jT 
 
\ 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIKT OR 
 
 Received __Jue_.. ...i884 
 Accessions No3^?2- She/f No. ' 
 
FORESTS AND FORESTRY 
 
 IN 
 
 POLAND, LITHUANIA, 
 
 THE UKRAINE, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE BALTIC PROVINCES OF RUSSIA, 
 
 WITH NOTICES OF THE EXPORT OF TIMBER FROM 
 MEMEL, DANTZIG, AND RIGA. 
 
 COMPILED BY 
 
 JOHN CROUMBIE BROWN, LL.D., &c. 
 
 '' ' -.^^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 OLIVER AND BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT 
 
 LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., 
 
 ANI> WILLIAM RIDER & SON. 
 
 MONTREAL: DAWSON BROTHERS. 
 
 1885, 
 

 <?> 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 IN the Spring of 1877 I published a Brochure entitled 
 The Schools of Forestry in Europe : a Plea for the Creation of a 
 School of Forestry in connection with the Arboretum in Edinburgh, 
 in which, with details of the arrangements made for 
 instruction in Forest Science in Schools of Forestry in 
 Prussia, Saxony, Hanover, Hesse, Darmstadt, Wurtemburg, 
 Bavaria, Austria, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, France, 
 Italy, and Spain, and details of arrangements existing 
 in Edinburgh for instruction in most of the subjects 
 included amongst preliminary studies, I submitted for 
 consideration the opinion 'that with the acquisition of 
 this Arboretum, and with the existing arrangements for 
 study in the University of Edinburgh, and in the Watt 
 Institution and School of Arts, there are required only 
 facilities for the study of what is known on the Continent 
 as Forest Science to enable these Institutions conjointly, 
 or any one of them, with the help of the others, to take a 
 place amongst the most completely equipped Schools of 
 Forestry in Europe, and to undertake the training of 
 foresters for the discharge of such duties as are now 
 required of them in India, in our Colonies, and at 
 home.' 
 
iv ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 At a meeting held on the 28th March 1883, presided 
 over by the Marquis of Lothian, it was resolved ' that it 
 is expedient in the interests of Forestry, and to promote a 
 movement for the establishment of a National School of 
 Forestry in Scotland, as well as with the view of furthering 
 and stimulating a greater improvement in the scientific 
 management of woods in Scotland and the sister countries, 
 which had manifested itself during recent years, that 
 there should be held in Edinburgh, during 1884, arid at 
 such season of the year as may be arranged, an 
 International Exhibition of Forest Products and other 
 objects of interest connected with Forestry.' 
 
 At a large and influential meeting held within the 
 Forestry Exhibition on the 8th of October 1884, it was 
 resolved to establish in Edinburgh a National School of 
 Forestry and a Museum connected therewith, and a 
 Committee was appointed to carry out the resolution. 
 
 In a note appended to a circular issued by this 
 Committee it was stated : 'The Committee feel a 
 difficulty in suggesting a definite scheme for the proposed 
 School of Forestry, until they have some knowledge of 
 the amount of funds which may be placed at their 
 disposal ; but, in the meantime, it may be sufficient to 
 state that they contemplate the establishment of a 
 Professorship of Forest Science, for the instruction of 
 students in all that pertains both to Practical and Scientific 
 
ADVERTISEMENT. V 
 
 Forestry including the physiology and pathology of trees. 
 the climatic and other effects produced by forests, the 
 different methods of forest management, the economic 
 uses to which forest products have been or may be 
 applied, forest engineering, and forest administration 
 generally. Instruction to be communicated by lectures, 
 examinations, excursions, &c. 
 
 ' A large collection of forest implements, produce, and 
 specimens, was, at the close of the Forestry Exhibition, 
 placed at the disposal of the Committee for use in 
 connection with the proposed Forest School ; and it is 
 the intention of the Committee, should their funds 
 permit, that that this collection should, with such 
 additions as may from time to time be available, be 
 placed in a permanent Museum in connection with the 
 School of Forestry.' 
 
 In furtherance of the same object the following volume 
 has been compiled for publication. 
 
 JOHN C. BROWN. 
 
 HADDINGTON, 15th May, 1885. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. POLAND. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. St. Petersburg to Poland, . . . 12 
 
 CHAPTER II. Forest Exploitation, . . . . 17 
 
 Ancient Laws (p. 17) ; Introduction of Modern Methods by 
 Baron von Berg in 1858 (p. 18) ; Exposition of Method 
 adopted, here known as the Scientific Method, in 
 Germany as Die Fachworke Method, in France as La 
 Methode des Compartiments (p. 19) ; Illustrations 
 of this by Col. Campbell- Walker (p. 29.) 
 
 CHAPTER I If. Area, Distribution, Management, and 
 
 Produce of Forests, ...... 35 
 
 Area and Distribution (p. 35) ; Management (p. 38) ; 
 Produce (p. 57.) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Schools of Forestry and Forest Literature, 60 
 CHAPTER V. Polish History, 66 
 
 PART II. LITHUANIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Lithuania and its People^ ... 93 
 
 CHAPTER IL Aspect of the Country, . . . 114 
 
 Governments of Grodno (p. 115) ; Wilna (p. 115) ; Kovno 
 (p. 117) ; Vitepsk (p. 119) ; Moghilev (p. 120) ; Minsk 
 (p. 122) ; Volhinia (p. 123) ; Pogdolia (p. 123.) 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 PAQK 
 
 CHAPTER III. Forests of the Dnieper, . . .126 
 
 Preliminary Statement (p. 126) ; Account by M. Polytaief 
 (p. 129) ; Summary (p. 129) ; Government of Smolensk 
 (p. 130) ; Government of Orel (p. 136) ; Transport of 
 Timber (p. 142) ; Wood Trade (p. 150) ; Sales from 
 Crown Estates (p. 156) ; Wood Trade in the Govern- 
 ment of Kursk (p. 165) ; Wood Trade in the 
 Government of Ekatherinoslav (p. 171) ; Wood Trade 
 in the Government of Kherson (p. 176) ; General 
 Remarks on the Forests in the Governments of 
 Kherson and Ekatherinoslav (p. ISO) ; Wood Trade in 
 the Government of Volhinia (p. 184) ; Forests in the 
 Government of Kiev, and their bearing on the Wood 
 Trade (p. 187.) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Forest Exploitation, . . . . 191 
 
 Forest Districts in Eussia and Exploitation (p. 191) ; 
 Transports on the Dnieper and Berezina (p. 194) ; Land 
 Reclamation (p. 199) ; Lithuanian Woodcraft (p. 200.) 
 
 CHAPTER V. The Jewish Population, . . 201 
 
 CHAPTER VI. Game, . . . . . 215 
 
 PART III. -THE UKRAINE OR LITTLE RUSSIA, . . 227 
 
 Import of Name (p. 227); Forests (p. 229); Batuiin 
 (p. 229) ; Kiev (p. 230) ; Appearance of the Country 
 (p. 233.) 
 
 PART IV. TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC, . . 235 
 
 Dantzig (p. 235) ; Report by Mr Quinn (p. 241) ; Transport 
 of Dantzig Wheat (p. 242) ; Konigsberg (p. 246) ; 
 Memel (p. 248) ; Riga (p. 251) ; Russian Report 
 (p. 253) ; French Report (p, 255) ; Freight Charges 
 (p. 257.) 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PART V. BALTIC PROVINCES OP RUSSIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Forest Lands, 259 
 
 General Statement (p. 259) ; Courland (p. 259) ; Livonia 
 (p. 261); Estonia (p. 261.) 
 
 CHAPTER II. Forest Administration, . . . 262 
 
 CHAPTER III. General Appearance of the Country 
 
 at Different Seasons, 269 
 
 AUTHORITIES CITED. 
 
 ANDERSON, pp. 99, 200, 215 ; BOERLING, p. 201 ; VON BERG, p. 18 ; 
 BEKTIFF AND KHVOSTOFF, p. 207 ; BITNEY, pp. 37, 53; BONIFACY, p. 
 64 ; CAMPBELL- WALKER, pp. 29, 33 ; DIXON, p. 227, 230 ; DTJGLOSSIUS, 
 p. 68 ; Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, p. 80 ; DES FONTAINES, pp. 66, 80 ; 
 Gazetteer, pp. 93, 243 ; HOVE, p. 53 ; JOZEF, p, 65 ; KAUFFMANN, p. 
 253 ; KRAUSSE, p. 17 ; KRYSZTOFF, p. 64 ; Le Marchand du Bois, p. 
 255 ; LEROY-BEAULIEU, p. 206 ; Letters from the Shores of the 
 Baltic, p. 269 ; MARNY, pp. 35, 227 ; MACKENZIE WALLACE, 
 pp. 3, 94, 97 ; MICHIE, p. 90 ; NAUMAN, p. 14 ; NOVIKOFF, 
 p. 206 ; OSTENSTACKEN, p. 60 ; Pall Mall Gazette, pp. 212, 213 ; 
 
 PlNKERTON, p. 115, 233; POLENJANSKY, p. 40; POTUJANSKI, p. 64; 
 
 POLYTAIEF, pp. 129-190 ; Q.UINN, pp. 235, 241, 246, 248, 257 ; Russian 
 Government Reports, pp. 36, 60, 115, 116, 119, 120, 123, 191, 229, 
 261, 262, 264, 266 ; Timber Trades Journal, p. 194; VIDOMOSTI, p. 199; 
 W T AGA, p. 64. 
 
FORESTRY IN POLAND, LITHUANIA, 
 
 AND THE 
 
 BALTIC PROVINCES OF RUSSIA. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IN the Empire of Russia may be studied many of the 
 phases of forest economy. 
 
 In a volume entitled Introduction to the Study of Modern 
 Forest Economy, and in a companion volume entitled 
 Finland: its Forests and Forest Management, is embodied 
 information in regard to what is there called Svedjande, 
 known in French forest science as Sartage, and in some 
 parts of India as Koomaree. 
 
 In another companion volume, entitled Forest Lands 
 and Forestry of Northern Russia, is embodied information 
 in regard to exploitation according to what is known in 
 France as Jardinage, 
 
 In a third volume, entitled Forestry in the Mining Districts 
 of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia, information 
 is supplied in regard to what is known as Furetage, and 
 in regard to what is known as exploitation according to 
 La Methode a Tire et Aire, carried on with malversations 
 and abuses, such as in the middle of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury called forth a famous and oft-cited warning from 
 Colbert, ' La France perira en faute des bois ! ' 
 
 And in a volume entitled French Forest Ordinance of 1669; 
 with Historical Sketch of Previous Treatment of Forests in 
 France, is supplied information in regard to stringent 
 measures adopted in France to suppress such malversa- 
 tions and abuses, 
 
 B 
 
2 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 In Poland we find an endeavour made to introduce the 
 most advanced forest exploitation of the day that known 
 in Germany, where it originated, as Die Fachwerke Method, 
 known in France as La Methode des Compartiments, and 
 known in Poland and in some other countries as the Scientific 
 Method of Exploitation. In Lithuania we find forest 
 management similar to what prevails throughout Central 
 Russia. And in Courland, Estonia, and Livonia, we meet 
 with some special regulations issued for the management 
 of forests in the Baltic Provinces of Russia. 
 
 Through all of these last-mentioned countries Poland, 
 Lithuania, Courland, Estonia, and Livonia I have tra- 
 velled once and again in proceeding to or from St. Peters- 
 burg, where I once resided as pastor of the British and 
 American Church, and where I have frequently passed 
 the summer ministering to the same church, while one and 
 another of those who have succeeded me in the pastorate 
 sought a few months' relaxation at home. In all of them 
 I have had correspondents in some districts, numerous 
 correspondents ; and though my correspondence with most 
 related chiefly, if not exclusively, to the publication of 
 religious tracts, and to the sale and distribution of the 
 New Testament Scriptures, there has thus been sustained 
 for more than half a century an interest in them which 
 has procured for me information which otherwise it might 
 have been difficult to obtain. 
 
 My first journey through this portion of Western Russia 
 was made in 1836 ; a second in 1873, coming from 
 Vienna through Poland to St. Petersburg ; my last in 1878, 
 proceeding from St. Petersburg through Berlin and Dres- 
 den to Paris. In the lengthened interval how changed 
 the mode of travelling ! At the time of my first journey 
 there were not even diligences by which the journey from 
 the capital might be made, and railways were unknown 
 and un thought of, while in winter a voyage by sea was 
 impossible. 
 
 By enquiry I learned that there was a British courier 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 likely to leave St. Petersburg shortly for London, going by 
 Berlin, who was quite agreeable to allow me to travel with 
 him for a reasonable consideration ; but the time of his 
 departure did not depend upon himself; nor did the route 
 he should follow ; and time was of importance to me. I 
 then heard of a merchant going to Riga, desirous of some 
 one to share with him the expense of travelling post ; and 
 our arrangements were soon made. 
 
 A sledge made of plane deal, with wooden runners, 
 and a canvas curtain in front, was purchased, a padorozh- 
 naya, or order for post horses was procured, and off we 
 set. Mr Mackenzie Wallace gives the following account 
 of the posting arrangements of Russia : 
 
 ' However enduring and long-winded horses may be, 
 they must be allowed sometimes, during a long journey, 
 to rest and feed. Travelling with one's own horses is 
 therefore necessarily a slow operation, and is already 
 antiquated. People who value their time prefer to make 
 use of the Imperial Post-organisation. On all the prin- 
 cipal lines of communication there are regular post- 
 stations, at from ten to twenty miles apart, where a 
 certain number of horses and vehicles are kept for the 
 convenience of travellers. To enjoy the privileges of 
 this arrangement, one has to apply to the proper autho- 
 rities for a " Podorozhnaya " a large sheet of paper 
 stamped with the Imperial Eagle, and bearing the name 
 of the recipient, the destination, and the number of 
 horses to be supplied. In return for this document a 
 small sum is paid for imaginary road repairs ; the rest of 
 the sum is paid by instalments at the respective stations. 
 Armed with this document, you go to the post-station 
 and demand the requisite number of horses. Three is 
 the number generally used, but if you travel lightly, and 
 are indifferent to appearances, you may modestly content 
 yourself with a pair. The vehicle is a kind of Tarantass, 
 but not such as I have elsewhere described. The essentials 
 in both are the same, but those which the Imperial 
 Government provides resemble an enormous cradle on 
 
4 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 wheels, rather than a phaeton. An armful of hay spread 
 over the bottom of the wooden box is supposed to play 
 the part of cushions. You are expected to sit under the 
 arched covering, and extend your legs so that the feet 
 lie beneath the driver's seat ; but you will do well, unless 
 the rain happens to be coming down in torrents, to get 
 this covering unshipped, and travel without it. When 
 used, it painfully curtails the little freedom of movement 
 that you enjoy, and when you are shot upwards by some 
 obstruction on the road, it is apt to arrest your ascent by 
 giving you a violent blow on the top of the head. 
 
 1 It is to be hoped that you are in no hurry to start, 
 otherwise your patience may be sorely tried. The horses, 
 when at last produced, may seem to you the most 
 miserable screws that it was ever your misfortune to 
 behold ; but you had better refrain from expressing your 
 feelings, for if you use violent, uncomplimentary language, 
 it may turn out that you have been guilty of gross 
 calumny, I have seen many a team composed of animals 
 which a third-class London costermonger would have 
 spurned, and in which it was barely possible to recognise 
 the equine form, do their duty in highly creditable style, 
 and go along at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles an 
 hour, under no stronger incentive than the voice of the 
 Yemstchik. Indeed, the capabilities of these lean, 
 slouching, ungainly quadrupeds are often astounding 
 when they are under the guidance of a man who knows 
 how to drive them. Though such a man commonly 
 carries a little harmless whip, he rarely uses it except by 
 waving it horizontally in the air. His incitements are 
 all oral. He talks to his cattle as he would to animals of 
 his own species now encouraging them by tender, cares- 
 sing epithets, and now launching at them expressions of 
 indignant scorn. At one moment they are his "little 
 doves," and at the next they have been transformed into 
 " cursed hounds." How far they understand and 
 appreciate this curious mixture of endearing cajolery and 
 contemptuous abuse it is difficult to say, but there is no 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 doubt that it somehow has upon them a strange and 
 powerful influence. 
 
 * Any one who undertakes a journey of this kind should 
 possess a well-knit, muscular frame and good tough 
 sinews, capable of supporting an unlimited amount of 
 jolting and shaking ; at the same time, he should be well 
 inured to all the hardships and discomfort incidental to 
 what is vaguely termed i( roughing it." When he wishes 
 to sleep in a post-station he will find nothing softer than 
 a wooden bench, unless he can induce the keeper to put 
 for him on the floor a bundle of hay, which is perhaps 
 softer, but on the whole more disagreeable than the deal 
 board. Sometimes he will not get even the wooden 
 bench, for in ordinary post-stations there is but one room 
 for travellers, and the two benches there are rarely more 
 may be already occupied. When he does obtain a 
 bench, and succeeds in falling asleep, he must not be 
 astonished if he is disturbed once or twice during the 
 night by people who use the apartment as a waiting-room 
 whilst the post-horses are being changed. These passers- 
 by may even order a Samovar, and drink tea, chat, laugh, 
 smoke, and make themselves otherwise disagreeable, 
 utterly regardless of the sleepers. Then there are the 
 other intruders, of which I have already spoken when 
 describing the steamers on the Don. I must apologise to 
 the reader for again introducing this disagreeable subject. 
 Jilsthetically it is a mistake, but I have no choice. My 
 object is to describe travelling in Russia as it is, and any 
 description which did not give due prominence to this 
 species of discomfort would be untrue like a description 
 of Alpine climbing with no mention of glaciers. I shall 
 refrain, however, from all details, and confine myself to a 
 single hint for the benefit of future travellers. As you 
 will have abundant occupation in the work of self-defence, 
 learn to distinguish between belligerents and neutrals, 
 and follow the simple principle of international law, that 
 neutrals should not be molested. They may be very 
 ugly, but ugliness does not justify assassination. If, for 
 
6 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 instance, you should happen in awaking to notice a few 
 black or brown beetles running about your pillow, restrain 
 your murderous hand ! If you kill them you commit an 
 act of unnecessary bloodshed ; for though they may play- 
 fully scamper around you, they will do you no bodily 
 harm. 
 
 'The best lodgings to be found in some of the small 
 provincial towns are much worse than the ordinary post- 
 stations. To describe the filthiness and discomfort of 
 some rooms in which I have had to spend the night 
 would require a much more powerful pen than mine ; and 
 even a powerful writer in entering on that subject would 
 involuntarily make a special invocation for assistance to 
 the Muse of the Naturalistic school. 
 
 ' In the winter months travelling is in some respects 
 pleasanter than in summer, for snow and frost are great 
 macadamisers. If the snow falls evenly there is for some 
 time the most delightful road that can be imagined. No 
 jolts, no shaking, but a smooth, gliding motion, like that 
 of a boat in calm water, and the horses gallop along as if 
 totally unconscious of the sledge behind them. Unfortu- 
 nately, this happy state of things does not last long. The 
 road soon gets cut up, and deep transverse furrows are 
 formed. How these furrows come into existence I have 
 never been able clearly to comprehend, though I have 
 often heard the phenomenon explained by men who 
 imagined they understood it. Whatever the cause and 
 mode of formation may be, certain it is that little hills 
 and valleys do get formed, and the sledge, as it crosses 
 over them, bobs up and down like a boat in a chopping 
 sea, with this important difference, that the boat falls into 
 a yielding liquid, whereas the sledge falls upon a solid 
 substance, unyielding and unelastic. The shaking and 
 jolting which result may readily be imagined. 
 
