220 Russia. 
dollars, in 1887 of 1214 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 fact, 
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 these. 
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 the 
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 p It is d that 30 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 1c. per cubic foot, The highest price paid in the Vistula 
district was 2.5 cents, which scales down to 1c. in Siberia and to one-third cent 
in the Caucasus. This refers to stumpage, nearly all sales being made on the 
p to wood b by bids, the trees being marked in some parts, in others 
the area only being desi, ed. The portation is almost entirely by river. 
From 1883 to 1901 the net revenue from the State forests increased from 16 to 
47 million 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. 
