Forest Conditions. 221 
In the more southern tiers (excepting the Caucasus) 
forest covers only 20% of the land area, sinking below 
1% in the steppes and less than 14 acre per capita. 
The northern provinces, where the population is 
sparse, are the basis of an active wood trade for export, 
and the territory is being repeatedly devastated by fires, 
which sweep over large areas without check. 
The northern forest, the most important economic 
factor, is composed principally of Scotch Pine with only 
slight admixtures of spruce, larch and fir, and more fre- 
quently White Birch. Open stand, comparatively poor 
development, and slow growth, characteristic of northern 
climate, reduce its productive capacity, while frequent 
bogs and other natural waste places outside of those pro- 
duced by mismanagement reduce its productive area by 
not less than 20 per cent. 
Toward the south, deciduous species become more fre- 
quent, oak becoming the prevaling timber and forming 
forests, with beech, maple, ash and elm as admixtures. 
As the plains are approached pure deciduous forest 
indicates the change of climate. The forest of the 
Caucasus is principally of coniferous composition. 
2. Ownership. 
The larger part of the forest area of European Russia 
is in control of-the Crown or State, namely, nearly 380 
million acres, or over two-thirds of the whole, and a sim- 
ilar amount in Asia, besides the so-called appanage for- 
ests of 14 million acres set aside for the support of the 
court. 
This area (in Europe and Asia) of round 680 million 
acres (estimated) is, however, not the exclusive property 
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