 ' There are other discomforts, too, in winter travelling. 
 So long as the air is perfectly still, the cold may be very 
 intense without being disagreeable ; but if a strong head 
 wind is blowing, and the thermometer ever so many 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 degrees below zero, driving in an open sledge is a very 
 disagreeable operation, and noses may get frostbitten 
 without their owners perceiving the fact in time to take 
 preventive measures. Then why not take covered sledges 
 on such occasions ? For the simple reason that they are 
 not to be had ; and if they could be procured, it would be 
 well to avoid using them, for they are apt to produce 
 something very like sea-sickness. Besides this, when the 
 sledge gets overturned, it is pleasanter to be shot out on 
 to the clean, refreshing snow, than to be buried ignomi- 
 niously under a pile of miscellaneous baggage. 
 
 1 The chief requisite for winter travelling in these icy 
 regions is a plentiful supply of warm furs. An English- 
 man is very apt to be imprudent in this respect, and to 
 trust too much to his natural power of resisting cold. 
 To a certain extent this confidence is justifiable, for an 
 Englishman often feels quite comfortable in an ordinary 
 great coat, when his Russian friends consider it necessary 
 to envelope themselves in furs of the warmest kind ; but 
 it may be carried too far, in which case severe punishment 
 is sure to follow, as I once learned by experience. I may 
 relate the incident as a warning to others. 
 
 ' One day in the winter of 1870-71 I started from 
 Novgorod, with the intention of visiting some friends at 
 a cavalry barracks situated about ten miles from the 
 town. As the sun was shining brightly, and the distance 
 to be traversed was short, I considered that a light fur 
 and a bashlyk a cloth hood which protects the ears 
 would be quite sufficient to keep out the cold, and 
 foolishly disregarded the warnings of a Russian friend 
 who happened to call as I was about to start. Our route 
 lay along the river due northward, right in the teeth of a 
 strong north wind. A wintry north wind is always and 
 everywhere a disagreeable enemy to face ; let the reader 
 try to imagine what it is when the Fahrenheit thermometer 
 is at 30 below zero or rather let him refrain from such an 
 attempt, for the sensation produced cannot be imagined 
 by those who have not experienced it. Of course I ought 
 
8 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 to have turned back at least, as soon as a sensation of 
 faintness warned me that the circulation was being 
 seriously impeded but I did not wish to confess my 
 imprudence to the friend who accompanied me. When 
 we had driven about three-fourths of the way, we met a 
 peasant woman, who gesticulated violently, and shouted 
 something to us as we passed. I did not hear what she 
 said, but my friend turned to me and said in an alarming 
 tone we had been speaking German " Mein Gott ! Ihre 
 Nase ist abgefrohren !" Now the word " a&gefrohren," as 
 the reader will understand, seemed to indicate that my 
 nose was frozen off, so I put up my hand in some alarm to 
 discover whether I had inadvertently lost the whole or 
 part of the member referred to. So far from being lost 
 or diminished in size, it was very much larger than usual, 
 and at the same time as hard and insensible as a bit of wood. 
 
 ' " You may still save it," said my companion, " if you 
 get out at once and rub it vigorously with snow." 
 
 ' I got out as directed, but was too faint to do anything 
 vigorously. My fur cloak flew open, the cold seemed to 
 grasp me in the region of the heart, and I fell insensible. 
 
 ' How long I remained unconscious I know not. When 
 I awoke I found myself in a strange room, surrounded by 
 dragoon officers in uniform, and the first words I heard 
 were, " He is out of danger now, but he will have a fever." 
 
 ' These words were spoken, as I afterwards discovered, 
 by a very competent surgeon ; but the prophecy was not 
 fulfilled. The promised fever never came. The only 
 bad consequences were that for some days my right hand 
 remained stiff, and during about a fortnight I had to 
 conceal my nose from public view. 
 
 ' If this little incident justifies me in drawing a general 
 conclusion, I should say that exposure to extreme cold is 
 an almost painless form of death, but that the process of 
 being resuscitated is very painful indeed so painful, that 
 the patient may be excused for momentarily regretting 
 that officious people prevented the temporary insensibi- 
 lity from becoming " the sleep that knows no waking." 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 ' Between the alternate reigns of winter and summer 
 there is always a short interregnum, during which travel- 
 ling in Russia by road is almost impossible. Woe to the 
 ill-fated mortal who has to make a long road journey 
 immediately after the winter snow has melted ; or, worse 
 still, at the beginning of winter, when the autumn mud 
 has been petrified by the frost, and not yet levelled by 
 the snow ! ' 
 
 My journey was made in winter, and therefore we had 
 a sledge a covered sledge, but covered with bass-matting, 
 and all the appointments of the most unpretending char- 
 acter, for it had to be sold at the end of the journey, when 
 it would not fetch a high price. It cost little; but it 
 would sell for less : and a reduction of 50 per cent, on 
 twenty shillings is a good deal less than a like reduction 
 on twenty pounds ; we would also be more likely to find 
 a purchaser for our vehicle if it were of little value ; and it 
 suited the convenience of both of us to travel cheaply, 
 taking two horses instead of three. On arriving at the 
 first station-house we had to exercise the patience of 
 which Mr Wallace speaks. All the horses were out ; and 
 we had to wait till some had returned and rested. It was 
 dark. I strolled about the station-house. Feeling hungry, 
 I looked about for my fellow-traveller to get him to order 
 supper for me, as I was but a novice in travelling there. 
 I could find him nowhere ; so I went to lie down in the 
 sledge for a change. Lifting the curtain, I found him 
 there busy making his supper on provisions he had 
 brought with him. I said more to myself than to him, 
 laughing as I said it : ' Holloa, my lad ! if you can do 
 that, I can do that too.' And I got out a basket filled 
 with provisions with which some of my friends in St. 
 Petersburg had supplied me. The mention of this recalls 
 the scene of our starting, and one kind face among others 
 now no more. The owner of that face, caring for me as a 
 mother for her son, brought bread, a cake, two tongues, 
 salt an article most valuable at an al fresco meal, but 
 
10 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 very likely to be forgotten, and a slab of frozen mince- 
 collops. I was astounded, but I was assured all would be 
 needed before I had completed my journey, And so it 
 was. Morning, noon, and night, when resting for a little 
 at a station-house, I would ask for a hatchet, and, break- 
 ing off a lump of frozen collops, give it to the people to 
 heat; and my fellow-traveller was not loth to partake 
 with me of the savoury viands. Here this could not be 
 done ; but getting out a tongue, which, though cooked, had 
 not been frozen, I made signs to my fellow traveller that 
 I did not know what to do as I had no knife. Taking the 
 tongue in one hand, and taking hold of the tip of it with 
 the other, he screwed this off and held it out to me. I 
 received it with a laugh ; it was my first lesson in rough 
 travelling ; I have travelled many thousand miles since, 
 in America, in Africa, and in Europe, but never again 
 have I been at a loss what to do to prepare provisions, and 
 to use them when prepared. I can kindle a fire in the 
 desert, and prepare a carabonaje with the best of them ; 
 and eat it with a relish, with no garnishing but salt and 
 pepper. Only once was I placed in any difficulty and 
 that not from any squeamishness on my part, but from 
 the delicacy of feeling experienced by others. Three of 
 us, with attendants, were crossing the Karoo in South 
 Africa ; there was a stretch of eighty-four miles which 
 had to be travelled one day. We had purchased a live fowl 
 at a farm at which we slept the night before. At mid-day, 
 having out-spanned the horses, the drivers were sent with 
 them away some six miles to get water. Neither of my 
 companions could kill a fowl ; I volunteered to kill, and 
 strip, and cook, and eat it too, if they would allow me. 
 But they shrunk from letting a minister kill the fowl, and 
 from this delicacy of feeling on their part, we were likely 
 to have to wait for our dinner till the horses returned, 
 were in-spanned, and ready to take us forward on our 
 journey, lest we should be benighted in the feldt. We got 
 out of the difficulty at last by one of the party, not I, 
 pulling off the head with all his might, and throwing it 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 away in the air as if it were a thing polluted. Thanks to 
 my experience at the Russian station-house, I have never 
 perished of hunger from want of a knife and a silver fork, 
 though I may equal the most fastidious in the enjoyment 
 of all the amenities of life. 
 
 We stopped an hour or two at Dorpat, that I might 
 visit some of the professors there with whom I was 
 acquainted, and just as we were nearing Konigsberg the 
 English courier overtook us. With him I travelled to 
 Berlin, rejoicing in the well-made and well-kept roads of 
 Prussia, which contrasted greatly with those of Russia, 
 excepting where these were covered with snow, on which 
 I found it pleasant to glide along in the sledge, travelling 
 night and day, sleeping when, and only when, so inclined ; 
 and though sometimes upset, always falling soft on the 
 uncrushed snow lining the track our fur shoobs and 
 wadded caps helping to make the upset more harmless and 
 rather pleasurable than otherwise from the excitement. 
 
 How different is travelling now ! In less than three 
 days one may travel k from St. Petersburg to London. 
 From St. Petersburg to Berlin one may travel with every 
 comfort without once leaving the carriage, every conven- 
 ience being provided. From Vienna to St. Petersburg I 
 once travelled thus, changing carriages only at Warsaw, and 
 at Wilna, where we joined the train from Berlin. During a 
 year which my wife spent in Scotland, while I returned and 
 remained in St. Petersburg, every interchange of letters 
 cost 13s 6d, and occupied more than a fortnight, nearly 
 three weeks in transmission. Now the postage of a letter 
 is 2|d, and it is conveyed in four days, while a post card 
 is transmitted and delivered for a penny ! 
 
PART I. 
 
 POLAND, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 ST. PETERSBURG TO POLAND. 
 
 IN journeying from St. Petersburg by railway towards 
 Poland, for some 200 miles we pass over ground which is 
 of a dead level, or almost such, being varied, not by rising 
 grounds, but by marshes and bogs, the dry land being to 
 some extent covered with trees of apparently no great age : 
 a stranger would say trees of some twenty or thirty years 
 growth ; and I might say the same, but passing over the 
 ground at distant periods, I have found them always 
 apparently of the same age as they were when I first saw 
 them ; and this may be really the case, these having dis- 
 appeared, and those now there being trees by which they 
 have been replaced. They are apparently the scraggy 
 representatives of extensive forests of a former day. 
 
 Nowhere are seen forests such as may be seen in travel- 
 ling in the Governments of Olonetz and Archangel in 
 Northern Russia, and of Moscow, Orel, and others in 
 Central Russia. 
 
 Passing on, between Pskoff and Dunsburg, the country 
 is found to present more of an undulating aspect ; instead 
 of stagnant waters, brooks and rivulets and other forms of 
 running waters are seen. In this district great quantities 
 of flax are grown ; and the water is turned to account in 
 preparing the produce for the market. There are two 
 qualities of flax prepared, each in its own way, The one 
 
ST. PETERSBURG TO POLAND. 13 
 
 of these, known as Motckenet*, is prepared by being steeped 
 for some time, and dried, to facilitate the removal of the 
 skin or bark, technically called silica, and other material 
 from the long woody fibre of which flax consists ; the other 
 of these, called Slanetz > is bleached by exposure to rain 
 and dew, or artificial sprinkling of water, and the sunshine. 
 The former is white, the latter is dark in colour ; and the 
 latter frequently gives trouble to the merchant by heating 
 through fermentation about the season at which the plant 
 flowers. 
 
 At Kovno, about 200 miles beyond Dunsburg, we enter 
 Poland, and advancing through the eastern portion of that 
 country, the traveller remarks that agriculture appears to 
 be carried on with more of a scientific character than in 
 the lands through which he has been passing, both on the 
 further and on the hither side of Dunsburg ; the houses 
 are more regularly built ; the villages have more of a 
 European aspect, but the houses resembling more those of 
 Austria than those of Northern Germany, and the simi- 
 larity may be traced also in the laying out of the fields : 
 but by this one is reminded more of the arable lands of 
 Bavaria and other countries of Southern Germany than of 
 what is seen in Austria. 
 
 In North Germany the land is level, and there is no 
 end of ditches or open drains. Here it is more undulat- 
 ing, and these are less frequent. Agriculture seems also 
 to be more remunerative than in the lands traversed, the 
 crops stand thicker in the ground, and surface draining 
 appears to be uncalled for. The fields are sown with 
 wheat, whereas to the north of Kovno, there were to be 
 seen only barley, oats, and flax. All the more valuable 
 cereals seem to flourish in Poland, and in passing through 
 this district there is produced an impression that the soil 
 is more productive than it is further to the north ; that 
 the climate must be more equable; and the superficial 
 aspect of the land being more undulating, and at the same 
 time more thickly wooded, that as an agricultural district 
 
14 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 it must be at least 50 per cent, superior to the Govern- 
 ments of St. Petersburg and of Pskoff. 
 
 In Poland both wheat and wool are raised for exporta- 
 tion. Large crops of potatoes are raised for the production 
 of spirits by distillation, and beetroot for the manufacture 
 of sugar; and wood for building purposes is exported 
 largely. The Scots fir (Pinus sylvestris), and the oak 
 ( Quercus robur), are of very superior quality. 
 
 In this district we also find the trees to be different in 
 kind from what they were in the region traversed in 
 coming hither. While in the first stages of the journey 
 they were chiefly and almost exclusively firs, and birches, 
 and willows, here, around Berdicheff, in Poland, we find 
 the woods composed in a great measure of oaks, and elms, 
 and chestnuts ; and the forest aspect is completely 
 different. 
 
 In the south-east corner of Poland, and in the adjacent 
 districts of Russia known as Little Russia, there are con- 
 siderable stretches of forest land overgrown by a wild pear 
 tree. The fruit is not edible, either when green or ripe ; 
 but it is gathered and steeped in the Russian beverage 
 called quass the common drink of the peasantry and 
 it is sold extensively throughout Russia as steeped pears, 
 and is greatly in demand by the peasants. 
 
 Qaass is prepared by pouring hot water upon broken, 
 dry, black rye bread, a little yeast is added, and in some 
 cases a little peppermint, and it is allowed to fer- 
 ment. 
 
 Herds of swine are in the summer time turned out into 
 the woods, where they become little better than wild boars. 
 In November they are driven home, killed and frozen, and 
 sent to the northern districts of Russia to be sold as frozen 
 pork. 
 
 By Naumann, in his Geognosie, ii. p. 1173, it is stated: 
 ' Olkuez and Schiewier, in Poland, lie in two sand deserts, 
 and a boundless plain of sand stretches around Ozeustac- 
 kaur, on which there grows neither tree nor shrub. In 
 heavy winds this place resembles a rolling sea, and the 
 
ST. PETERSBURG TO POLAND. 15 
 
 sand hills rise and disappear like the waves of the ocean. 
 The heaps of waste from the Olkuez mines are covered 
 with sand to the depth of four fathoms.' 
 
 So far as is known to me, no attempts have yet been 
 made to fix and utilise these drifting sands : but that they, 
 as well as those which have been arrested and rendered 
 productive in other lands Hungary, France, Spain, Portu- 
 gal, Holland, Denmark, and Northern Germany, may be 
 brought under control I cannot doubt. 
 
 But in passing through the country one sees more of 
 forests than of sand drifts. 
 
 Of Poland an anonymous writer early in the present 
 century tells : ' Poland is an extremely level country, 
 diversified by few or no eminences, except a ridge of hills 
 branching off from the Carpathian mountains, which 
 anciently formed the southern boundary of the country. 
 The rivers are unadorned with banks, and flow lazily in a 
 flat monotonous course, insomuch that when, as previously 
 stated, heavy falls of rain take place, the country for many 
 miles is completely inundated. The number and extent 
 of marshes and forests, neither of which the Poles have 
 seemed very anxious to remove, uniformly strike strangers 
 as one of the great characteristics of Poland. The soil, 
 which is chiefly either of a clayey or marshy description, 
 is, in many places, so extremely fertile, that with the least 
 cultivation it is calculated to produce the most luxurious 
 crops of corn ; and it is distinguished for the richest pas- 
 tures in Europe. Agriculture with the Poles, however, is 
 completely in its infancy. For many ages they neglected 
 this useful art, as they neglected every art of peace and 
 domestic comfort; they were a warlike people; and, 
 besides, the produce of the fields was not the property of 
 the peasants, but of their masters, and they were themselves 
 doomed, without hope of advancement, to continue in the 
 same rank of life, whatever had been their industry or 
 their skill, But though these disabilities have now been 
 greatly removed, though the Poles are rapidly emerging 
 from that state of laziness and inactivity in which they 
 
16 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 remained so long sunk, yet, in the department in question 
 they have nearly everything to learn. Of the use of 
 manure they are almost entirely ignorant ; their common 
 practice is to crop a field till it be exhausted, and then for 
 a few years to abandon it. Their ploughs are scarcely 
 sufficient to penetrate the surface of the ground ; and 
 their fields when reaped, exhibit from this circumstance, 
 as rich a verdure as if they had remained for years 
 unbroken. This ignorance, however, is diminishing every 
 day. Some portions of Poland have been denominated 
 the garden of Europe ; and a period may not be far dis- 
 tant when the term may, with much propriety, be applied 
 to the whole territory. Societies for the encouragement 
 of agriculture have been established in Poland ; and the 
 vast tracts of forests and marshes with which it abounds 
 certainly open up on extensive field for the display of skill 
 and enterprise/ 
 
OP -rp^r 
 
 "ai 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FOREST EXPLOITATION. 
 
 IN 1881 there was published in Warsaw, in the Russian 
 language, a volume entitled A Critical Examination of the 
 Forest System in the Kingdom of Poland, by A. Krause, 
 teacher in the College of Agriculture and Forestry in Neu- 
 Alexandria. In this he gives the history of forests and wood- 
 craft in Poland from the earliest times to the present day, 
 with many curious extracts from original documents and 
 authorities. The first period comprises heathen times, 
 when forests were surrounded by mystery and superstitious 
 observances. 
 
 The second period extends from the introduction of 
 Christianity in A.D. 860, to the extinction of Polish inde- 
 pendence in 1796. In the earlier centuries Poland seems to 
 have been almost covered with immense masses of pine, oak, 
 beech, spruce, lime, larch, and yew. These forests swarmed 
 with wild bison, beavers, wild horses, wild boar, red deer, 
 elk and roe deer, bears, wolves, and lynxes. In the four- 
 teenth century, however, man seems to have reclaimed 
 much of the wilderness. Forest statutes were published 
 by Casimir the Great in 1347. A few titles from this 
 ordinance are : 
 
 (1.) De his qui in silvis alienis damna faciunt, concern- 
 ing persons doing damage in the woods of others. 
 
 (2.) De incendentibus silvas vel gams alienas, concerning 
 persons cutting down the woods or field trees of others. 
 
 (3.) Si alienos porcos in tua silva reperias, if thou 
 findest another man's swine in thy wood. 
 
