19 



is rendered easier by the railway running longitudinally through the area, 

 along which smaller sawmills are met with on the banks of the rivers. 

 Owing to the smalmess of the individual watercourses, larger sawmills 

 are not to be found even on the coast, the smaller timber cut from 

 the area for sale being sent in an unrefined state chiefly abroad. 

 The Central Finland lake area (area 6 in Fig. 

 5) comprises the huge basin bounded by the Suomenselka, Sal- 

 pausselka and Maanselka watersheds, the waters of which flow 

 through the Kokemaenjoki (Kumo) river into the Gulf of Both- 

 nia, through the Kymi river into the Gulf of Finland and 

 through the Vuoksi (Vuoksen) and the smaller rivers further north 

 into Lake Ladoga. The wide lake-basin of Lake Saima with the con- 

 nected waters is also in direct communication with the Gulf of Fin- 

 land by means of the Saima Canal. The snowless period varies between 

 185 205 days and the birch is in leaf 125140 days. Examples 

 of the temperature are the following mean temperatures at Kuopio 

 (months as before): 7.4, .13.6, 16.4, 13. 5 and 8.8 C. The corresponding 

 figures at Jyvaskyla are 8.2, 13.7, 16.1 13.4 and 8.3 and at Tam- 

 pere (Tammerfors) 9.0, 14.6, 17. o, 14.5 and 9.7. Regarding the 

 average quality of land this area also divides in such a manner 

 that the least fertile lands are those near the watersheds mentioned 

 as confining the area. Particularly barren are the lands on the eastern 

 border of the area (with the exception of the southern end), these 

 lands forming a wide belt which comprises chiefly heath-forests. The 

 reverse of the latter are the many wide grove-forest areas, >>centres 

 of grove-forests, of which the most important are the Sortavala 

 centre on the northern shore of Lake Ladoga, the Hollola centre 

 around the southern ends of Lakes Vesijarvi and Paijanne, the Pirk- 

 kala centre beside the Kokemaenjoki river water-system and the Kuo- 

 pio centre in North-Savo. The proportions of quality, the size of the 

 area and the wealth of waters combine to make this area the most 

 important of all the forest-management areas in Finland, which 

 importance will increase the higher the productivity of the forests 

 is raised by improvements in their condition. The fact is that parti- 

 cularly in this area, the forests need regulating in the matter of the 

 species of tree composing them, and in their age-classes. Further, 

 the unproductive portion of the forest lands needs afforesting. Good 

 forests, are found in the area, however, in abundance, particularly 

 on the lands owned by the Joint Stock Companies and on State land, 

 especially in the eastern parts of the area. Within the area there 

 are many comparatively large sawmills and other works for the re- 

 fining of Avood, but the greatest part of the timber cut in the area 

 for sale or refinement is sent to the large industrial works at the 

 mouths of the rivers mentioned and the Saima Canal. Smaller tim- 

 ber, including fuelwood, is sent also as such abroad. 



