WOOD SUPPLY OF GERMANY, ITALY AND ASIA. 115 



Reckless felling by the Venetians led to the washing away of the 

 surface soil, until the country for twenty miles north of Trieste 

 was reduced to bare rock. Forty years ago the Austrian Govern- 

 ment began a costly system of reafforestation. 



Asia. Turning from Europe to Asia, we find undoubtedly a 

 large supply of Larch (Ldrix sibtrica), Pine, Spruce (Picea 

 cephdlonica), Birch, and other species in Siberia ; but, unless the 

 Amoor can, to some extent, play the part of the St. Lawrence, 

 the difficulty of transport will be insuperable. Neither China, 

 the interior of which probably suffers much from the effects of 

 disafforesting, nor Japan, hold out any prospect of any large 

 export either of common or of choice woods, whilst, except 

 perhaps in the remote future to western North America, cost of 

 freight would put the former class of timber out of the question. 



In Japan, where forest conservancy dates from the third century 

 A.D., half the area of the country, or about 47,000,000 acres, are 

 stated to be forest, yielding more than 1 20 species of valuable 

 timbers, of which the Nikko Silver Fir (A'bies homolepis S. and Z.) 

 and Saghalien Fir (A. sachalinensis Masters) are the cheapest, 

 and Hi-no-ki (Cuprtssus obtusa Koch) and Ke-ya-ki (Zelkdwa 

 acumindta Planchon) are the most expensive. 



India. Taking British India as 480 million acres, 40 million, 

 or one-twelfth of the whole area, are forest. In spite, however, 

 of the enormous local consumption for fuel and the increasing 

 demand for railway-sleepers, India produces such a variety of 

 valuable ornamental and dense Hardwoods that conservation is 

 likely to enable her long to continue her exportation. In 1899- 

 1900 she exported Teak to the value of over 600,000, but her 

 supply of cheap softwood for tea-chests, etc., is hardly equal to the 

 demand. At the same time many of her ornamental furniture 

 woods might well be more largely used in Europe. 



Such woods as Pynkadoo or Miraboo (Afzelia palembdnica), 

 Kranji (Didlium indicum), and Tampinnis (Slottia siderdxylon), in 

 the Malay Peninsula, the Lauan (Dipterocdrpus thurifer) and Acle 

 (Xylia dolabriformis) of the Philippines, and the Rassak (Fdtica 

 Bdssak), Billian (Eusidervxylon Zwdgeri), and Compass (Kcempdssia 