 (4.) De silvis glandariis et faguriis, concerning woods 
 for the production of oak-mast and beech-mast. 
 
 (5.) De incendiirus, concerning fire raising. 
 
 C 
 
18 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 ' Between 1796 and 1807 the separation of forests into 
 blocks was commenced. And in 1808 the French civil 
 code, with its enactments regarding the working of forests 
 was introduced.' 
 
 In 1858 Baron von Berg, Oberforstrath in Saxony, was 
 applied to professionally to examine and report on the 
 state of the forests and of forest management in Finland. 
 Thereafter he was applied to to do the same in 
 Poland; and he embodied his views in Denkschrift iiber 
 das Forst- Wesen in Polen, which was published in Leipsic 
 in 1864 or 1865. Thereafter there was introduced into 
 the management of the forests the German methods of 
 treatment, but, as a forest official remarked to me with a 
 shrug, the principles are the same ; but the application of 
 them, controlled by circumstances, soil, situation, climate, 
 forest products, &c., is ons thing in Germany, it is a very 
 different thing in Poland, and necessarily so. According 
 to Herr Krause the estimates for all forest operations 
 must be prepared some years beforehand. Every forest 
 must be surveyed, and charts of it mapped out to a scale 
 of 1 = 20,000, in which one English mile would be 
 represented by about an inch. Smaller plans must also 
 be prepared to a scale of three miles to an inch. A block 
 coincides, as a rule, with the district perambulated by one 
 under-forester, Each block is divided into four divisions, 
 and each division is subdivided into fifteen compartments. 
 In each compartment all the trees are intended to be as 
 nearly as possible of one age or varying by not more than 
 thirty years. An interval of thirty years is allowed after 
 maturity for seeding and ensuring natural reproduction. 
 Each division, if perfect according to plan, should contain 
 fifteen different classes, or ages, of timber. This implies 
 for each division, as also for the whole block or forest, that 
 each tree should be felled between the ages of 120 and 
 150 years. The rotation of felling, instead of being 
 directed, as is most usual, from east to west, proceeds in 
 regular order in each division, from south-east towards the 
 
UXM 
 
 FOREST EXPLOITATION. 19 
 
 north-west. The avenues and paths bounding the com- 
 partments, run in parallel straight lines from north-east 
 to south-west, with the other avenues intersecting them 
 not quite at right angles. The compartments have been 
 almost always made equal in area, without taking account 
 of the difference in the qualities of soil. Each compart- 
 ment (according as the forest surveyor shall direct in his 
 estimates) must either be parcelled out into thirty yearly 
 portions, or, its cubic contents having been measured, and 
 its rate of increase ascertained, equal solid quantities of 
 timber is felled in each year of the thirty. In general 
 the latter method is prescribed as being more favourable 
 to the ripening of seed, and the ripening of seedlings with 
 little artificial assistance. Compartments occupied by 
 coppice or by coppice with reserved trees (compound cop- 
 pice) are parcelled out into equal yearly portions. 
 
 In criticising this Polish system, and awarding it in its 
 place among scientific systems, Herr Krause, after a mul- 
 titude of definitions and extracts, comes to the conclusion 
 that it is a high development of the method of equal yearly 
 clearings. Its descent he traces from the system which 
 prevailed in Brunswick at the commencement of this 
 century. (It is said that the system of equal yearly 
 portions was first devised by Frederick the Great of 
 Prussia.) And he states that by a series of special altera- 
 tions in the direction of completeness, and some improve- 
 ments which he suggests, the Polish system of estimates 
 may readily be brought up to the most modern form of 
 methodical exploitation. 
 
 The method of exploitation referred to is known in 
 France, as has been stated, as La Methode des Comparti- 
 ments, in Germany as Die Fachwerke Method, here as the 
 Scientific Method. 
 
 The system of Jardinage, felling a tree here and there 
 as it might be wanted, was in France and other countries 
 on the Continent of Europe extensively superseded more 
 than two hundred years ago by exploitation a tire et aire, 
 
20 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 in winch all the trees on a given area were felled with the 
 exception of some left to bear seed, and to afford shade 
 and shelter to seedlings. The areas so exploited frequently 
 succeeded each other side by side in regular progression. 
 Under the scientific method, the Fachwerke Method, or 
 Methode des Compartiments, plots or patches of forest like to 
 each other, but situated apart, are treated as if they 
 formed a continuous wood, and are treated collectively as 
 were the different areas in exploitation a tire et aire. 
 
 Where Jardinage is followed we have trees of varied 
 ages growing confusedly mixed together, and injuring one 
 another, the older and taller overgrowing the younger and 
 impeding their growth, and the older becoming straggling 
 and knotty, and of a height inferior to what they attained 
 when they were more serried, while they are also less able 
 to withstand the storm ; and many, young and old alike, 
 often become diseased, rarely appear well conditioned, 
 and not unfrequently perish prematurely. Though some 
 trees withstand and surmount all these evils, the product 
 of a forest so treated is in a given time inferior both in 
 quantity and in quality to what it might have been ; and 
 there is a tendency in the method of management to convert 
 the forest into a scrub, and ultimately to destroy it altogether. 
 
 About the middle of the sixteenth century it began to 
 be realised that the system followed had in it inherent 
 defects, and these such as could scarcely be eradicated by 
 a.ny attempted improvement to which it'could be subjected. 
 But it was thought that the conservation of the forests 
 might be assured by continuous reproduction if the fellings 
 were confined to one portion of the forest, throughout one 
 year, or a series of years, more or less prolonged, during 
 which the trees growing elsewhere should be allowed un- 
 disturbed growth ; while this should be allowed to recover 
 itself during the much more lengthened period which 
 would be required to go over not one but all of the other 
 divisions of the forest or woodlands with which it was 
 connected, and if necessary the extension of this to other 
 forests or other woodlands. 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 21 
 
 Such was the Metliode a tire et aire, associated by many 
 with the celebrated Ordinance of 1669 ; but sustained pro- 
 duction was not thereby secured. Forests continued to 
 disappear, and though this was attributable to abuses for 
 which the system was not responsible, it was remarked 
 that there was a great inequality in the products of suc- 
 cessive fellings during successive periods ; that there was 
 a considerable loss of possible produce not only from differ- 
 ence in the productiveness of different patches in the same 
 time, but more so from the circumstance that as some 
 portions were necessarily cut down when the trees were too 
 young, in other portions many trees, and even entire plots, 
 were left standing so long waiting for their turn that they 
 decayed before they came within the regular series of fellings. 
 
 The succeeding crops, moreover, were not always found 
 equal in quantity to the preceding, while they were also 
 much inferior in quality in consequence of the irregularity 
 in regard to denseness in which they grew up in some 
 places sparse, in others so dense that they could neither 
 attain to good proportions nor acquire a firm texture. 
 These evils it was sought to remedy by giving to every 
 patch or plot in the forest the treatment it specially 
 required, combining those which were in like conditions 
 and conveniently situated, treating them as if they con- 
 stituted a continuous wood modifying the arrangement 
 of a tire et aire to meet the requirements of this develop- 
 ment of that system, and adding the products of thinnings 
 and partial fellings in patches or plots, in which these 
 were practised, to the products of the successive definitive 
 fellings in others, or rather adding these to those to com- 
 plete the supply required without preventing natural 
 reproduction and sustained production. 
 
 In the accomplishment of this there are sundry opera- 
 tions necessary in any case, but more especially when it is 
 desired to secure all the advantages of the system. Cir- 
 cumstances may determine the order in which these may 
 be attended to, and it appears to me to be a matter of 
 indifference in what order I now detail them. 
 
2fc FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 Let it be supposed that it is virgin forest which is to be 
 exploited it is ascertained, by survey and inspection, of 
 what kinds of trees it is composed ; what age, or differ- 
 ent ages, the different kinds of trees are ; in what condi- 
 tion they are; what measure of vigour of growth they 
 manifest, and what are the promises, in regard to this 
 measure of vigour being maintained or increased in coming 
 years, supplied by the nature of the soil and the situation 
 of the trees. Thus a general idea of the peuplement of the 
 forest is obtained. By another series of observations which 
 may have previously been made in connection with, or in 
 preparation for, the exploitation of other woods, or, which 
 if not previously made, must be made now, it must be ascer- 
 tained in regard to the kind or different kinds of trees of 
 which the peuplement of the forest consists what increase 
 of cubic contents these make in the course of a year, or of 
 any definite number of years say five or ten at all 
 stages of growth, from that of a sapling to that of an old 
 tree beginning to decay ; and in connection with this, by 
 deduction from data thus obtained or by separate observa- 
 tion, it must be ascertained to what age and magnitude 
 the kind of tree growing there may attain without decay ; 
 at what age the annual increase becomes so diminished 
 that a greater production of wood in a given period of 
 considerable duration may be obtained by felling and 
 raising a new crop, than by allowing the trees to go on 
 growing ; at what age of growth the wood is of best quality 
 for the purpose for which it is required ; and at what age 
 a maximum of wood of such superior quality would be 
 secured by then felling the tree. 
 
 In illustration of what may thus be learned I may 
 adduce a hypothetical case. Suppose, what is likely to be 
 the case,, that a tree in its growth makes an increasing 
 increment of cubic contents year by year, and decade by 
 decade, up to the age of sixty, making more wood between 
 10 and 20 than between 1 and 10, more between 20 and 
 30 than between 10 and 20, and so on continuously, more 
 between 50 and 60 than between 40 and 50 : it may be 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 23 
 
 found that, though continuing to make increase, it does 
 not make a greater increment between 60 and 70 than it 
 did between 30 and 40, and that, though still making 
 increase, this is now in continuously diminishing quantity, 
 until decay having begun after a lapse of years, it loses 
 more by decay than it makes by growth. But it may be 
 found that though the rate of increase of quantity was 
 reversed after 60 years of growth, the quality continued to 
 improve for thirty years and more thereafter ; and also 
 that it was only when the tree had attained the age of 150 
 years that it had attained the size necessary to yield timber 
 of the size required for some special purpose for which it 
 was needed. All of the information thus obtained may be 
 turned to account in determining the treatment to be 
 given to the forest in exploitation, though it may, or it may 
 not, all be required ; but the same may be said of a great 
 deal of the work of subordinates in any work. 
 
 In the hypothetical case supposed, it might be necessary 
 to secure some timber of the greatest bulk which could be 
 obtained, and in order to this, that the trees yielding this 
 should grow to the age of 150 years. But it might be 
 desired rather to get as much wood from the forest as 
 possible ; and much more would be obtained in the course 
 of 300 years by felling at the age of 75, and getting four 
 crops of trees of that age than by felling all at 150, and 
 getting two crops of trees at that age. By felling at 60, 
 and leaving baliveaux for seed, several fellings of trees 
 aged 90 the age at which the trees yielded timber of the 
 best quality and fellings at the ages of 120 years, and 
 180 years, and 240 years, and 300 years, of timber of 
 greater magnitude might be obtained, along with the cop- 
 pice wood of six fellings in the course of 300 years, from 
 baliveaux left growing at the first, the second, and the 
 third successive fellings ; which might be reserved exactly 
 in such numbers as would yield the timber required and 
 the rapid growth of none of the others at an earlier age 
 would be sacrificed. Or, again, it might be desired to get 
 as large pecuniary returns from the forest as possible ; and 
 
24 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 this might be secured by an improved quality, though in 
 diminished quantity, and that the maximum quantity of 
 wood of the requisite quality could be secured in the period 
 named 300 years, by felling the trees at the age of 100, 
 and getting three crops of trees of that age off che ground, 
 than by letting all grow to the age of 150; while larger 
 timber required might be obtained by reserved baliveaux; 
 and arrangements might be made for the felling of such 
 of these as might be required, not only without detriment, 
 but if properly managed, with benefit to the crops then 
 growing. These are but a few of the simplest complica- 
 tions for which a director of operations prepares. 
 
 The director or projector of operations, with the data 
 referred to before him, together with special requireaients 
 such as those just alluded to, if any such there be, deter- 
 mines what period of time is to be assigned to the crops 
 to be produced successively by the forests in technical 
 phrase, determines the regime, or if this has been pre-deter- 
 mined, determines the time to be allotted to a revolution, 
 or cycle, from sowing through growth and successive thin- 
 nings to felling and resowing again. The number of years 
 going to a complete revolution is very different under the 
 coppice wood regime and under the regime of timber forest ; 
 and under each of these it may vary within a comparatively 
 limited range, according to the kind of tree, the situation, 
 the demand, and the vigour of growth. This, then, has 
 to be determined next conditionally, at least, if not abso- 
 lutely. 
 
 With this addition to the data an estimate is then made 
 of what is called la possibility, or of the cubic measurement 
 of the growth made year by year, or definite period of 
 years throughout the period of the revolution ; which 
 supplies a measurement of the wood, which, without 
 exceeding the yield, might be removed in the course of 
 each of these years, or periods of years. 
 
 By withdrawing only the quantity thus determined, the 
 forest may be exploited without imperilling its sustained 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 25 
 
 production, provided the exploitation be equably diffused 
 both as to time and space. 
 
 With a view to this there is prepared and it may have 
 been in course of preparation in the forest while some of 
 these data were being prepared in the office a survey, 
 trigonometrical or other, of the forest and of all the 
 plots or patches of which it is composed, varying in any 
 way from what is adjoining, with a diagram of the whole 
 representing each of these, accompanied by a report speci- 
 fying the particulars of each. And with these before him, 
 together with the other data, the forest official entrusted 
 with the w r ork proceeds to what is called I'assiette des 
 coupes, the allotting of the different portions to be felled in 
 successive periods, which is done with provision for subse- 
 quent rectification, if, through anticipated contingencies or 
 unforseen incidents, this should prove desirable. 
 
 Let us suppose the forest under consideration is to be 
 subjected to the regime of timber forest, with a revolution 
 fixed at 120 years, it may be divided into four approxi- 
 mately equivalent portions to be exploited successively in 
 four successive periods of thirty years, but in any or all of 
 which there may be carried on extraordinary operations 
 which occasion may call for, the produce of which are 
 reckoned on as a component part of the annual yield of 
 the forest. 
 
 The portion allotted for exploitation in the first period 
 of thirty years is then on a like principle subdivided into 
 approximately equivalent portions for exploitation during 
 successive periods of say five years. And there is prepared 
 a provisional scheme of annual operations throughout the 
 first sub-period of five years, which, when sanctioned, are 
 followed for a time ; but from time to time the scheme is 
 reviewed, proceeds are compared with estimates, and if 
 necessary the scheme of operations is modified. 
 
 These operations include not only the fellings of cer- 
 tain portions, but the thinnings of others repeated from 
 time to time, and the removal of some of the baliveaux 
 left for seed, and shelter, and shade, a sufficient number of 
 
26 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 trees being left in each felling to resow the ground and 
 give shelter to the seedlings. By these reserved trees there is 
 secured the natural reproduction of the forests in connec- 
 tion with the sustained production of the same, and by 
 them shelter required by the seedlings is supplied ; but as 
 these advance in growth their being overtopped would 
 prove a hindrance to their growth. All that is desirable 
 is such shade as might be supplied by the shadow of the 
 tree passing over them as the sun advances in his course ; 
 and all the baliveaux excepting such as might sufficient to 
 yield this are removed. Subsequently these also may be 
 removed with benefit to the new repeuplement, and they 
 also are removed. To the new repeuplement it is also 
 advantageous that from time to time they should be 
 thinned; and this is done either at the time that 
 baliveaux are being felled, or at other times. By these suc- 
 cessive operations there is combined with the natural 
 reproduction a progressive amelioration of the forest ; and 
 the products of these operations are taken into account 
 along with the products of the regular fellings in reckon- 
 ing the periodic produce. 
 
 Besides these extraordinary products of thinnings, &c., 
 added to the ordinary products of the regular fellings, it 
 occasionally happens that a storm or a fire occasions such 
 devastation that some, or many, or all of the trees must be 
 cleared away, and an estimated average of the additional 
 wood thus supplied for the market enters into the estimate 
 of the periodic produce. 
 
 The skill of the forest agent entrusted with the work is 
 seen in his so apportioning and allotting the fellings in the 
 division assigned to the period, and the thinnings over the 
 whole area of the forest, so as best to secure the three objects 
 aimed at sustained production, progressive amelioration, 
 and natural reproduction. While this operation supplies 
 ample scope for the exercise of skill, instruction is given 
 in the School of Forestry of the country in regard to the 
 means of doing what is required. The instructions I cite 
 not here, but content myself with reporting what is done in 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 27 
 
 such a way that a definite idea may be formed of what 
 the improved system of exploitation is, and of wherein it 
 differs from Jardinage, felling a tree here and there as 
 required, and from Exploitation h tire et aire, the progres- 
 sive felling of adjacent areas. 
 
 I have spoken of a virgin forest to be subjected to the 
 forest regime. But there are other cases, some or all of 
 which much more frequently exercise the skill of the 
 forest administrator. It may be required of him to 
 subject such a forest to the coppice wood regime, or a 
 coppice wood to the timber forest regime, or a forest which 
 has been subject to the timber forest regime to the coppice 
 wood regime , or a mixed coppice and timber forest to either 
 a simple timber forest or a simple coppice wood regime, or 
 to convert a timber forest or coppice wood into such a 
 mixed coppice and timber forest, or a forest which has 
 been treated by Jardinage into simple coppice, into mixed 
 forest and coppice, or into simple timber forest, or a timber 
 forest or coppice, or one which has been subjected to exploi- 
 tation according to La Methodea tire et aire } into one or other 
 of these conditions all with a view to subsequent exploi- 
 tation according to the Fachwerke Method, or Methode des 
 Co mpartiments. 
 
 All such operations afford scope more ample scope 
 than does the hypothetical case previously supposed, for 
 the exercise of the forester's skill, but instructions are 
 given in many of the Schools of Forestry for example, in 
 the school at Nancy, in France in regard to what should 
 be done in each and all of the cases mentioned ; and these 
 instructions are simply appropriate applications to each 
 case of the general principles an exposition of which has 
 been given. 
 
 In the instructions given, as in instructions given in a 
 school of surgery, of medicine, or of law, all that is done, 
 and all that can be done, is to demonstrate and establish 
 general principles, with illustrations of their applicability, 
 and of their application to certain definite cases, instruc- 
 
28 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 ting, educating, and training the student, and sending him 
 forth to exercise his common sense, his judgment, and his 
 skill, as occasion may demand, and circumstances may 
 warrant or permit. 
 
 Under the antiquated modes of exploitation, Jardinage, 
 and exploitation according to La Methode a tire et aire > the 
 former still practised in several British colonies, the latter 
 in its most imperfect form in some parts of Russia, and in 
 some parts of Scotland, explicit rules could be laid 
 down for the guidance of woodmen and foresters. 
 Under the more advanced Continental forest economy of 
 the day general principles of procedure are evolved ; 
 and the teachers of this forest economy, as do the teachers 
 of law, surgery, and the practice of medicine, say we must 
 leave the application of our instruction to the skill of the 
 practitioner. The legal practitioner whose advice is asked 
 may say, the law is so-and-so; but I must see the docu- 
 ments before I can give an opinion, for, the case being 
 altered, that alters this case. The medical or surgical 
 practitioner whose advice is asked may say, the general 
 principles applicable to the case are so-and-so ; but so 
 much depends on circumstances that some medical man 
 must see the case before a prescription can be given. And 
 so is it with the expounders and practitioners of the 
 advanced forest economy of the day. They say, these are 
 the principles upon which we proceed, but each particular 
 case requires its own peculiar application or mode of appli- 
 cation of them. And this, which may seem to be to 
 its disparagement, is considered by many, and considered 
 justly, to speak its excellence. 
 
