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rights which were earlier granted to encourage the develop- 
ment of the country, but which are now greatly in the way of 
establishing property rights and organizing an administration. 
Since i860 the State has been buying cut-over lands in order 
to plant them to forest where forest protection is needed, and 
from $15,000 to $20,000 a year has been spent in this way 
during recent years. 
The communal forests are supervised by the government, 
and are usually managed by the foresters with a view simply 
to supplying local needs. Sales outside the parishes are per- 
mitted only where there is more than enough for these needs. 
SWEDEN. 
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1 
Sweden has nearly 50,000,000 acres of forest, covering nearly 
50 per cent, of the total land area. Since the English import 
duties were abolished in 1866 the wood exports from Sweden 
have steadily increased, till now Sweden stands next to Russia, 
the world leader, in wood exports, with $54,000,000 worth a 
year, representing nearly 4,500,000 tons. England takes half 
of this, followed by France, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Cape 
Colony, Australia, and South America. The total cut from 
the forest is estimated to be near 1,000 million cubic feet. 
The State owns about 13,500,000 acres, or 33.2 per cent., and 
controls 4,000,000 acres more. The State lands are, in the 
main, of lesser commercial value, and this fact, together with 
the existence of logging rights granted in the past, keeps the 
net income for the present down to 12 cents an acre. Never- 
theless, since 1880 the net revenue from the State forests has 
risen from $300,000 to nearly $2,000,000 a year. 
Up to five hundred years ago Sweden was overburdened by 
forests, but by that time cutting and wasting had gone so far 
that the willful setting of forest fires was forbidden. In 1638 
overseers of communal forests were appointed in order to 
conserve supplies of wood for charcoal used in the iron in- 
dustry. A general law followed in 1647, and a director of 
forests in the two southern districts was appointed in 1720. 
All through the eighteenth century, restrictions upon forest 
use were in force. Toward the close of the century there was, 
indeed, a premature scare over a possible timber famine. Yet, 
despite this legislation, and much legislation which followed, 
waste continued to go on. While measures were being passed 
to conserve the forests, the communal forests and town forests 
were actually being sold. It was not till the law of 1903, 
which went into effect in January, 1905, that a satisfactory 
policy was secured. In general, this requires the practice of 
forestry. As in Russia, provincial forest protection commit- 
tees have to approve the local felling plans. A diameter limit 
is set, below which trees may not be cut. Clearings are for- 
