Forestry in Russia. 



103 



the conifers have often been exterminated by forest fires. In 

 the south, oak. ash, elm, lime, and sycamore constitute the 

 bulk of the forests. 



In Finland, as in Scandinavia, Prof. Schwappach observed 

 that the Scots pine has a habit somewhat different from that 

 which it assumes in Germany. The stem is straighter, while 

 the shape of the crown somewhat resembles that of the spruce. 

 The lower branches die off sooner, so that the stems are 

 strikingly clean grown. Prof. Mayr has also called attention 

 to this state of things, and attributes the earlier death of the 

 lower branches to the fact that in a cold climate they cannot 

 stand so much shading as is the case further south. 



It is curious and interesting to note that in Finland the 

 Scots pines are considerably damaged by the shepherds, who 

 strip off the bark and use the cambium and soft bast as an 

 article of food. 



Everything is done on a large scale in Russia. The main 

 forest divisions, each of which is placed under an officer, 

 average over 150,000 acres each, whereas the corresponding 

 unit in Germany is five to ten thousand acres. 



Since 1895 a rough forest survey has been undertaken in 

 this way, that rides 13 feet wide, running north and south 

 and east and west, have been cut through the forests, so that 

 the whole area has been laid out in rectangles of nearly 

 20,000 acres each. In the more accessible regions the 

 sub-division has been carried somewhat further. By 

 traversing these rides, and taking note of the character of the 

 timber that adjoins them, a rough estimate can be formed of 

 the volume of the growing stock. 



Growth in the northern regions is slow, and in estimating 

 the productive capacity of Russian forests this fact has to be 

 kept carefully in view. Conifers do not reach a useful size 

 under i50*years, while, as regards height, the maximum for 

 the spruce may be put at 90 feet, and for the Scots pine at 

 10 feet less. The heaviest class of stems is formed by trees 

 having a diameter at breast height of 18 to 30 inches, and of 

 this class there are not usually more than one or two speci- 

 mens on an acre. The bulk of the crop consists of much 

 smaller stems, of which there are usually about 50-60 per acre. 