 In regard to this method of exploitation, which I con- 
 sider that required in the primitive forests existing in 
 some of our colonial possessions to ensure their conserva- 
 tion, profitable exploitation, and natural reproduction, I 
 have given additional illustrations in a volume entitled 
 French Forest Ordinance of 1669 ; with Historical Sketch of 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 29 
 
 Previous Treatment of Forests in France* (pp. 45-47) ; and in 
 Introduction to the Study of Modern Forest Economy^ (pp. 165- 
 186). 
 
 In the latter I have embodied the following extracts 
 from a paper read by Captain (now Lieutenant-Colonel) 
 Campbell- Walker before the Otago Institute in Dunedin, 
 New Zealand, on December 21, 1876, entitled State 
 Forestry : its Aim and Object He says in regard to the 
 way in which operations are initiated in Germany and 
 France : 
 
 ' When a forest is about to be taken in hand and worked 
 systematically, a surveyor and valuator from the forest 
 staff' are despatched to the spot the former working 
 under the directions of the latter, who places himself in 
 communication with the local forest officer (if there be 
 one), the local officials and the inhabitants interested, and 
 obtains from them all the information in his power. The 
 surveyor first surveys the whole district or tract, then the 
 several blocks or subdivisions as pointed out by' the 
 valuator, who defines them according to the description 
 and age of the timber then standing, the situation, nature 
 of soil, climate, and any other conditions affecting the 
 rate of growth and nature of the crops which it may be 
 advisable to grow in future years. Whilst the surveyor 
 is engaged in demarcating and surveying these blocks, 
 the valuator is employed in making valuations of the 
 standing crop, calculating the annual rate of growth, 
 inquiring into and forming a register of rights and servi- 
 tudes with a view to their communication, considering the 
 
 * French' Forest Ordinance of 1660 ; with Historical Sketch of Previous Treatment 
 of Forests in France. The early history of forests in France is given, with details of 
 devastations of these going 1 on in the first half of the seventeenth century ; with a trans- 
 lation of the Ordinance of 1669, which is the basis of modern forest, economy ; and 
 notices of forest exploitation in Jardinage, in La Methode d Tire et Aire, and in La 
 Methode des Compartiments. 
 
 \ Introduction to the Study of Modern Forest Economy. In this there are brought 
 under consideration the extensive destruction of forests which has taken place in 
 Europe and elsewhere, with notices of disastrous consequences which have followed 
 diminished supply of timber and firewood, droughts, floods, landslips, and sand-drifts 
 and notices of the appliances of modern forest science successfully to counteract these 
 evils by conservation, planting, and improved exploitation, under scientific administra- 
 tion and management. 
 
30 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 best plan of working the forest for the future, the roads 
 which it will be necessary to construct for the transport 
 of timber in fact, all the conditions of the forest which 
 will enable him to prepare a detailed plan for future 
 management, and the subordinate plans and instructions 
 for a term of years, to be handed over to the executive 
 officer as his " standing orders." A complete code of 
 rules for the guidance of the valuators has been drawn up 
 and printed, in which every possible contingency or 
 difficulty is taken into consideration and provided for. 
 Having completed their investigations on the spot, the 
 valuator and surveyor return to head-quarters and pro- 
 ceed to prepare the working plans, maps, &c., from their 
 notes and measurements. These are submitted to the 
 Board or Committee of controlling officers, who examine 
 the plan or scheme in all its details, and if the calcula- 
 tions on which it is based be found accurate, and there 
 are no valid objections on the part of communities or 
 individuals, pass it, on which it is made out in triplicate, 
 one being sent to the executive officer for his guidance, 
 another retained by the controlling officer of the division, 
 and the original at the head quarter office for reference. 
 The executive officer has thus in his hands full instruc- 
 tions for the management of his range down to the 
 minutest detail, a margin being of course allowed for his 
 discretion, and accurate maps on a large scale showing- 
 each subdivision of the forest placed under his charge.' 
 
 With regard to measures adopted to secure natural re- 
 production of exploited forests, he says: 
 
 ' Natural reproduction is effected by a gradual removal 
 of the existing older stock. If a forest tract be suddenly 
 cleared, there will ordinarily spring up a mass of coarse 
 herbage and undergrowth, through which seedlings of the 
 forest growth will rarely be able to struggle. In the case 
 of mountain forests being suddenly laid low, we have also 
 to fear not only the sudden appearance of an undergrowth 
 prejudicial to tree reproduction, but the total loss of the 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 31 
 
 soil from exposure to the full violence of the rain when it 
 is no longer bound together by the tree roots. This soil 
 is then washed away into the valleys below, leaving a 
 bare or rocky hillside bearing nothing but the scantiest 
 herbage. We must therefore note how Nature acts in the 
 reproduction of forest trees, and follow in her footsteps. 
 As Pope writes 
 
 ' First follow Nature, and your judgment frame 
 By her just standard, which remains the same, 
 Unerring.' .... 
 
 Acting on this principle, foresters have arrived at a system- 
 atic method of treatment, under which large tracts of 
 forest in Germany and France are now managed. The 
 forests of a division, working circle, or district, are divided 
 according to the description of the timber and the prevail- 
 ing age of the trees, and it is the aim of the forester 
 gradually to equalise the annual yield, and ensure its per- 
 manency. With this object, he divides the total number 
 of years which are found necessary to enable a tree to 
 reach maturity into a certain number of periods, and 
 divides his forest into blocks corresponding with each 
 period or state of growth. Thus, the beech having a 
 rotation of 120 years, beech forests would be divided into 
 six periods of 20 years each that is to say, when the 
 forest has been brought into proper order, there should be 
 as nearly as possible equal areas under crop in each of the 
 six periods, viz., from 1 year to 20, from 20 to 40, and 
 so on. It is not necessary that the total extent in each 
 period should be together, but it is advisable to group 
 them as much as possible, and work each tract regularly 
 in succession, having regard to the direction of the prevail- 
 ing winds. When a block arrives in the last or oldest 
 stage, felling is commenced by what is called a preparatory 
 or seed clearing, which is very slight, and scarcely to. be 
 distinguished from the ordinary thinning carried on in the 
 former periods. This is followed by a clearing for light in 
 the first year after seed has fallen (the beech seeds only 
 every fourth or fifth year) with the objects of 1st, pre- 
 
32 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 paring the ground to receive the seed ; 2nd, allowing the 
 seed to germinate as it falls ; 3rd, affording sufficient light 
 to the young seedlings. The finest trees are, as a rule, 
 left standing, with the two-fold object of depositing the 
 seed and sheltering the young trees as they come up. If 
 there be a good seed year and sufficient rain, the ground 
 should be thickly covered with seedlings within two or 
 three years after the first clearing, Nature being assisted 
 when necessary by hand sowing, transplanting from 
 patches where the seedlings have come up very quickly, 
 to the thinner spots, and other measures of forest craft. 
 When the ground is pretty well covered the old trees are 
 felled and carefully removed, so as to do as little damage 
 as possible to the new crop, and the block recommences 
 life, so to speak, nothing further being done until the first 
 thinning. The above is briefly the whole process of 
 natural reproduction, which is the simplest and most 
 economical of all systems, and especially applicable to 
 forests of deciduous trees. The period between the first 
 or preparatory clearing and the final clearing varies from 
 ten to thirty years, the more gradual and protracted 
 method being now most in favour, particularly in the 
 Black Forest, where the old trees are removed so gradually 
 that there can scarcely be said to be any clearing at all, the 
 new crop being well advanced before the last of the parent 
 trees is removed. This approximates to "felling by selec- 
 tion," [Jardinage], which is the primitive system of working 
 forests in all countries, under which, in its rude form, the 
 forester proceeds without method, selecting such timber as 
 suits him, irrespective of its relation to the forest incre- 
 ment. Reduced to system, it has certain advantages, 
 especially in mountain forests, in which, if the steep slopes 
 be laid bare area by area, avalanches, landslips, and disas- 
 trous torrents might result, but the annual output under 
 this system is never more than two-thirds of that obtained 
 by the rotation system, and there are other objections 
 which it is unnecessary "to detail in this paper, which have 
 caused it to be rightly condemned, and now-a-days only 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION". 33 
 
 retained in the treatment of European forests under pecu- 
 liar or special circumstances/ 
 
 In a volume entitled Reports on Forest Management in 
 Germany, Colonel Campbell- Walker has said : ' The main 
 object aimed at in any system of scientific forestry is, in 
 the first instance, the conversion of any tract or tracts of 
 natural forests, which generally contain trees of all ages 
 and descriptions, young and old, good and bad, growing 
 too thickly in one place and too thinly in another, into 
 what is termed in German, a geschlossener Bestand (close or 
 compact forest), consisting of trees of the better descrip- 
 tions, and of the same age or period, divided into blocks, 
 and capable of being worked, i.e., thinned out, felled, and 
 reproduced or replanted, in rotation, a block or part of a 
 block being taken in hand each year. In settling and 
 carrying out such a system, important considerations and 
 complications present themselves, such as the relation of 
 the particular block, district, or division, to the whole 
 forest system of the province; the requirements of the 
 people not only as regards timber and firewood, but straw, 
 litter, and leaves for manure and pasturage ; the geologi- 
 cal and chemical formation and properties of the s jil ; and 
 the situation as regards the prevailing winds, on which 
 the felling must always depend, in order to decrease the 
 chances of damage to a minimum ; measures for precau- 
 tions against fires, the ravages of destructive insects, tres- 
 pass, damage, or theft by men and cattle. All these must 
 be taken into consideration and borne in mind at each 
 successive stage. Nor must it be supposed that when 
 once an indigenous forest has been mapped, valued, and 
 working plans prepared, the necessity for attending to all 
 such considerations is at an end. On the contrary, it is 
 found necessary to have a revision of the working plan 
 every ten or twenty years. It may be found advisable to 
 change the crop as in agriculture, to convert a hard wood 
 into a coniferous forest, or vice versa, to replace oak by 
 beech, or to plant up (unter bau) the former with spruce or 
 
 D 
 
34 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 beech to cover the ground and keep down the growth of 
 grass. All these, and a hundred other details, are constantly 
 presenting themselves for consideration and settlement, 
 and the local forest officer should be ever on the alert to 
 detect the necessity of any change and bring it into notice, 
 and no less than the controlling branch should be pre- 
 pared to suggest what is best to be done, and be conver- 
 sant with what has been done, and with what results, 
 under similar circumstances, in other districts and pro- 
 vinces.' 
 
 Such is the method of exploitation which was introduced 
 into Poland in 1858 by Baron von Berg ; and though there 
 may have been such a degeneration by reversion to older and 
 inferior methods of exploitation, as is intimated by Herr 
 Krause in his Critical Examination of the Forest System of the 
 Kingdom of Poland , the method in its characteristic details 
 is still followed. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, AND 
 PRODUCE OF FORESTS. 
 
 M. MARNY writes of the forests in Poland : ' In Poland 
 we meet with only a few forests capable of giving any 
 idea of what was the ancient forest condition of the 
 country. A sample of this may be seen in the forest of 
 Wodwosco, which lies upon the domain of that name, 
 between those of Uraniezko and of Sublowiez. Whilst 
 oue part cleared early in this century offers only a con- 
 tinuation of bushes and thickets, in the midst of which 
 spring up here and there a few alders, maples, or hollies ; 
 in that which the hand of man has respected to this day, 
 the forest offers admirably tall trees of oak and beech, 
 mingled with majestic firs. Where the bushes disappear 
 a carpet of moss and heath re-cover the soil. Beyond this 
 the land loses this uniformity, and becomes more broken ; 
 a torrent dashes with fracas over the debris of rocks. 
 The trees are crowded together, and their branches are 
 drawn nearer and nearer, forming a dome which the rays 
 of the sun seek in vain to penetrate/ 
 
 The annual tabulated reports of the area of forests in 
 Poland, and in the different divisions of Poland, vary 
 considerably. This may be attributable in part to one or 
 other, or one or more, or all of the following causes : 
 Extensive clearings, extensive plantings, and rectifications 
 of estimates by new surveys and accurate measurements. 
 
 From a series of these in my possession I give the 
 following, which gives in a tabulated form for 1870 infor- 
 mation which may be generally interesting : 
 
FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 nimal Revenue 
 from Crown 
 Forests per 
 dec. kopecs. 
 
 S3 . 
 *i w'j3*i 
 
 
 ggg 
 
 300 
 
 COrJIOO 
 
 co co o^ *~H r-* i"* r^* co oo o^ 
 
 OCO COiOCNOCit^^C^ 
 CO* oT CO IT-** ^ Ir^* l^ ^^ O^ OO 
 
 (^ rH CO 1^* CO O 
 CO(N<NC<JTHCO 
 
 If 1411 I ill 
 
 i "i 5 "S 
 
 Pi! 
 
 11 111 
 
 1 5 1-9 is 
 
 
 1522* 
 
 "ill I 
 
 (Mt^'-P Q 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 
 
 37 
 
 In the Polish Journal of Rural Economy and Forest Science, 
 Selskoy Ghosyaistvo u Laesovolstvo, there is given the following 
 information by Mr A. Bitney in regard to the present 
 state of the conservation and exploitation of the Crown 
 forests in Poland : ' The accumulation of a great part of 
 the Crown forests in a few well-known centres leads to 
 the conclusion that they must be very unequally distri- 
 buted, and, in point of fact, we find the distribution in 
 the ten Governments into which the kingdom is divided 
 to be as follows : 
 
 Governments. 
 
 Warsaw, 
 
 Kalish, 
 
 Petrokoff, 
 
 Radom, 
 
 Keletz, 
 
 Lublin, 
 
 Siedletz, 
 
 Plotsk, 
 
 Lonija, 
 
 Souvalki, 
 
 Forests solely 
 belonging to 
 Government. 
 
 37,491 dec. 
 
 18,870 
 
 80,179 
 116,738 
 
 80,638 
 
 31,024 
 
 24,927 
 
 30,445 
 
 97,685 
 192,041 
 
 Total, 710,038 dec. 
 
 Proportion to Government 
 
 Of Private 
 Forests. 
 
 1/6-4 
 
 1/9-3 
 
 1/2-4 
 
 1/2-10 
 
 1/2-0 
 
 1/130 
 
 1/11-4 
 
 1/5-2 
 
 1/1-5 
 
 2/1-0 
 
 Of Communal 
 Forests. 
 
 1/54 
 1/14 
 1/10 
 1/11 
 1/50 
 1/52 
 1/33 
 1/11 
 1/5 
 
 ' From this it appears that there are five Governments 
 absolutely poor in private forests Kalish, Siedletz, Lublin, 
 Warsaw, and Plotsk, in which the private forests are in 
 proportion to Government forests as one-ninth, and the 
 communal forests as one forty- third ; and there are four 
 Governments Petrokoff, Keletz, Lonija, and Ladom, 
 in which the private forests are in proportion to the Govern- 
 ment forests as one-half, and the communal forests as, one- 
 eleventh ; and lastly there is the Government of Souvalki, 
 which presents the extreme case of the private forests 
 being to the Crown forests in the proportion of two to one, 
 and the communal forests as one-fifth. 
 
 ' Such an unequal distribution of Crown forests, with the 
 great dispersion and small extent of a great matey of 
 them, places the local forest administration under the 
 
38 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 disadvantageous necessity of combining several small 
 forest estates in one forest administration, and thus it 
 comes to pass that the different forest administrations in 
 the first mentioned five Governments do not exceed upon 
 an average 7000 desatins, while in the four following they 
 average 13,000 desatins, and in the Souvalki Government 
 16,000 desatins. 
 
 ' The whole of the Crown forests of the kingdom are at 
 present classified under three heads : 
 
 'I. Crown forests in absolute possession, 572,45 4 desatins 
 in extent, the whole annual produce of which, subject to 
 a small deduction for Government and local requirements 
 may be disposed of by sale. 
 
 'II. Forests under concession to well-known mining 
 works, which are 116,705 desatins in extent, and are 
 assigned to these for the supply of timber, firewood, 
 and charcoal, for which the proprietors or lessees of these 
 works pay into the Treasury a contract price according to 
 the quantity used, while the Forest Administration has a 
 right to dispose according to their judgment of any surplus 
 produce after all the requirements of these works have 
 been met. 
 
 ' III. Leased forests, covering an area of 8,383 desatins, 
 in which the wood may be felled by the lessees, but the 
 Government administration is retained. 
 
 f From information embodied in a report made by the 
 Central Forest Administration it appears that there is a 
 fourth category confiscated forests on church lands 
 covering an area of 12,496 desatins, formerly belonging to 
 clergy of the Romish Church, but which have latterly 
 come under the administration of Government, and which 
 might have been included under the first head, but the 
 arrangement for the administration of them was not then 
 completed, nor were any sales then made. 
 
 'Besides these Crown forests, which are under adminis- 
 tration, the administrative authorities of the Crown forests 
 are understood to have a surveillance of all those private 
 forests given as security for money loans obtained from the 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 39 
 
 Government or from banks, and of such as are held by 
 private persons under deed of entail. The forest estates so 
 
 fiven in security for loans in all the Governments of the 
 ingdom in 1868 were 417 in number, covering a total 
 area of 162,633, desatins. The entailed forest estates 
 were in number 90, covering an area of 56,854 desatins. 
 In all, 507 forest estates, covering an area of 219,487 
 desatins. 
 
 ' The smallest number of forests placed under Government 
 surveillance as forests mortgaged for loans are situated 
 in the Governments of Souvalki, Keletz, and Radom ; the 
 greatest number in the Governments of Petrokoff, Kalish, 
 Olotsk, and Warsaw. The number of entailed estates 
 brought under this surveillance are few in the Govern- 
 ments of Keletz and Radom, with very few indeed in the 
 Governments of Plotsk and Lublin. They are mostly 
 situated in the Governments of Petrokoff, Kalish, Lonija, 
 and Souvalki. 
 
 'All the private forests under the surveillance of the 
 Forest Administration are placed under the supervision of 
 their officers, according to their situation and proximity to 
 different forest administrations of Crown forests in the 
 same district ; and as there are a great many such forests, 
 and they are widely dispersed over the kingdom, of the 64 
 administrations amongst which the Crown forests are 
 divided, there are only seven of these which have not 
 private forests under their supervision. 
 
 ' This supervision extends only to seeing that they be not 
 destroyed. With this in view, and to reduce as much as 
 possible the trouble of the administration in the discharge 
 of the duty, the lenders be it the Government or the 
 banks make it a condition of loan that they shall bring 
 if necessary the forests into proper condition, and carry 
 out such plans of management as after examination shall 
 be sanctioned by the Forest Administration. Entailed 
 estates are not handed over to the inheritors until they 
 have been, if necessary, put into a proper condition in 
 accordance with the regulations laid down for Crown 
 
40 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 forests, and they bind themselves to carry out the manage- 
 ment and exploitation of them in accordance with the pre- 
 scriptions of these regulations. 
 
