142 FORESTS OF SIBERIA AND TURKESTAN 



district of Karacalin. In these hill-forests the archa 

 (juniper) appears, and is often of considerable size, 

 58 feet high and 2 feet 11 inches in diameter at the 

 surface of the ground. The mountain maple, noted 

 for the hardness of its wood, also occurs. In the 

 Merosk and Tedzhensk districts copses of pistachio- 

 nut trees exist. On the banks of the rivers, which 

 overflow in the spring-time, forests of poplars and 

 tamarisks help to keep the banks stable, and are 

 thus of considerable importance. 



Having regard to the extensive area over which 

 these Asiatic Russian forests are spread, it will be of 

 interest now to glance briefly at the nature of the staff 

 and present organisation and protection afforded to 

 the areas. Up to January i, 1912, the State forests 

 were divided, for administrative purposes, into 192 

 divisions (lesnitchestva) under the control of 9 Boards 

 of Agriculture and State Lands : viz. those of Tobolsk, 

 Tomsk, Enessey, Irkutsk, Amur, Omsk, Turkestan, 

 Uralsk, and Turgai. According to the estimate for 

 1914, the staff of the local forest administration was 

 to consist of 583 officials, namely 35 forest inspectors, 

 222 foresters, 68 assistants, and 258 forest guards — a 

 staff which cannot be said to err on the liberal side, 

 and will need a great deal of strengthening when the 

 work of exploiting the forests is commenced on a 

 large scale. 



In addition it was laid down for 1914 that another 

 170 officials were to be employed on the work of 

 exploring and organising the forests. These additional 



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