320 Russia, 



dollars, in 1887 of ISi/g million, in 1897 of 50 million 

 dollars. 



This assertion, that the era of over-cutting has actu- 

 ally arrived, may be made in spite of the stated faci^ 

 that in the northern provinces only two-fifths of what 

 is supposed to be a proper felling budget, is cut and 

 marketed.* The same reasons that operate with us con- 

 tribute to wasteful practices, namely uneven distribution 

 of forest and population. 



The two most northern provinces of Archangel and 

 Vologda, in size equal to all Germany, are wooded to the 

 extent of 75 and 89 per cent, respectively, while the 

 14 northern provinces contain nearly one-half the 

 entire forest area. Here the forest covers 64 per cent, 

 of the land area, and nowhere below 20 per cent., 

 and the acreage per capita ranges from 3 to over 200. 



*An idea of the productive conditions may be gathered from the estimates which 

 have been made for the State forests and the operations in^hese. 



In the two northern provinces, in which the state owns nearly'the entire forest 

 area it is estimated that 8 cubic feet per acre would be available felling budget, 

 but only 10 per cent, of this is actually cut and sold. Outside of this territory 

 the available felling budget is calculated at 24 cubic feet per acre, but only 60 per 

 cent, or 14 cubic feet is being cut. Altogether in 1898 there were cut in the State 

 forests (somewhat over 300 million acres), 1,860 million cubic feet, say 6 cubic feet 

 per acre or 40 per cent, of the estimated proper felling budget. 



An estimate of the cut in the communal forests with 12 cubic feet, in tfa* 

 peasants holdings with 20 cubic feet, and in the private forests with 40 cubic feet 

 per acre, brings the total for the country to round 10 billion cubic feet, worth round 

 100 million dollars for stumpage. It is assumed that SO cubic feet should be the 

 annual increment per acre, when it would appear that only 70 per cent, of the 

 increment is cut. 



The cut in the State forests was sold for 21 million dollars (1898), or at an 

 average of less than Ic. per cubic foot. The highest price paid in the Vistula 

 district was 2.5 cents, which scales down to Ic. in Siberia and to one-third cent 

 in the Caucasus. This refers to stumpage, nearly all sales being made on the 

 stump to wood merchants'by bids, the trees being marked in some parts, in others 

 the area only being designated. The transportation is almost entirely by river. 

 From 1883 to 1901 the net revenue from the State forests increased from 16 to 

 47 miUion dollars, while the expenditures dropped from 29 per cent, of the gross 

 revenue to 18.4 per cent. The gross result is 46 cents per acre. 