 ' In all that relates to details of conservation the period 
 of felling, the mode of sale, and the cutting up of the 
 wood the holder is left to do as he thinks proper, pro- 
 vided only a systematic approved exploitation be carried 
 out, with satisfactory provision for the reproduction of the 
 forests as they are felled ; in regard to these points alone 
 is surveillance exercised. 
 
 ' A little consideration will show that the Government 
 foresters have enough and more than enough on their 
 hands in the administration of the forests belonging to 
 the Crown. And it is not always the case that they have 
 either the opportunity or the time to carry this out in 
 accordance with the usually prescribed order of procedure 
 and this, exclusive of what has to be done in connection 
 with partial fellings, and cutting openings through the 
 extent of the forest, &c., all which makes the control they 
 have to exercise more complicated, and the result may be 
 an exhaustion of the forests subjected to their surveillance. 
 And this is the more likely, seeing that they have no power 
 in many cases to compel the proprietors to keep a forester 
 to carry out the prescribed plans of management and ex- 
 ploitation. 
 
 ' From the consideration of all this it will be seen that 
 the supervision of private forests is not so easy a matter as 
 at first sight it may appear to be. And such supervision 
 as is exercised cannot prevent exhaustion, or even up- 
 rooting, or destruction of private forests, if the proprietors 
 wish this done. 
 
 ' In regard to the failure of this nominal surveillance, Mr 
 Polonjansky, in statistics prepared by him some fifteen 
 years ago, pointed out to the Forest Administration that 
 up to that time nothing effectual had been done. 
 
 'All the Crown forests have been under the supreme 
 control of the Administration of Finance from the initia- 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 41 
 
 tion of regular forest administration up to the present 
 time. Under the Minister of Finance there has been a 
 distinct Department for the management of the Crown 
 property, included in which are the Crown forests. Some 
 few changes have taken place in this department, but 
 they have consisted mainly in reducing the number of 
 officials employed in it. At present the forest section of 
 the Administration of Finance consists of thirteen officials 
 in all, under a chief, but even he has very little to do with 
 the actual management of the forests, and he in turn is 
 under the immediate direction of the department of 
 Imperial domains, with the director in which lies the 
 initiation of the management of the forests; and the 
 forest section in the Ministry of Finance presents more 
 the appearance of a chancery than of a department. 
 
 ' The forests are arranged in eight districts, over each of 
 which is a commissioner ; but these districts are not all of 
 equal size and importance. Each commissioner has an 
 adjunct, who may be likened to the taxator, or valuer, in 
 the Russian forest service. They have the superinten- 
 dence of all buildings, &c., as assistants to the commis- 
 sioners, and they very rarely have anything entrusted to 
 them entirely. 
 
 ' The pay of the officials is very moderate. The chief 
 of the section receives 1350 roubles a yea^ The Stolon- 
 chalnicks, or heads of tables, clerks presiding over the 
 writers or copyists, are in three sections. Two receive 900, 
 two 824, and four 750 roubles. The adjuncts or assistants 
 do not all receive the same amount of pay, but salaries 
 ranging to from 300 to 674 roubles a year. The commis- 
 sioner has, in addition to his salary, an allowance of 400 
 roubles a year for travelling expenses, and the assistants 
 have one of 300 roubles. 
 
 ' Notwithstanding the small number of the officials in 
 the Forest Administration, and the small salaries paid to 
 them, and the salary of the director not being included in 
 the account, the expenses have amounted to the following 
 sums : 
 
42 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 In 1868, subsequent to the reduction in the number of 
 
 officials, 27,210 roubles. 
 
 1867, previous to that reduction, .... 31,245 ,, 
 
 1866, 31,875 
 
 1865, 31,857 
 
 Giving as the average of the four years, - 30,557 roubles. 
 
 ' Each forest administration is divided into four sub- 
 divisions, with officials bearing corresponding titles ; one 
 of these is the under forester, on whom is devolved the 
 charge of sales and fellings. Of these there are in all 
 192. 
 
 ' When the forest is not large, and is unimportant, they 
 employ as under foresters warders, who receive the desig- 
 nation of controul guards, and a somewhat higher pay than 
 the other warders, discharging as they do all the functions 
 of under foresters. Of these there are 22 in all. In 
 accordance with this, the whole of the Crown forests are 
 divided into 214 sub-divisions, to each of which an under 
 forester is appointed, with an average of 2*1 desatins 
 for each. 
 
 ' Of forest warders there are 92 mounted guards ; but 
 the principal ward and responsibility rests on the foot 
 guards, of whom there are 1072, giving to each a district 
 of 6GO desatins, which, considering the populousness of 
 many places, is a ward of very considerable extent. In 
 view of this, in the more dangerous wards there are also 
 under guards, of whom at present there are 345. 
 
 ' The local forest administrations in the different Govern- 
 ments are classified as those of forests, and those of sub- 
 forests. The number of the whole is 63, in which are 
 included those of the latter category, the distinction 
 depending on the size of the forests. The forest adminis- 
 trations are committed to chief foresters, or Oberforst- 
 Meisters, each of whom has an assistant supposed to act as 
 his clerk, with the small salary of from 90 to 100 roubles. 
 Generally young men, who have newly entered the forest 
 service on leaving the school of forestry, hold such appoint- 
 ments. The sub-forests are under the charge of Forst- 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 43 
 
 Meisters, sometimes called Sub-foresters, [a designation not 
 to be confounded with that of under forester, another class 
 of officials of whom mention will be made. They, like 
 the ecclesiastical officials designated bishops and arch- 
 bishops in Russia, are equal in power in their own sphere 
 without any subordination to authority of the Oberforst- 
 Meisters, and take their inferior rank from the compara- 
 tively lesser importance and magnitude of their charge 
 alone.] 
 
 ' If we divide the whole area of 710,000 desatins equally 
 amongst the whole of the warders employed, it gives us 
 not less than 500 desatins, which is no small area for a 
 man to guard in those forest estates, which are surrounded 
 by villages in close proximity to them. And notwith- 
 standing thefts of all kinds being carried on by the popu- 
 lation of the locality, and the difficulty of keeping watch 
 and ward, the warders are badly paid. The head warders, 
 for instance, receive an annual salary of from 22 to 45 
 roubles, and there are some in the service who are only 
 allowed a rouble and a half [at the present rate of 
 exchange, three shillings per annum !] 
 
 'The assistant warders receive from 1 to 18' roubles, 
 but with 7J desatins of land and a free house. With the 
 great scarcity of provisions in Poland, and the poor soil in 
 these small allottments, the condition of such men was very 
 bad, so bad that it is difficult not to believe that many of 
 them do abuse their official power to make up their 
 insufficient salary. 
 
 'Unhappily the continued abnormal condition of the 
 country since 1865 and 1866 prevents us from estimating 
 at their true worth the services of these warders. And 
 although when astounded by the great loss occasioned by 
 theft we cannot attribute this entirely, directly or indirectly, 
 to the warders, it is a fact that on the guarding of the 
 forests being entrusted to the troops the thefts were at 
 once diminished nine-tenths. 
 
44 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 In 1865 the estimated value of the wood 
 
 stolen was 99,840 roubles. 
 
 And in 1866 it was .... 142,850 ,, 
 
 But in 1867 it fell to 15,902 
 
 The total loss in these three years was - 258,592 ,, 
 
 And M, Bitney remarks : 'Considering the very small 
 remuneration given to all of the warders for their work, it 
 would be useless to go into minute estimates of the worth 
 of warders receiving salaries of one and one and a-half 
 roubles per annum. 
 
 ' For these warders, both foot and horse, they choose 
 generally men who can read and write, who are living in 
 the locality, and soldiers who have left the service with 
 medals for good conduct and attention to duty. These 
 warders may be promoted to be controul warders ; but for 
 controul warders to rise higher it is difficult, as for higher 
 duties a special training and an acquaintance with forest 
 science is required. 
 
 ' Under every forest administration there are many 
 employes called Sajeennicks; but at present they have no 
 regular employment. The foresters use them as messen- 
 gers, and they help the warders in watching the forests. 
 Formerly, when firewood was cut up and sold in the 
 Government forests, it was the work of these men to pile 
 the billets in square sajeens or fathoms, and thence came 
 the designation. At present this duty has to be performed 
 only in the forests conceded to mines, in which the wood 
 is felled and prepared by Government for use in these. 
 The Sajeennicks received no salary, but were allowed so much 
 for each fathom of wood which they piled, and since this 
 practice was discontinued, even this they have lost. This 
 would have no effect on their relations with Government 
 if the forest administration had not placed them in the 
 Crown forests as persons included in the staff of officials 
 employed in the management of the forests. Of course 
 they have no pay, they are of very little use, and it is sus- 
 pected that in an underhand way they encourage thieving. 
 The number of them in the forests is about 340. 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 45 
 
 ' To all persons employed officially in the management of 
 the forests, from the director-in-chief to the assistant war- 
 ders and Sajeennicks, there are allotted indiscriminately 7i 
 desatins of land, as supplying a means of ekeing out their 
 pay. There are thus allotted in all 17,000 desatins. But 
 as these allottments are in the interiors of the forests, and 
 a great many of them are unproductive sands, requiring 
 much labour to make them productive, it follows, to the 
 disadvantage of the service, that the forest warder, receiv- 
 ing but little pay, must necessarily lose or waste, in the cul- 
 ture of these fields, much time which might be spent more 
 profitably in the forest or service. Taking into account 
 the topographical position, one would think that it would 
 be better to give them higher pay, and otherwise provide 
 for their comfort, than to make them engage in agriculture 
 for which the old soldier is very unfit, and cannot get 
 together the implements and other requisites. As it is 
 desired that these people should live within the precincts 
 of the forest, houses have been built for them within the 
 forest itself, but the condition of these houses in many 
 places is very unsatisfactory. In visiting different forest 
 administrations I have frequently seen half-ruined huts 
 which had been assigned to warders, and even to sub- 
 foresters. The houses of the foresters were seemingly in 
 better condition ; but many of them also were in need of 
 important repairs. 
 
 ' All these houses and huts are insured against fire, which 
 entails an expenditure of 19,000 roubles a year. In con- 
 templation of the possibility of all the Crown forests of 
 the kingdom being disposed of by sale, financial considera- 
 tions make the supreme administrations less careful than 
 would otherwise be the case about keeping all the houses 
 in thorough repair and good condition, 
 
 ' In the mining districts the forest service is more 
 laborious than it is on the other Crown forests, and on 
 this account the pay of foresters and sub-foresters in these 
 is somewhat higher. The difference is as follows : 
 
46 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 In forests In 
 
 at large. mine forests. 
 
 Foresters' annual salary, 525 roubles. 600 roubles. 
 Assistant or clerk, - 90 ,, 100 ,, 
 
 Sub-Forester, - - 180-225 250 
 
 ' The total expense of the forest management was 
 
 In 1865, - - - 119, 143 roubles. 
 1861, - - - 122,755 
 1867, - - - 120,022 
 
 Or on an average, 120,640 roubles a year. 
 
 ' The activity and work of the Polish forester is, in 
 general, much below that of the Russian corresponding 
 official. The reason is two-fold : (1) The excessive cen- 
 tralisation of the forest administration ; and (2) connected 
 therewith the bureaucratic character of the administration. 
 ' Through this the foresters are almost deprived of respon- 
 sibility. They must obtain authority for the most trifling 
 act, and even in cases in which the forester is allowed to 
 act on his own responsibility, the writings or documents 
 extend to ridiculous dimensions. Count Berg, on be- 
 coming acquainted with the administration and actual 
 management of forests in Poland, remarked that he had 
 never even dreamed of meeting with such voluminous and 
 innumerable documents as were the communications of 
 Polish foresters. From this arise great complications and 
 confusion. For example, there occurs a case of theft for 
 which a fine is imposed in this case all the particulars 
 must be detailed in writing twelve times ; and should the 
 accused resist payment, so that extreme measures must be 
 adopted, the correspondence is endless. 
 
 ' All of the Crown forests, with the exception of those 
 taken over from the clergy of the Church of Rome, are 
 managed systematically, and exploited in accordance with 
 the advanced forest science of the day. This arrangement 
 was effected within the period included in the years 1824 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 47 
 
 and 1830, so that the greater number have, or will in a 
 few years have passed through their first prescribed course 
 of treatment. [By this, I presume, may be meant a com- 
 plete revolution, but it does not appear whether that or 
 the ordinary course of felling be what is meant ; and this 
 is referred to as supplying the means of forming an 
 opinion in regard to the practicability and expediency of 
 perpetuating the system initiated.] 
 
 ' The management adopted is substantially the same as 
 that followed in many forests in Russia a preparation of 
 the forest for regular treatment in accordance with the 
 advanced forest science of the day, by the preparation of 
 accurate diagrams, dividing the forests into compartments, 
 determining the area of fellings for specified periods, and 
 portioning the whole area of the forest so as to secure the 
 requisite products in accordance with an economical use of 
 the capabilities of the forest j and by projecting the exploi- 
 tation and other operations to be followed out in the 
 course of the decade, including the opening up of the 
 forest by felled strips to give access to all of the compart- 
 ments required, and making these approximately of equal 
 areas ; and by prescribing the operations to be undertaken 
 according as the trees may be young, or middle-aged, or 
 mature, or consisting of a mixture of trees belonging to 
 any two of these categories in any variety of proportions. 
 
 ' Assuming the operations to embrace a period of thirty 
 years, if the mature section allotted for exploitation in 
 any decade do equal one-third of the whole area, the 
 clearing is confined to the section, and the deficient pro- 
 duce is obtained from other parts ; if it exceed the third 
 of the whole area, it is cleared so far as a sale can be 
 assured for the produce. 
 
 * It lies with the taxator to prescribe the time and place 
 of all the fellings, and so to combine these as to prepare 
 for the whole forest being brought into such uniformity in 
 its several parts as is most favourable for the carrying out 
 of the most approved forest management of the day, but 
 doing this with the least possible sacrifice of advantages, 
 
48 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 though unhesitatingly risking this if necessary for the 
 execution of the general plan, and to secure plots present- 
 ing a regular gradation in age. 
 
 ' Two copies of his scheme, with charts and specifications, 
 must be prepared, one for the Minister of Finance and the 
 other for the forester ; and with the former must be pre- 
 sented a report of the forester's reasons for adopting any 
 measure, or for not adopting any other which may seem 
 naturally to suggest itself for adoption. And the forester 
 can only proceed to carry out the measures proposed 
 when they have received the sanction of the Minister of 
 Finance. 
 
 ' In subordination to what general scheme of operations it 
 may be deemed desirable, provision must be made for the 
 supply of local requirements. As every section of the 
 forest, of which there are many, is distinct, and surrounded 
 by villages, an opportunity must be supplied to them of 
 purchasing such wood as they require, that they may 
 not be left without this, or be placed under temptation to 
 steal. 
 
 1 Where the fellings are well conducted, and the soil is 
 adapted for the natural germination of the seed, as, for 
 example, is the case in the Kshepitsk forest, in the 
 Government of Petrokoff, the forest district readily takes 
 the appearance and condition of a regulated forest. But 
 unhappily the fellings throughout the Government forests 
 do not all fulfil these conditions, and the reproduction of the 
 forests felled proceeds very slowly, and in some cases does 
 not take place at all, of which a striking illustration is 
 supplied by the Raigrod forest, in the Government of 
 Lonija, where there are twelve cleared fellings, where 
 there are no signs of reproduction, though a long time has 
 elapsed since they were cleared in the case of the first 
 felled, fourteen years- -and they have still growing on 
 them baliveaux, or seed-bearing trees, left in the first fell- 
 ing for the production of seed. 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 49 
 
 ' The soil in these clearings, originally poor, becomes 
 further impoverished by the long continued action of the 
 light promoting the decomposition of the humus ; and from 
 the continuance of this influence a natural reproduction 
 of the forest there can scarcely be expected. 
 
 * This system of making a complete clearance, leaving 
 only balweaux for seed, is very much followed throughout 
 the kingdom, and notwithstanding the discouraging results 
 which have been witnessed, occasioning in many cases 
 considerable loss, they are still continued even in the most 
 valuable forests, where, in view of the effects on the 
 revenue, and of the natural hindrances to reproduction, 
 it might have been advantageous to have sacrificed a portion 
 of the proceeds to effect without loss of time an artificial 
 reproduction.' 
 
 M. Bitney mentions that in the Government of Plotsk, 
 in a forest growing on very poor sandy soil, the natural 
 sowing of fellings so cleared is proved by many cases to 
 proceed very slowly, requiring from ten to thirteen years, 
 and even then it is very irregularly done. Yet while this is 
 one of the most pecuniarily productive of the forests, yielding 
 annually 1*75 roubles of nett returns for each desatin, the 
 fellings are conducted in the manner, and with the result 
 stated, that of a tardy and poor reproduction of the forest 
 through the false economy of leaving the space to the 
 chances incidental here to natural sowings. 
 
 ' With regard to the sections of the forest which are in 
 the second and third stages of reproduction and growth, 
 their condition is in general most satisfactory, especially 
 when we take into account that these forests were in the 
 locality where, for about two years, the fighting chiefly 
 took place, and for some time after that they were left 
 open to depredations, which were only repressed by the 
 forests being placed under the guardianship of the soldiers ; 
 but we have seen elsewhere that forests have suffered in 
 this way chiefly on their outer verge, and that to such an 
 extent that there were left there only bare poles, while the 
 
 E 
 
50 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 centres of the forests remained in a great measure free from 
 depredation. And if one meets with a few mature or 
 middle-aged woods, as in Petrokoff, Vlotslaff, and Kam- 
 pinoss forests, in which are indications of the destruction 
 of trees, and in which are but a few trees of mature or 
 middle age, this is more attributable to former long con- 
 tinued mismanagement than to depredations. 
 
 ' The satisfactory state of the forests, with this exception, 
 which is surpassing expectation, may be attributable in a 
 great measure to the system of management adopted, 
 bringing all as soon as practicable into a regular succession 
 of growth, and after that subjecting them to a regular 
 system of exploitation. Through this judicious course, 
 and the carrying out strictly of the taxator or surveyor's 
 specific directions, from the first introduction of the new 
 regimt, the good results have been obtained. 
 
 ' The number of woods in which the fellings are some- 
 what objectionable has been greatly diminished; and they 
 are only to be met with in forests from which it is not 
 easy to effect sales, and in which the course of manage- 
 ment could not, without pecuniary sacrifice, be carried out 
 within the prescribed time. The whole might be pro- 
 nounced satisfactory if the restoration or renewal of the 
 woods had not been so imperfect in some cases in conse- 
 quence of the character of the soil in the locality of the 
 forest. 
 
 ' The sales in the regulated forests are made in accor- 
 dance with the annual estimates sanctioned by the 
 Minister of Finance. The wood sold was formerly 
 delivered to the purchasers some of it cut, as for example 
 firewood, and some of it as standing timber, to be felled by 
 himself; this was done chiefly with wood for buildings, 
 and under an obligation to have it felled and removed 
 within a specified time. Latterly, all is sold standing, so 
 that the Forest Administration does not need to occupy 
 itself with the felling of the trees, excepting in the mining 
 districts; and this is done, although in some of the forests, 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, Ac. 51 
 
 such as those of Plotsk, Lajnoss, Kshepitsk, and others, it 
 would have been commercially advantageous to have sold 
 the wood cut. 
 
