946 



Notes on Agriculture Abroad. 



[FEB., 



Area of Forests in Russia.— Mr. Consul A. W. Woodhouse, in his 

 Report on the Foreign Commerce of Russia (F. O. Reports, Annual 

 Series, No. 4370) draws particular attention to the vast resources of the 

 Empire which are still awaiting development in the forests of Northern 

 Russia and Siberia. It is reported that within ten years the forests 

 in the United States will no longer be able to supply the demand for 

 wood pulp for the manufacture of paper. It is fair to presume that 

 long before that time the production of wood pulp in Russia will have 

 developed into an important industry. At present the production of 

 this commodity is insignificant. 



According to the latest available figures the State iorests in 1907 

 covered the following areas: — European Russia, 228,973,200 acres; 

 Caucasus, 8,451,650 acres, and Asiatic Russia (surveyed), 192,661,000 

 acres, a total of 430 million acres surveyed, and in addition there are 

 some 465,000,000 acres of unsurVeyed forest land in Asiatic Russia. 



The total output of timber from the State forests in 1907 was 

 1,286,560,000 cubic feet, and the total amount realised by the Department 

 of Forestry on the sale of timber, rent of land, &c, was ;£6, 3 16,077. 

 The expenditure, including ^168,000 for felling and sawing logs, &c, 

 amounted to ^1,304,100, which left a profit of ^5,011,977. Six million 

 pounds worth of this timber was sold to dealers as standing timber, 

 and the greater part of it was eventually exported in the shape 

 of logs, deals, battens, pit-props, &c. It is noteworthy that the re- 

 afforestation of the State lands more than compensates for the quan- 

 tities annually cut down. 



Apart from the above-mentioned timber lands which belong exclu- 

 sively to the State, there are other forests in European Russia, having 

 an area of 200,000,000 acres. 



Visitors to Kew Gardens during 1909. — The number of persons 

 who visited the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, during the year 1909 was 

 3,360,221. These figures represent an increase of 397,507 visitors over 

 the year 1907, when the numbers were 2,962,714, which was the largest 

 number previously recorded. 



The increased popularity of Kew Gardens during recent years is 

 shown by the steady annual growth in the number of visitors. The 

 average for the ten years 1893-1902 was 1,352,425, in 1907 that number 

 was more than doubled, and during the past year a further substantial 

 increase has taken place. 



Year. 



Sundays. 



Week-days. 



Total. 



T903 





568,726 



783,822 



1,3.52,548 



1904 





675,225 



904,441 



1,579,666 



I905 





853,631 



970,688 



1,824,319 



1906 





867,148 



1,472,344 



2,339,492 



1907 





1,268,501 



1,694,213 



2,962,714 



I908 





1,321,384 



1,388,836 



2,710,220 



1909 





I,3 8 4,369 



1,975,852 



3,360,221 



A feature of the year 1909 was the exceptionally large number of 

 persons visiting the gardens in August, no less than 1,016,114 being 

 recorded in that month. 



