. 
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. 113 
counted by a simple process of sending a quantity into a 
space which will just contain one or two thousand. The 
ingress is then closed, the trees are bound together in 
gonki, floats, of from 300 to 1000, by means of branches 
and ropes, and these prams are then carefully floated down 
to Anda, the highest water-mills belonging to the Com; 
pany, or straight down to Ponga, opposite the town of 
Onega, where the steam saw-mills of the Company are 
situated. I hear that Anda has now also asteam saw-mill, 
so that the Onega Wood Company has three steam saw- 
mills at work. 
‘ Porog is the Russian for rapid, Podporog signifies below 
the rapids; up to this village the river is not influenced by 
the tide; lower down, or below the rapids, it is. 
‘The trees are then hauled out of the water. This 
process is done by the engine itself, or, when the trees are 
to be stacked, by a couple of horses. The ends of a long 
rope are attached to the stack, to the centre of this rope a 
rope is fastened, this loop is then passed round the tree, 
being slipped on over the trees when they are in the water 
by the Vikatchick ; the horses are then driven forward, and 
the tree rolls up the incline, held at its two ends by the rope. 
‘The sawing is a process of some nicety, and requires 
great judgment. In an accompanying diagram I have 
drawn the various dimensions of trees at the thin end, seven 
to ten vershocks, The seven vershock trees produce only 
French boards—these are only exported to France ; few in 
comparison go to England. The 11-inch boards are more in 
demand in England. I said it is a matter of some nicety 
to saw a tree up well. The heart-shake must lie in one 
of the boards. If the mitick (heart-shake) runs parallel 
through the tree well and good ; if, however, it has a twist 
and is at the other end at right angles, that log is of no 
use as timber, and can only be used for building. If a 
board were sawn out of it it would fall to pieces. The 
sawyer takes pains to choose his trees much of a size, and 
so to arrange them as to get as many saws through the log 
as he can. 
I 