 ' The sale of wood from Crown forests was formerly made 
 at a fixed price. Sales by auction were only made in 
 exceptional cases, but within the last two or three years 
 this has become the principal mode of sale. And thus the 
 income from some forests has been increased 20 per cent. ; 
 but there are not a few forests the income from which has 
 been diminished. 
 
 ' This may be attributed to the circumstance that the 
 general order issued to the local Forest Administration 
 by the Central Administration was not given in detailed 
 directions ; and the administrators of forest estates, which 
 could only command a local sale to the rural population 
 around, had to sell much of the produce by auction to 
 greater buyers, as they had more produce than supplied 
 the local requirements, and it was of considerable value. 
 The Central Administration having approved of the sub- 
 division of sales, this was tried, but the sales were held in 
 but a few places, and were made solely as an experiment, 
 and the small consumers were not accustomed to buy 
 standing trees direct from the Crown, but to get their 
 wood from middlemen, who were Jews with capital at 
 command. The good effects of auction sales have not yet 
 developed themselves. 
 
 ' The accessory preparations from forest products have only 
 been manufactured to a limited extent in Poland. The 
 fabricks met with are principally of tar, and are on the 
 model of those used a hundre.d years ago small and incon- 
 venient, and when there are any of a larger and more 
 comprehensive character, as for example, about Brok and 
 Vishkoff, they are pointed out as something remarkable. 
 The making of birch tar and lampblack is carried on to a 
 limited extent. Bark for use in tanning is collected more 
 in private forests than in those of the Government ; but 
 from the long time required for its production, and the 
 
52 
 
 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 supervision of the shrubs which is necessary, the quality 
 is poor, and the price low. 
 
 ' The depasturing of cattle in the forests, which is very 
 injurious to these, though prohibited, is practised almost 
 everywhere without permission. It was kept in check 
 before the insurrection by raising the charge for grazing 
 in the woods. It is to be hoped that this abuse will be 
 rectified, so far as is compatible with rights lawfully 
 acquired, so soon as the forests shall pass out of the 
 transition condition in which they have been for the last 
 five years. 
 
 ' The collection of moss, fallen leaves, and twigs, is car- 
 ried on chiefly through such acquired right ; but the right 
 is very limited, so the regulation of this presents fewer 
 difficulties than the limitation or prevention of the feeding 
 of cattle. 
 
 'The leased woods are confined to a very few forests ; 
 the revenue derived from them is trifling, although it 
 might easily be increased. The sales by auction are only 
 of fellings for one year. 1 
 
 ' The following is a statement of the cubic forest income 
 and expenditure for the last three years : 
 
 EXPENDITURE. 
 
 a. For local forest management, insurance, 
 houses, and office expenses of the 
 Forest Administration, 
 6. Forest improvement and culture, - 
 
 c. Forest section in offices of the several 
 
 Governments, 
 
 d. Salaries of officials in the Central Forest 
 
 Administration, .... 
 
 Total, 
 INCOME. 
 
 a. Received from sale of wood, payments 
 
 due but not paid, fines, and baliveaux, 
 
 b. Accessory produce sales and arrears, 
 
 1865. 
 125,284 
 4,621 
 
 1866. 
 129,157 
 
 8,488 
 
 1867. 
 127,464 
 5,103 
 
 15,390 
 
 15,390 
 
 18,390 
 
 31,875 
 
 31,875 
 
 31,245 
 
 179,170 
 
 184,910 
 
 182,372 
 
 465,499 
 18,268 
 
 498,255 423,306 
 18,975 15,345 
 
 Total, 483,767 517,230 483,651 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 53 
 
 Giving an average annual income for these 
 
 years of 497,883 roubles. 
 
 And an average annual expenditure of 182,150 
 
 Nett proceeds, 297,733 
 
 ' This is equal to 42 kopecs of clear revenue from every 
 desatin of forest land, marshes, and lands, assigned to the 
 employe's, all included. Comparing this result with the 
 results reported in the annual report of the Forest Admin- 
 istration in Russia for 1866, it appears that from the 
 forests of Poland there is obtained a nett revenue equal 
 to that derived from the forests in the Governments of 
 Moscow and Bessarabia. It is below what is obtained 
 from the forests in the Governments of Kaluga, of Tula, 
 of Voronetz, and Poltava ; but all of the other 43 Govern- 
 ments of Russia yield a less revenue than does the king- 
 dom of Poland/ 
 
 The statements made are a free translation, with omis- 
 sions, from the report by M. Bitney ; and to protect him 
 from responsibility for errors in translation the narrative 
 form has in some places been made use of. 
 
 Of trees indigenous to Poland it was stated in a letter 
 addressed by Mr Hove, a native of Poland, to Sir John 
 Sinclair, when he was compiling his Report on the Agri- 
 cultural State and Political Condition of Scotland : 
 
 ' In Poland there are three sorts of oaks, the quercus 
 robur, or the common oak ; the cerris ; and another sort, 
 with which I have not met anywhere else on my travels in 
 Europe, except on the river Bug ; this is the sort which 
 supplies the English navy with their crown planks. This 
 tree has hardly any lateral branches in its infant state, 
 which are so common to all the other known sorts. After 
 having raised itself from the acorn to the height of seven 
 feet, it assumes a diagonal form, or position, and the tops 
 of such trees in the plantations are quite entangled with 
 each other ; but, on arriving at the age of fifteen or six- 
 teen years, they acquire a height of from twenty-four to 
 thirty feet, begin to form a crown, gradually erect them- 
 
54 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 selves, and become majestic and stately trees. The leaves 
 of this tree are much narrower, longer, and more deeply 
 cut than in the robur ; the bark is perfectly smooth, and 
 the acorn long and pointed. On my leaving the district 
 of Belsk, where they grew, five years ago, but few of these 
 trees remained, as the Jews, who are the renters and 
 fellers of timber, had cut them down indiscriminately, 
 with a view to immediate profit. These rich and immense 
 forests, which skirted the river Bug, where I 
 botanised sixteen years ago, are now no more, there 
 remaining only a few trees very thinly scattered, which 
 owe their existence only to the circumstance of their 
 being in situations far distant from the river. I procured 
 a considerable quantity of the acorns on my leaving 
 Poland, with the view of enriching this country; but, 
 having sent my collections via Dantzig, where the French 
 arrived shortly after, I am at this moment ignorant of the 
 manner in which they have been disposed of. Two 
 hundred bushels of acorns of this valuable species would 
 certainly be a great acquisition, if not a real source of 
 riches, to this country; they would answer for hedge- 
 planting perfectly well. 
 
 ' The Swirk is another tree that would be of great value 
 to this country ; it is a species of fir that is peculiar to 
 the mountains of Pokutia, or mountains of Penitence, to 
 which Ovid was exiled. The height and bulk of this tree 
 is incredible ; and it is not very nice in regard to soil, as 
 it grows in the most rocky and inclement situations on 
 the mountains. The white ash of the Palatinate of Belsk, 
 and a sort of maple, are trees that would also be of great 
 value in England ; they both grow to an immense height. 
 The Polish king, John Sobiesky, was so struck with the 
 size and beauty of these trees, that he built himself a 
 residence in the neighbourhood of the forests where they 
 grew, and formed a large town, which is still in existence, 
 to which he gave the name of Jaworow ; Jawor denoting, 
 in the Polish language, this species of acer. The black 
 
A REA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 55 
 
 birch, in the same Palatinate, in the circle of Mosciska,* 
 is a new and unknown species. The wood of this tree is 
 more solid than in any other of this genus, on which 
 account the wheelwrights and millwrights give it the 
 preference. The quality of this wood is in such repute 
 that it is sent to Warsaw, and all over Prussia, for their 
 use.' 
 
 One of the forest products of Poland, which at one time 
 was in great demand, is honey. Of Polish honey there 
 are three varieties. In regard to these the following 
 information was supplied by Mr Hove to Sir John Sin- 
 clair : 
 
 ' Honey, another rural production, respecting which you 
 are anxious to procure information, is in Poland divided 
 into three classes, namely Lipiec, Leszny, and Stepowey 
 prasznymird, 
 
 'Lipiec is gathered by the bees from the lime-tree 
 alone, and is considered on the Continent most valuable, 
 not only for the superiority of its flavour, but also for the 
 estimation in which it is held as an arcanum, in pul- 
 monary complaints, containing very little wax, and being 
 consequently less heating in its nature ; it is as white as 
 milk, and is only to be met with in the lime forests in 
 the neighbourhood of the town of Kovno, in Lithuana. 
 The great demand for this honey occasions it to bear a 
 high price, in so much that I have known a small barrel, 
 containing hardly one pound weight, sell for two ducats 
 on the spot. This species of the lime-tree is peculiar to 
 the province of Lithuania ; it is quite different from all 
 the rest of the genus Tila that I met with in my re- 
 searches in Poland, and is called Kamienna Lipa, or stone- 
 lime. It is a stately tree, and grows in the shape of a 
 pyramid; the leaves are very small, and the twigs 
 uncommonly slender ; it flowers in the months of June 
 and July ; the flowers are very minute, but more abun- 
 
 * An estate belonging to Count Palatine de Cetner. 
 
56 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 dant than in any other species. In the Polish language, 
 the month of June, which is also called Lipiec, derives its 
 name from the flowering of this tree, as the month of 
 July derives its name from the Cocus polonicus, called by 
 the Poles Czerwiee, in which month the ova are gathered. 
 The inhabitants have no regular bee-hives about Kovno ; 
 every peasant who is desirous of rearing bees goes into 
 a forest in a district belonging to his master, without 
 even his leave, makes a longitudinal hollow aperture or 
 apertures in the trunk of a tree, or in the collateral 
 branches, about three feet in length, one foot broad, and 
 about a foot deep, where he deposits his bees, leaves them 
 some food, but pays very little further attention to them 
 until late in the autumn ; when, after cutting out some of 
 their honey, and leaving some for their maintenance, 
 he secures the aperture properly with clay and straw 
 against the frost and inclemency of the approaching 
 season ; these tenements (if they may be so called), with 
 their inhabitants, and the produce of their labour, have 
 then become his indisputable property ; he may sell them, 
 transfer them ; in short, he may do whatever he pleases 
 with them ; and never is it heard that any depredation is 
 committed on them (that by the bear excepted.) In Poland 
 the laws are particularly severe against robbers or destroyers 
 of this property, punishing the offender, when detected, 
 by cutting out the navel, and drawing out his intestines 
 round and round the very tree which he has robbed. 
 Such thefts have happened, but not in my memory. 
 
 * The following spring the proprietor goes again to the 
 forest, examines the bees, and ascertains whether there is 
 sufficient food left till they are able to maintain them- 
 selves ; should there not be a sufficient quantity he 
 deposits with them as much as he judges necessary till 
 the spring-blossom appears. If he observes that his 
 stock has not decreased by mortality he makes more of 
 these apertures in the lateral branches, or in the trunk 
 of the tree, that in case the bees should swarm in his 
 absence they may have a ready asylum. In the autumn 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 57 
 
 he visits them again, carries the June and July work 
 away with him, which is the Lipiec, and leaves only that 
 part for their food which was gathered by them before, 
 and after the flowering of the lime-tree. I have not the 
 least doubt, that if this species of the lime-tree were 
 introduced, and attention paid to them, honey 
 equally excellent and valuable might be produced in this 
 country. The mead made from this honey is excellent, it 
 is sold at Kovno, Grodno, and Vilna, at the rate of 8 
 the dozen. 
 
 ' The next class of honey, which is inferior in a great 
 degree to the Lipiec, being only used for the common mead, 
 is that of the pine forests, the inhabitants of which make 
 apertures in the pine-trees similar to those near Kovno, 
 and pay the same attention in regard to the security of 
 the bees, and their maintenance. The wax also is much 
 inferior in quality ; it requires more trouble in the 
 bleaching, and is only made use of in the churches. 
 
 ' The third class of honey is the Stepowey, or the honey 
 from the plains, where there is an abundance of perennial 
 plants, and hardly any wood. The province of Ukraine 
 produces the very best, and also the very best wax. In 
 that province the peasants pay particular attention to this 
 branch of economy, as it is the only resource they have to 
 enable them to defray the taxes levied in Kussia ; and 
 they consider the produce of bees equal to ready money : 
 wheat, and other species of corn, being so very fluctuating 
 in price, some years it being of so little value that it is 
 not worth the peasant's trouble to gather it in. This has 
 happened in the Ukraine four times in twelve years. But 
 for honey and wax there is always a great demand all over 
 Europe, and even in Turkey. Some of the peasants have 
 from four to five hundred Ule, or logs of wood, in their bee 
 gardens, which are called Pasieka, or bee-hives; these 
 logs are about six feet high, commonly of birch wood (the 
 bees prefer the birch to any other wood), hollowed out in 
 the middle for about five feet, several lamina of thin 
 boards are nailed before the aperture, and but a small 
 
58 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 hole left in the middle of one of these for the entrance of 
 the bees. As the bees are often capricious at the begin- 
 ning of their work, frequently commencing it at the front 
 rather than the back, the peasants cover the aperture 
 with a number of these thin boards, instead of one entire 
 board, for fear of disturbing them, should they have begun 
 their work at the front. It may appear extraordinary, 
 but it is nevertheless true, that in some favourable seasons 
 this aperture of five feet in length, and a foot wide, is full 
 before August, and the peasants are obliged to take the 
 produce long before the usual time, with the view of 
 giving room to the bees to continue their work, so favour- 
 able is the harvest some years. 
 
 ' The bee-gardens are chosen in the plains where the 
 perennial plants are most abundant, that the bees may 
 have but little way to carry home the produce of their 
 labour ; they are of a circular form, about 150 yards in 
 diameter, enclosed with a fence of reeds or brush-wood, 
 and a thatching over them of about five feet for protec- 
 tion, and to keep out the rain and snow ; this is sup- 
 ported by poles from the inside, and a bank of earth is 
 also thrown up to keep the snow from penetrating there in 
 the winter, In the middle a few fruit trees are planted 
 to break the wind, as also hawthorns, and other under- 
 wood, round the enclosure, with the same view. The 
 hives are planted under cover, in the inside, round the 
 fence, and in the winter they are well secured with straw from 
 the frost. The plants for which the bees have a prefer- 
 ence are the Thymus serpyllum, Hyssopus officinalis, 
 Cerinthe maculata, and the Pollygonum fagopyrnm. 
 
 ' The process of brewing mead in Poland is very simple : 
 the proportion is three parts of water to one of honey, 
 and 50 Ib. of mild hops to 160 gallons, which is called a 
 Waar, or a brewing. When the water is boiling, both the 
 honey and hops are thrown into it, and it is kept stirring 
 until it becomes milk warm ; it is then put into a large 
 cask, and allowed to ferment for a few days ; it is then 
 
AREA, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT, &c. 59 
 
 drawn off into another cask, wherein there has been aqua- 
 vita or whisky, bunged quite close, and afterwards taken 
 to the cellars, which in this country are excellent and cool. 
 This mead becomes good in three years time, and by 
 keeping, it improves, like many sorts of wine. The 
 mead for immediate drink is made from malt, hops, and 
 honey, in the same proportion, and undergoes a similar 
 process. In Hungary it is usual to put ginger in mead. 
 There are other sorts of mead in Poland, as Wisniak. 
 Dereniak, Malinaik ; they are made of honey, wild 
 cherries, berries of the Cornus mascula, and raspberries ; 
 they all undergo the same process, and are most excellent 
 and wholesome after a few years keeping. I never saw a 
 gouty man in those provinces where mead is in common 
 use. The Lipiec is made in the same way, but it contains 
 the honey and pure water only. The honey gathered by 
 the bees from the Azalea pontica, at Oczakoff, and in 
 Potesia in Poland, is of an intoxicating nature ; it pro- 
 duces nausea, and is used only for medical purposes, 
 chiefly in rheumatism, scrophula, and eruptions of the 
 skin, in which complaints it has been attended with great 
 success. In a disease among the hogs called wengry (a 
 sort of plague among these animals), a decoction of the 
 leaves and buds of this plant is given, with the greatest 
 effect, and produces almost instantaneous relief. This 
 disease attacks the hogs with a swelling of their throat, 
 and terminates in large hard knots, not unlike the plague, 
 on which the decoction acts as a digestive, abates the 
 fever directly in the first stage, and suppurates the knots. 
 It is used in Turkey, I understand, with the same view 
 in the plague. Tournefort makes mention, in his travels, 
 of this honey/ 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 SCHOOLS OF FORESTRY. 
 
 A METHOD of exploitation so complicate as that which has 
 been described can only be administered by educated men, 
 specially instructed and trained for the work. 
 
 The administration of the Crown forests in Poland is 
 subject to the Imperial Minister of Finance. In a com- 
 munication I had from Count Ostenstacken, personal 
 attache to Field-Marshal Berg, Viceroy of Poland, I was 
 informed that the private proprietors of forests within the 
 kingdom act very recklessly in disposing of these and in 
 deforesting the country. 
 
 Their doing so renders it the more desirable that the 
 Crown forests should be conserved and properly managed, 
 if not also extended. And, in view of this, provision has 
 been made for the education, instruction, and training of 
 candidates for employment on the forest service. 
 
 Besides the Imperial Schools of Forestry in the vicinity 
 of St. Petersburg, and in the vicinity of Moscow, and 
 others in Eastern and Central Russia, in Western Russia 
 a Chair of Forestry has been established in the Institutes 
 of Kalazin, Vologda, Lipetsk, in Marymont in Poland, and 
 at Mittau. But the most important arrangements for 
 the study of forest science and forest economy by forest 
 officials in Poland are at Novoi Alexandria, or New 
 Alexandria. 
 
 Of these arrangements the following details are given 
 from the TJstaff, or Code of Regulations for the Institute of 
 Agriculture and Forestry at that place, approved by the 
 Emperor 8th June, O.S., 1869, and still in force. 
 
 ' The institute is ranked as a college of the first class, 
 with two sections one devoted to the study of rural 
 
SCHOOLS OF rORESTRY. 61 
 
 economy and agriculture, the other to the study of forest 
 science and forestry, with a farm, a forest, and an exten- 
 sive domain attached to it, the whole being placed under 
 the Minister of Public Instruction at Warsaw. 
 
 ' The staff of officials includes a director, an inspector, 
 five professors, eight tutors, and three teachers, a labora- 
 tory superintendent, a mechanic, a foreman of the work- 
 shop, a land steward or manager of the estate, a gardener 
 and assistant, a surgeon, a secretary, a book-keeper, and a 
 superintendent of buildings. 
 
 ' The director, nominated by the Minister of Instruction, 
 is at the head of the Institute, having the direction of 
 everything connected with it. The inspector, similarly 
 appointed, has corresponding duties. They, together with 
 the professors, constitute the council of management. 
 No professor can hold two chairs, and any of them after 
 twenty-five years may be again and again re-appointed for 
 successive terms of five years each. The laboratory superin- 
 tendent has charge of all the laboratories of the Institute. 
 The mechanic has charge of all the implements. 
 
