Cauddidu Forcstifi Journal. Scplcnihcr, 1917 



1307 



Russia in the Wood Market 



The eyes of the world are upon 

 Russia, not only because of the 

 perilous turns of military fortune 

 following the Revolution but from the 

 sudden ilood of publicity relating to 

 trade opportunities after the war. 

 Writing of the Economic Resources 

 of the Russian Empire, Mr. Ernest 

 H. Godfrey F.S.S. takes some in- 

 teresting statements from a recent 

 article by Baron HeyKing, Consul 

 General for Russia in the United 

 Kingdom, and makes comparisons 

 with Canada. As Russia is certain 

 to offer much greater competition to 

 Canada in the export lumber trade 

 of the world, the Journal reproduces 

 the following excerpts: 



"The north of Russia is covered 

 with large stretches of forest land, 

 much of which has not been properly 

 surveyed. Apparently there are no 

 estimates of the quantities of timber 

 available; but Baron HeyKing con- 

 siders that the supplies are practically 

 inexhaustible and that Russia is 

 bound to become the chief source of 

 supplies of timber for building, navi- 

 gation, wood pulp and other purposes. 

 Next to the grain trade comes timber 

 as an article of export from Russia; 

 and it is stated that for the year 

 1906-10 the average annual exports 

 of timber from Russia were 164,516 

 tons from the port of Libau, 633,709 

 tons from Archangel, 962,903 tons 

 from Petrograd-Cronstadt and 262,- 

 903 tons from Windau. 



In area. Baron HeyKing informs us, 

 the Russian Empire extends over half 

 of the continent of Europe and a third 

 of the continent of Asia and comprises 

 not less than 8,760,000 square miles. 

 The Dominion of Canada embraces 

 an area of 3,729,665 square miles; 

 so that Canada, large as it is, is only 

 equal to about two-fifths of the great 

 Russian Empire, which in size is 

 second only to the British Empire, 

 now placed at something like 13 

 million square miles. The Russian 

 Empire stretches over 163 geographi- 

 cal degrees from west to east and over 



35 degrees from north to south. It is 

 larger than the United States, Canada 

 and India combined and more than 

 twice the size of the continent of 

 Europe. If, in area, Russia and 

 Canada present so great a contrast, 

 in population the contrast is greater 

 still. The Russian Empire contains 

 a population which Baron HeyKing 

 places at 186 millions, which is equal 

 to that of the whole American con- 

 tinent and Australia or to the com- 

 bined population of the United King- 

 dom, France, Japan and Italy. The 

 population of the British Empire 

 exceeds 440 millions. Canada, with 

 a population of a little over 8 millions, 

 has a density of less than 2 per square 

 mile; the average density over the 

 whole Russian Empire is about 20 

 per square mile, the figures for 

 European Russia being, however, 

 about 72 and for Asiatic Russia about 

 4 per square mile. Yet notwithstand- 

 ing the great differences between 

 Russia and Canada, which these 

 figures represent in favour of the 

 former, the case is altered when we 

 examine the degree in which each 

 country has developed its resources. 

 Both countries have enormous poten- 

 tialities; but the Dominion of Canada 

 with its comparatively small popula- 

 tion has made much greater progress 

 in the development of national re- 

 sources. According to the Russian 

 Statistical Annual the railway mileage 

 of Russia in 1914 was not more than 

 about 39,000 which represents only 

 three miles of railway to every 10,000 

 inhabitants and under half a mile to 

 every 100 square miles of territory. 

 In Canada, for the same year, the 

 railway mileage was 30,795, a. 38}4 

 miles for every 10,000 persons and 

 0.8 of a mile for every 100 square 

 miles of territory. This contrast is 

 sufficient to indicate how backward 

 the great Russian Empire is in the 

 means by which its products must be 

 made available for distribution, and 

 what a vast field there is for enter- 

 prise and capital in this one direction. 



