consideration of 

 the forests of Finland, which, owing to their proximity 

 to the sea and their comparative accessibility, should, 

 if the matter is managed on statesmanlike lines, prove 

 of incomparable value to the AlHes in the near future. 

 Finland forms the N.W. corner of Russia in Europe ; 

 it is bounded on the south by the Gulf of Finland ; 

 the lower half of its western shore is washed by the 