 * At meetings of council, under the presidency of the 
 director, all questions are decided by vote, and in certain 
 cases the vote may be taken by ballot. 
 
 'A board of management, consisting of the director, 
 inspector, and two professors, has the charge of expendi- 
 tures to the amount of 300 roubles, say 37 10s, to be 
 sanctioned by the director ; the expenditure of sums between 
 1000 and 5000 roubles, say 125 to 625, require the 
 sanction of the council, and the expenditure of sums 
 above this amount that of the Ministry. These meetings 
 are held weekly. 
 
 'The general instruction embraces geometry and prac- 
 tical mechanics, geodesy, plan drawing and land survey- 
 ing, physics, meteorology and climatology, chemistry, 
 zoology, botany, mineralogy, agricultural technology, soil, 
 cubic increase of trees by growth, architecture, political 
 economy, and statistics of Russia ; laws of land tenure and 
 more particularly of the tenure of land in Poland ; book- 
 
62 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 keeping, drawing and preparation of diagrams and 
 plans. 
 
 'The special subjects of study in the agricultural section 
 are analytical and agricultural chemistry, agricultural 
 mechanics, breeding and rearing of cattle, sheep, poultry, 
 and bees ; sericulture and pisciculture, and veterinary 
 science and practice. 
 
 'In the department of forestry the special subjects of 
 study are forest botany and entomology ; forest manage- 
 ment and taxation, or calculations of the cubic contents, 
 prospective growth, pecuniary value, &c., of the trees ; 
 and forest statistics of Russia and of Poland. 
 
 ' The instruction is communicated in the Russian 
 language. Each professor and tutor is required to give 
 six lectures a week, and teachers to spend twelve hours a 
 week in class duties. The professors may be required to 
 lecture in both departments. 
 
 ' The session extends from the 20th of August to the 
 18th June, O.S. 
 
 ' All books requisite for study are in the library. 
 
 'Students are required to be seventeen years of age, to 
 have attended a high school, and satisfactorily passed the 
 prescribed examination. They wear a uniform, are re- 
 quired to maintain a becoming behaviour, and to be 
 obedient and respectful to their teachers. If any be 
 retained for two years in any class, and be still unable to 
 pass, they are dismissed. Medals, &c., are given to 
 students in recognition of merit. 
 
 ' The rights of the institution as a first-class college, and 
 the rights of the professors as officers of the Imperial civil 
 service, are formally secured. 
 
 ' The salary of the director is 3,500 roubles, say 450, 
 with noble rank of the fifth class and civil service pension, 
 The salaries of the inspector and professors are 2000 roubles, 
 say 250,* with noble rank of the sixth class, and cor- 
 responding pension.' 
 
 * The rate of. exchange varies. These calculations were correct at the time I 
 received the information. At this time (1885), according to the present rate of 
 exchange, they would be respectively 350 and 250. 
 
SCHOOLS OF FORESTRY 63 
 
 I spent in St. Peterburg the summer of 1878, and I 
 was invited to attend a congress of Russian foresters, to 
 be held in Warsaw about the time of my return to 
 England; but a similar congress of German foresters 
 was held about the same time in Dresden, and 1 found it 
 more expedient to return by Saxony. 
 
 The correspondent of the St. Petersburg Exchange Gazette, 
 writing from Warsaw under date of 22nd August, 1878, 
 O.S., gave the following account of the foresters' 
 conference held there : 
 
 ' The details and minutes of the conference are known 
 to you from the reports issued. I wish to communicate 
 the outside or public influence of the conference on the 
 press and on the Polish nation. It is a question whether 
 any other Russian congress, or conference of similar char- 
 a^ter and aim, has ever produced so great an effect on the 
 public mind. The intelligent classes of the community 
 and the public press exhibited a lively interest in this, the 
 fourth Russian conference of foresters and landlords. The 
 specialists and the owners of forests who had arrived in 
 Warsaw were the heroes of the day, and the questions 
 discussed attracted the liveliest notice of the public. The 
 reports of the conference appeared in print daily; even 
 the illustrated papers contained views of the " Salon " 
 during the sitting of the congress. The vital question of 
 forestry was worthily discussed by the Polish press, and 
 the economical importance of forestry was energetically 
 advocated, The ground was preliminarily prepared by 
 free invitations to attend the congress, and by timely 
 issues of pamphlets and papers on the subject, the object 
 of which was to acquaint the public with the objects of 
 the congress. The intelligence of society in general was 
 adequate to the occasion. Thanks to this " coaching/' the 
 public were prepared to give the guests a hearty welcome ; 
 and many specialists and owners of land arrived from all 
 parts of Poland. Three hundred members attended the 
 first sitting. But the great attraction was the permission 
 
64 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 to discuss in Polish as well as in Russian. Many of the 
 Polish landowners could not have spoken on scientific 
 subjects in Russian, and therefore it was a very wise step 
 on the part of the committee of the congress to permit 
 the use of the two languages. To the honour of the 
 committee be it said that it withheld itself from bureau- 
 cratic views, and having set aside out-of-place principles, 
 permitted discussion in Polish, and they thereby enlisted 
 the active sympathy of many who would otherwise have 
 been but dumb spectators. Measures of this kind ren- 
 dered the conference very popular. Russian members 
 became the " very dear guests " of Polish members, an 
 enthusiasm such as is seldom witnessed was engendered, 
 and the weighty subjects were most warmly discussed. 
 According to accounts of old residents of Warsaw, such 
 heartiness in a " public important topic " has seldom been 
 shown. The whole finished up with a " final supper in the 
 Swiss valley." This entertainment was characterised by 
 great warmth, and expressions of warm sympathy on the 
 part of all assembled.' 
 
 In reply to an enquiry which I addressed to a friend, 
 a Pole, in regard to works on forestry and botany in 
 Polish, he supplied me with the following list : 
 
 Alexander Potujanski. Opisanie Ias6w Krdlestwa Pol- 
 skiego i Gubernij Zachodnich Cesarstwa Rossyjskiego pod 
 wzgledem historycznym, statystycznym i gospodarczym. 
 Warszawa, 1846. 4 tomy. (Description of the forests of 
 the kingdom of Poland and Western Governments of the 
 Empire of Russia. Warsaw. 4 volumes.) 
 
 J. Waga. Flora Polonica Varsoviae, 1848 an., and 
 Stirpes rariores Bucovinae Stanislawow 1853 an. 
 (Bucovina at present belongs to Austria.) 
 
 Flora Cracoviensis, 1859. 
 
 Kluk Krzysztof. Dykcysnarz roslinny. (Dictionary of 
 
 Jundzitt Stanislaw Bonifacy. Opisanie roslin litew- 
 skich podlug ukladu Linneusza. 1811. (Description of 
 
SCHOOLS OF FORESTRY. 65 
 
 the plants of Lithuania according to the system of Linnaeus. 
 1811.) 
 
 Jundzitt J6zef Opisanie rdslin w Litwie, na Wolyniu, 
 Podolu, i Ukrainie, drika rosnacych jako i oswojonych. 
 Wiluo, 1830. (Description of the plants in Lithuania, 
 Volynia, Podolia, and the Ukraine.) 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 POLISH HISTORY. 
 
 WHILE it is forestry to which my attention has been 
 chiefly given in my studies of Poland, with such a 
 history as that country has, it is natural that this should 
 receive some attention from the student of forest science. 
 
 According to the Abbs' des Fontaines, in his History of 
 the Revolutions of Poland from the foundation of that Mon- 
 archy to the death of Augustus II a work published early 
 in the last century, in which the author followed Duglos- 
 sius, a canon of Cracow, who composed a history of 
 Poland in Latin, which, though valuable, has defects which 
 the Abbe* des Fontaines in his work endeavoured to remedy, 
 while he also adduced additional details from the works 
 of Thuanus, which are of considerable celebrity : 
 
 ' If we may credit their own historians, their first prince 
 was a descendent from Japhet, the son of Noah. They 
 give him the name of Lecht, and declare that he came 
 from Dalmatia. This prince left his throne to his son 
 Wissimir, who founded the city of Dantzig. We dis- 
 cover no traces in history of any actions that were per- 
 formed by the posterity of these two first kings of Poland ; 
 and it is a void which fiction itself has never attempted to 
 fill up. It only supposes that the nation, after the extinc- 
 tion of the royal family, assembled for the election of new 
 masters. The nobility were on the point of proceeding to 
 this choice, when the people, who had long been harassed 
 with the tyranny of their last kings, demanded an aboli- 
 tion of the regal government, that they might no longer 
 depend on the caprice of one man. 
 
 ' The great lords, who were allured with the hopes of 
 sharing all the honours of dominion, were easily induced 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 67 
 
 to comply with the solicititations of the people; in conse- 
 quence of which they established a republic, the adminis- 
 tration whereof was intrusted to twelve palatines; but 
 the unsteady people were soon dissatisfied with this new 
 mode of government ; an anarchy full of disorder and 
 confusion inspired them with an aversion to their state of 
 independence, and a set of enemies, who were always 
 ready to derive advantages from the troubles of the State, 
 and the conjunctures of those times, ravaged the provinces 
 with impunity, and made this nation pay dear for the 
 liberty they had acquired. 
 
 f The eyes of the people were at last opened to their 
 real interest, and they judged it would be most advan- 
 tageous to them to have but one master. This considera- 
 tion induced them to turn their thoughts to the election 
 of a king ; but a choice of this kind was attended with 
 great difficulties. The state of their affairs required 
 some martial spirit to repel the invasions of the neigh- 
 bouring people, as well as to re-conquer the territories 
 which had been wrested from them by usurpations, and to 
 re-establish the honour of the nation. It was likewise 
 necessary for this hero to temper an intrepidity of mind, 
 with the softness of a prudent charity, in order to gain 
 upon those dispositions, which had been rendered intract- 
 able by a long state of independence ; and it was also 
 thought requisite, that the virtue of the future prince 
 should afford them a sufficient security for the proper use 
 of the supreme power with which they were disposed 
 to entrust him. 
 
 ' Such qualities are seldom united in one man ; the 
 Poles, however, found one of their countrymen who 
 possessed them in an eminent degree. Grack was the name 
 of this virtuous person who brought the calamities of 
 Poland to a happy period. As he was always victorious 
 in the wars he undertook, and as he likewise guided the 
 reins of Government with a consummate prudence, he 
 continuoustly rendered himself dear to his people, and 
 formidable to his enemies. He built the city of Cracow 
 
68 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 on the Weissel ; and Bohemia submitted to the laws of so 
 accomplished a prince.* 
 
 ' Lecht the Second became his successor, the consequence 
 of a crime, for he secretly destroyed Grack, his elder 
 brother, and ascended his father's throne, as well by the 
 choice of the nobility, as by virtue of the right he claimed 
 to the succession. All his subjects submitted to his 
 authority while his crime was undiscovered ; but as soon 
 as it happened to be detected, the lords would no longer 
 suffer the assassin of his own brother to sit upon the 
 throne he had usurped, and to hold the reins of govern- 
 ment with the hands which were defiled with the blood 
 of their lawful prince. He was chased from the kingdom 
 in a degrading manner, and, according to some authors, 
 he died without leaving any children, detested by his 
 subjects, and troubled by the remorse of his own 
 conscience. 
 
 ' After the death of the two sons of Grack the First, the 
 Poles were desirous of submitting to the government of 
 his daughter Vanda, a very amiable princess, who was 
 graced with the accomplishments of eloquence, wisdom, 
 and courage to a degree that was altogether uncommon in 
 her sex. She reigned with glory, and in the tran- 
 quillity of a profound peace, when a neighbouring prince 
 sent ambassadors to her to treat of a marriage between 
 himself and her, and to denounce war against her domin- 
 ions if she should happen to reject his offers. Vanda, 
 according to some historians, had rendered herself incap- 
 able of the nuptial state by a vow of virginity which she 
 had made to the gods of her country. She therefore 
 prepared for war, assembled her troops, animated them by 
 her presence and discourse, broke the measures of her 
 enemy, opposed his incursions, and constrained him at 
 last to come to a conference. What can be impracticable 
 
 * His reign is thought to have been coincident with the beginning of the seventh centnry . 
 Duglossius declares, Lib. i., Habet nonnullorum assertio Graecum principem ante 
 incarnationem Christi annis circiter quadringentis regnare apud Polonorum gen- 
 tem ccepisse. But if he reigned 400 years before the incarnation, what a void will be 
 opened between his reign and that of Miecflaus the First ! 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 69 
 
 to beauty in conjunction with eloquence? Vanda was 
 soon rendered victorious by the sole aid of her charms ; 
 she enchanted the hostile troops in a moment, the com- 
 manders refused to combat against so amiable a princess, 
 the soldiers quitted their ranks, the most savage among 
 them were disarmed of all their rage, their chief himself 
 was forsaken by all his troops, he yielded to the impres- 
 sions of confusion and despair, and plunged his sword into 
 his own breast as a punishment for his temerity. 
 
 ' The princess was easily induced to pardon the foes she 
 had vanquished in this manner; and as she was satisfied 
 with securing the repose of her subjects, she repaired to 
 Cracow, to receive their applause in that city, where they 
 decreed her the honour of a triumph, for a victory she 
 had acquired by her charms and wit, one in which her 
 soldiers could not pretend to any participation. It is a pity 
 that this princess should have become an enthusiast after 
 this great event ; but she considered it as an evidence of the 
 favour of her tutelar gods ; and she imagined it was incum- 
 bent on her to testify her gratitude by a strange sacrifice, in 
 which she herself was the victim. In view of this, she 
 threw herself into the Weissel. 
 
 ' A death so tragical as this left the Poles a second time 
 without a master, and they had then an inclination to 
 enjoy the sweets of independency. Though liberty had 
 already proved so fatal to them, they were allured by the 
 pleasures they expected to enjoy by changing their state, 
 and they resumed the republican form of government. 
 Poland was then divided into twelve palatinates, the 
 administration of which was committed to the same num- 
 ber of lords, who were chosen to dispense justice to the 
 people, and to defend them against the enemies of their 
 State. This ancient order still subsists among them, and 
 the Palatines have to this day a power, under their kings, 
 almost equal to that which they enjoyed at the time of 
 their first institution,' 
 
 From that time onward their history appears a record 
 
70 FOKESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 of unceasingly recurrent wars and revolutions, reminding 
 one of what Beshlam, Methridah, and Tabeel wrote to 
 Artaxerxes in regard to the Jews* ; but unhappily for 
 the credit of the Poles, details are given which cannot be 
 gainsaid. 
 
 In regard to the introduction of Christianity into 
 Poland, the Abbd writes : 
 
 ' The northern nations had already begun to embrace 
 Christianity ; Sclavonia and Bohemia had, for some time, 
 renounced the errors of paganism, and Poland was con- 
 verted by a pious princess. Dabrowka, the daughter of 
 Boleflaus, Duke of Bohemia, was the person by whose 
 ministration God accomplished this work. This lady was 
 determined not to espouse Miecflaus, unless he would 
 consent to be baptised. The prince caused himself to be 
 instructed in the truths of her religion ; and when he had 
 declared himself a Christian he was desirous that his people 
 should follow his example. With this view he became 
 their apostle ; all the idols were destroyed, and on the 
 ruins of their altars temples were erected to the true 
 God. 
 
 'Miecflaus, some time after his conversion, sent the 
 Archbishop of Cracow to Rome, to assure the Pope of 
 his obedience, and to demand from him a donation of the 
 regal Crown ; but Benedick VII. gave the preference to 
 Stephen, Duke of Hungary, by whom he had been also 
 solicited for the same gift. This conduct of the Pope 
 either sprung from some prejudice he had entertained 
 against Miecfluas, or perhaps he may have already heard 
 of the death of that prince. 
 
 ' He was succeeded by his son, Boleflaus, who was 
 advanced to years of maturity when he ascended the 
 throne. His courage was never abated by any difficulties, 
 and the severest toils of war constituted his pleasures. 
 He had the abilities of a chief and a soldier, and knew 
 
 * Ezra iv. 7-16. 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 71 
 
 how to command and execute at the same time. He 
 appeared magnificently in public, and whenever it was 
 requisite of him to assume the air of a great prince ; his 
 more private conduct was softened with an air of affability ; 
 and he saw himself respected and beloved by his 
 people, whom he treated more as a father than as a 
 Sovereign. His renown was so great that Otho the Third 
 came into Poland, as well to offer him his alliance, as to 
 accomplish a vow he had made to the martyr, St. Alder- 
 bert, or Albert, Archbishop of Gnesna. The Emperor 
 was so well satisfied with his reception, and likewise with 
 the magnificence of Boleflaus, that he thought it incum- 
 bent on him to testify his acknowledgments to him by 
 some honourable return that might correspond with the 
 treatment he had received in the territories of this 
 prince. He accordingly crowned him King of Poland, 
 and gave him the imperial eagle, in a field gules, for his 
 arms. The two princes afterwards confirmed their new 
 alliance by the marriage of "Rixa, or Riche, daughter of 
 Godfrey, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and niece of the 
 Emperor, with Miecflaus, the son of Boleflaus.' 
 
 In subsequent times, under the provision for an elective 
 monarchy, Russia, and France, and England, all of them, 
 as well as other lands, furnished statesmen nominated as 
 candidates for the throne England in the person of Sir 
 Philip Sydney, France in that of Henry of Vallois. 
 
 Of the political constitution of Poland in the early part 
 of the last century, the Abbs' writes : 
 
 ' The kingdom of Poland is composed of Poland properly 
 so called, which is divided into the Upper and Lower 
 Poland, Royal Prussia, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and 
 the provinces of Mazovia, Polachia, Black Russia, Volhinia, 
 Podolia, the Ukraine, and some other small provinces. 
 The Baltic Sea, Samogitia, Livonia, and Muscovy consti- 
 tute its northern bounds. The dominions of the Russian 
 monarch and Little Tartary form its frontiers to the east. 
 
72 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 It is bounded on the south by Moldavia and the moun- 
 tains of Krapac; and its western limits are Moravia, 
 Silesia, and the territories of the Elector of Brandenburg. 
 It extends 260 leagues in length from west to east, and 
 comprehends 200 leagues in breadth from south to north. 
 
 * Gnesna, which is a city in Great Poland, was formerly 
 the capital of the kingdom, and is still the metropolitan 
 city. Its archbishop is the head of the republic during 
 the continuance of any interregnum, and his power is so 
 great that he has frequently caused kings themselves to 
 be dethroned. 
 
 ' Cracow, which is situated on the Weissel, is now con- 
 sidered as the capital of the kingdom, since the sovereigns 
 have fixed their residence in that city. The royal orna- 
 ments are deposited there, and it is now the place where 
 the kings are crowned. 
 
 1 The Weissel, the Boristhenes, and the Dneister, are its 
 principal rivers. Commerce might easily flourish in that 
 country, since nature has supplied the inhabitants 
 with every provision capable of facilitating navigation and 
 traffic with Europe and Asia ; but these advantages are 
 disregarded by them. The gentry are devoted to arms 
 alone, and the peasants are a race of miserable and unin- 
 dustrious people, who are crushed under the yoke of their 
 lords, and have no property which they can call their own. 
 
 ' Poland is not strengthened by any fortified cities, and 
 every place is entirely open and free. The Poles consider 
 castles and fortresses as so many rocks on which their 
 independency would be wrecked, and as the tyrannical 
 instruments of some ambitious person, who would be 
 desirous to load them with chains. Kaminieck, on the fron- 
 tiers of Moldavia, is not considerable either for its extent 
 or fortifications ; and Dantzig, which is the strongest 
 city in Poland, is but moderately fortified. 
 
 ' The king, who is considered as the first magistrate in 
 the Republic, derives all his authority from that of the 
 nation, and if he should happen to abuse the power con- 
 fided to him, and should refuse to conform to the compact 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 73 
 
 made between the people and himself at his coronation, 
 he would soon behold a potent confederacy formed against 
 him for his deposition. He is incapable of making new 
 laws, raising taxes, contracting alliances, or declaring war 
 without the ratification of a diet ; nor can he even marry 
 without the permission of the States. Moreover, the 
 prince is not authorised to coin money, since this preroga- 
 tive is peculiar to the Republic. His revenues amount to 
 no more than a million of livres, but he only defrays the 
 expense of his table ; all other charges are paid by the 
 republic. 
 
 ' The senate is composed of the clergy and the nobility, 
 for the third state is not so much as known in Poland. 
 The grand marshal, the marshal of the court, the 
 chancellor, the vice-chancellor, and the treasurer, are the 
 first senators. The kingdom of Poland and the Grand 
 Duchy of Lithuania have alike all these officers. 
 
 'The grand marshal is the supreme judge of all dis- 
 orders which at any time happen in the diets and the 
 king's household. He imposes silence, and authorises 
 freedom of speech in the National Assemblies. He 
 introduces ambassadors, examines their dispatches, and 
 assigns to them their apartments. He likewise deter- 
 mines the price of all merchandise whatsoever it may be. 
 
 ' The marshal of the court, or the deputy-marshal, is his 
 substitute, and discharges all his functions in his absence. 
 
 ' The chancellor is intrusted with the seals of the king- 
 dom, and even the sovereign cannot compel him to affix 
 them to any decrees without the privity and approbation 
 of the States. All civil affairs, and those which relate to 
 the king's domain, are brought to his tribunal. He is 
 charged with the preservation of the laws and the preser- 
 vation of liberty. He in the diets returns answers to the 
 ministers of foreign powers ; and if he happens to be an 
 ecclesiastic, he extends his inspection to the secretaries, 
 the priests, and preachers at court. 
 
 'The jurisdiction of the vice-chancellor is exerted only 
 in the absence of the grand chancellor, but he is in pos- 
 
74 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 session of seals as well as the other. These two great 
 posts are held alternately by a spiritual and by a temporal 
 lord. 
 
 ' The money which belongs to the republic is deposited 
 with the treasurer, who regulates the revenues ; and he 
 ought to assist in all contracts made by the king, 
 which have no validity till they have been signed by this 
 officer. 
 
 ' Those who compose the senate, next in station to these 
 ten prime officers of the kingdom and the Grand Duchy, 
 are the bishops, the palatines, the castellans, and some 
 starosts, who preserve there the rank annexed to the dignity 
 of their bishoprics, palatinates, castellanies, and starosties. 
 
 'A palatine commands the troops of the particular 
 province which is consigned to his Government ; he is the 
 president of the nobility of his palatinate, and his juris- 
 diction extends to civil and criminal affairs. 
 
 c The castellans are the lieutenants of the palatines ; and 
 the starosts, or captains, have much the same rank. But 
 though the palatines generally precede the castellans and 
 the starosts, yet the castellan of Cracow is, by a peculiar 
 privilege, superior to the palatine of that city ; and the 
 starost, or captain general, of Samogitia, which is a vassal 
 province of the Republic of Poland, takes place of several 
 Polish and Lithuanian palatines. 
 
 ' The clergy, who constitute the first order of men in 
 the kingdom, are rich and powerful; they possess more 
 than 200,000 towns, and several considerable cities. The 
 power of the secular clergy, is, however, balanced by that 
 of the monks, who invade the privileges of. the common 
 pastors in a thousand instances with impunity, and cause 
 themselves to be dreaded and respected, in consequence 
 of the empire they have assumed over the minds of a 
 credulous people. 
 
 ' The gentry compose the second order, and they possess 
 dignities and employments, as well in the kingdom as in 
 the Grand Duchy, and in which they never permit 
 strangers or the commonalty to have the least par- 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 75 
 
 ticipation. They are privileged to elect their kings, and 
 the senators have involved themselves in the greatest 
 dangers whenever they have discovered an inclination to 
 render themselves the masters of the election. 
 
 ' When the kingdom is threatened with any irruption 
 the pospolite, or the whole body of the nobility, are armed 
 and mount their horses. Besides the palatines of each 
 province, who appear at the head of their respective 
 nobility, this body is commanded by a general, even when 
 the king himself is present. The nobility who compose 
 these troops are very magnificent and courageous ; they 
 are covered in their march with the skins of tigers, leo- 
 pards, and panthers ; their horses are full of mettle, and 
 their furniture is very splendid ; but the gentlemen pay 
 no extraordinary obedience to the orders of their chiefs. 
 They neglect with impunity to assemble at the place 
 appointed by the letters of convocation, and when they 
 happen not to be paid, which is generally the case, they 
 disband themselves without any previous discharge. 
 Their march is altogether as irregular, they commit a 
 thousand disorders in the kingdom, and as there are never 
 any settlers in the Polish army, and as no care is taken to 
 erect magazines, they make no scruple to pillage where- 
 ever they come. 
 
 ' The peasants are in a slavish subjection to the gentry, 
 They have no property of their own, and all their acquisi- 
 tions are made for their masters. They are indispensably 
 employed in the culture of the earth, and they live in an 
 absolute state of servitude. They are incapable of engag- 
 ing in any state of life which would procure them their 
 freedom, without the permission of their lords, and they 
 are exposed to ail the effects of the ill-disposition of 
 their tyrants who oppress them with impunity. 
 
 ' The general diets are usually held either at Warsaw 
 or at Grodno, in the Lithuanian palatinate of Troki. 
 These are always preceded by dietines, or particular 
 assemblies of palatinates, in which they choose their nun- 
 cios, or deputies for the general assembly; and their 
 
76 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 several instructions, with the demands they are to form, in 
 the name of the province, are regulated in these dietines. 
 
 ' The king convokes the diet by dispatching letters, 
 which are called Universalia, to all the palatinates ; and 
 yet the nobility assembled in the reign of John Casimir 
 the second, without the orders of that prince, and the 
 Polish pospolite, marched into the Ukraine, in order to 
 subdue the Cossacks, contrary to his desire. 
 
 'The nuncios, who are elected in the dietines, meet at 
 the place specified by letters of convocation, and take 
 their seats in the assembly, according to the order and 
 dignity of the palatines which they represent. They 
 afterwards proceed to the election of a marshal of the 
 nuncios, who is alternatively chosen out of the lords of 
 Great and Little Poland and Lithuania. 
 
 'This officer has a very extraordinary power in the 
 diet. No member whatever can speak without his per- 
 mission, and he is empowered to impose silence on whom 
 he pleases. He is the organ of the nobility, and transmits 
 to the senate and the sovereign all complaints against 
 exorbitant proceedings, abuses in Government, and 
 injurious treatment of particular persons ; he is attentive 
 to the protection and safety of the deputies, whose chief 
 he is constituted by his office, and he punishes all offences 
 that are committed in the assembly. 
 
 1 The general diet for the election of a king is that 
 wherein strangers are interested the most. When an 
 interregnum has been declared, either in consequence of 
 the death, abdication, or deposition of the king, the 
 primate, who is then the chief of the republic, dispatches 
 his universalia to the several provinces, for a general 
 assembly. A deputation of senators is likewise sent to 
 the army to assist the generals with their counsels, and 
 an exact inventory is taken of the treasure of the Crown. 
 All the tribunals are then discontinued, and every juris- 
 diction, except those of the marshals, entirely ceases. 
 
 ' The assembly is at last held near Warsaw, in the 
 open field, which is surrounded with ditches, and covered 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 77 
 
 over with boards. The Poles call it the Szopa or the 
 Colo. On the day fixed for opening the diet, the senators 
 and the nuncios are present at the celebration of a mass 
 of the Holy Ghost in the church of St John in Warsaw, 
 after which they repair to the Colo, and when they have 
 elected a marshal of the nuncios they form a confederation 
 or a treaty, by which the members of the diet take an 
 oath not to separate till they have elected a king, and not 
 to acknowledge any candidate, if he has not been elected 
 by their unanimous approval, nor render to him any act 
 of obedience, till he has sworn to observe the Pacta Con- 
 venta, and the other laws of the kingdom. 
 
 1 When this union has been formed the members en- 
 quire into the exorbitances that have been committed in 
 the course of the last reign. Though the authority of the 
 prince be limited to very narrow restrictions, and though 
 the jealousy which the nation entertains of all attempts 
 against its independency prompts it to a scrupulous exami- 
 nation of their prince's conduct, yet there are always 
 some points to be complained of, and reformed at the 
 close of every reign, and the interregnum proves a favour- 
 able opportunity for the correction of those abuses. The 
 laws are re-established in their original force, and new ones 
 are likewise added; all customs, that are inconsistent 
 with the immunities of the nobility, are rectified. They 
 likewise regulate the administration of the State, and pre- 
 scribe to their future king the observance of those rules 
 and duties from which he is never permitted to deviate. 
 
 ' All ambassadors are introduced by the senators, and 
 they address the assembly in Latin. The president 
 answers them in the name of the senate, and the marshal 
 of the nuncios on the part of the nobility. 
 
 ' It is incumbent on the ministers of the candidates to 
 let their gold glitter as much as possible ; they ought to 
 give splendid entertainments, which, besides their pomp, 
 must be carried into debauch ; and nothing is more agree- 
 able to the Poles, who are naturally magnificent, than are 
 feasts of this kind. The nobility are captivated in a 
 
78 . FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 peculiar manner with the attractions of Hungarian wine, 
 and infallibly declare in favour of the candidate who 
 causes it to flow in the greatest profusion. 
 
 ' The confederates usually take an oath not to attach 
 themselves to any particular faction, and the ministers 
 are prohibited from continuing at Warsaw, or forming any 
 cabals, but these injunctions are always ill observed. 
 The ambassadors enter upon intrigues even in public, the 
 nobility receive their presents, sell their suffrages 
 with impunity, and render the throne venal, after their own 
 infraction of the first article of the confederation. These 
 mercenary gentlemen usually conduct themselves with 
 very little fidelity to the candidate in whose interest they 
 pretend to be engaged, and if they have nothing more to 
 receive, they immediately forget the presents they have 
 already taken, and, without the least hesitation, espouse 
 the cause of a more wealthy competitor. 
 
 ' This pretended liberty, therefore, from which the Poles 
 would be thought to derive so much glory, is no more 
 than a slave to avidity. They sacrifice their privileges to 
 repasts, or the purses of the candidates. They have been 
 seen to crouch under the inglorious yoke of foreigners 
 without making any effort to support the king they had 
 elected, and they have abandoned their country as a prey 
 to the Germans, whom they constantly hated, and like- 
 wise to the Russians, who were always a contemptible 
 and conquered enemy in the reigns of Stephen Battori 
 and John Sobieski. 
 
 ' When any candidate has gained the suffrages of all 
 the palatinates he is declared to be the elected king by 
 the Archbishop of Gnesna, and is accordingly proclaimed 
 as such by the marshals of the Crown and Grand Duchy, 
 in conjunction with the nuncios. An oath is then exacted 
 from the new monarch in favour of the Pacta Conventa, 
 and when he has sworn to conform to the regulations of 
 the diet with reference to the exorbitances, and to 
 observe all the other laws of the kingdom, they proceed 
 to the ceremonials of his coronation. 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 79 
 
 c Popery is the established religion, and the prince him- 
 self is obliged to profess it. The zea] of the Poles has 
 always prevailed with relation to this article, and all the 
 efforts made by the advocates for the Augsburg Confession 
 for the introduction of a Protestant prince on the throne 
 of Poland have hitherto proved ineffectual. There are, 
 however, great numbers of Christians of the Greek 
 Church, as well as Lutherans, Anabaptists, and Socinians, 
 in this kingdom, and there are even Pagans to be found 
 in the recesses of Lithuana. The people in general are 
 more superstitious than devout, and they receive what- 
 ever is transmitted to them from Rome with a blind sub- 
 mission, and without bestowing the least examination on 
 the particulars. 
 
 ' The monks improve this stupid credulity to their 
 own advantage ; they frequently interfere in affairs of 
 State, and enrich themselves by those means. The 
 Jesuits of Leopold in Russia have a cope entirely covered 
 with gold and precious stones in their treasury, but it is 
 likewise so exceeding weighty that the priest is incapable 
 of using it at mass. This ornament alone is valued at 
 50,000 crowns. 
 
 'With respect to the manners and disposition of this 
 nation, the Poles, though they are naturally haughty and 
 imperious, are yet sufficiently qualified to return any 
 polite treatment they receive, and if a stranger only 
 tenders them the first civilities, and is sedulous to culti- 
 vate their friendship, their behavour will always corre- 
 spond with his advances, and they will be industrious to 
 render him all the good offices imaginable. 
 
 ' Magnificence is the foible of the nobility, and they 
 sacrifice all things to scenes of luxury. As they seldom 
 behold any person superior to themselves in their own 
 country, and as they treat their inferiors with an air of 
 absolute authority, they live in all the splendour of 
 princes, while fortune proves favourable to their inclina- 
 tions. Prodigality and debauch are considered as virtues 
 by a martial nobility, who are frequently precipitated into 
 
80 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 extremes by independence and impunity. Arms are 
 their only occupation, they discover but little curiosity to 
 cultivate the polite arts, and commerce is transacted 
 among them by none but strangers. In a word, the Poles 
 are only solicitous to distinguish themselves in war, to 
 defend their frontiers, and to be vigilant over the conduct 
 of their kings, since they think it degrading to indulge 
 themselves in any other occupations. As an air of sincerity 
 is diffused through all their conduct their friendships are 
 constant, but they are easily rendered the dupes of their 
 enemies. As they are very disinterested in their desires 
 they seldom amass great riches, and frequently dissipate 
 their patrimony. If they are at any time reduced to a 
 melancholy state of indigence they borrow without any 
 intention of making a proper restitution, and they think 
 themselves privileged to dispose of the property of others 
 with the same prodigality in which they waste their own. 
 They appear serene and undisturbed amidst the greatest 
 calamities, and behold the miseries of their friends and 
 countrymen, and nearest relations, with an aspect of 
 indifference equal to the insensibility with which 
 they support their own misfortunes. They are naturally 
 couragous and intrepid, and habituate themselves to all 
 sorts of fatigue, and would indeed be invincible if they 
 paid a due respect to their chiefs. This is the general 
 character of the Poles, whose history I have undertaken 
 to write.' 
 
 The history by the Abbs' des Fontaines, brings us down 
 to 1733, and tells of endless revolutions ; later history tells 
 of partitions of the kingdom. 
 
 In an article in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia it is 
 stated : 
 
 ' The Crown of Poland, with the exception of five 
 centuries previous to the year 1370, was purely elective. 
 Its sovereigns, whose authority before the era just men- 
 tioned was unlimited and absolute, were originally termed 
 
POLISH HISMRYJ&i 81 
 
 \V> o 
 
 duces, dukes, or generals, in reference to the almost 
 invariable practice of their conducting the armies of the 
 state to the field in person. In the fourteenth century the 
 nobles availed themselves of the weakness of a female 
 reign to diminish the power of their sovereign, and to 
 extend that of their own order. They enacted that no 
 taxes should be levied, that no new laws should be 
 passed, in short, that no measure of any importance 
 should, as formerly, be effected by the king, but by 
 representatives chosen from among themselves. Hence 
 the origin of the diets of Poland, of which there were two 
 kinds, Ordinary and Extraordinary, the former statedly 
 assembled once in two years, while the latter was sum- 
 moned by the king only on great emergencies. The 
 diets consisted of the king, the senators, and deputies 
 from provinces and towns, amounting altogether to about 
 four hundred members. These assemblies could sit only 
 for a limited time, and any individal, however humble, 
 had the power of calling for a division of the meeting on 
 any question, and one dissentient voice had the effect of 
 rendering the whole deliberations ineffectual. This latter 
 right, which was termed liber um veto, and which was 
 repeatedly exercised, was the cause of the greatest calami- 
 ties, and often of much bloodshed. Without the unani- 
 mous consent of the diet the king could determine no 
 question of importance, could not declare war, make 
 peace, raise levies, employ auxiliaries, or admit foreign 
 troops into his dominions, with other restrictions, which 
 almost extinguished the regal authority. Nor did the 
 nobility stop here. Having thus undermined the power 
 of the king there was but one step more to gain to them- 
 selves the uncontrolled government of the nation, namely, 
 to render the throne elective. This was accordingly 
 accomplished, and the king of Poland enjoyed now the 
 title, but little of the power or dignity of a free sovereign. 
 Liberty, so much boasted of by the Poles, seems from this 
 period to have been confined to the nobles alone. They 
 arrogated an unlimited sway over their respective terri- 
 
 G 
 
 
82 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 tories ; some of them were hereditary sovereigns of cities 
 and villages, with which the king had no concern ; they 
 exercised a power of life and death over their tenants 
 and vassals ; they were exempted from taxes ; and could 
 not be arrested and imprisoned but for a few crimes of the 
 basest kind. But the most dangerous of all their rights, 
 and one which made their situation analogous to that of 
 the German princes, was the power of constructing fort- 
 resses for their private defence, and of maintaining a mili- 
 tary force, which, in imitation of real dignity, they caused 
 to keep guard round their palaces. The election of the 
 king was vested in them alone ; and none but they, and 
 the citizens of a few particular towns, possessed the pri- 
 vilege of purchasing or inheriting property in land. The 
 nobility, amounting to about 500,000 individuals, Malte- 
 Brun emphatically terms the sovereign body of Poland. 
 
 ' The senate, however, which owed its origin (in the 
 eleventh century) to Boseslaus I. formed an intermediate 
 authority between the king and the nobles. This body, 
 composed of the ministers of state, of the representatives 
 of the clergy, of palatines, and castellans, consisted of 149 
 members, until 1767, when four new members were added 
 to the number, as representatives of the province of 
 Lithuania. The senators, except the representatives of 
 the clergy, were nominated by the king, but continued in 
 office for life, and after their appointment were totally 
 independent of royal authority, to which, indeed, they were 
 regarded as a valuable counterpoise. The duty of the 
 senate was to preside over the laws, to be the guardians 
 of liberty, and the protectors of justice and equity, and, 
 conjunctly with the king, to ratify laws made by the 
 nobility. A diet could not, as previously hinted, be 
 constituted without the junction of the senate to the 
 national representatives ; a portion of the senators, 
 indeed, acted as a committee for facilitating and con- 
 ducting the public business of that assembly. The presi- 
 dent of the senate was the archbishop of Gnesna, who, 
 during an interregnum, discharged the functions of king, 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 83 
 
 and enjoyed all the royal prerogatives but that of dispen- 
 sing justice. His duty also was to summon the extra- 
 ordinary diet when the throne became vacant, and to 
 preside at that assembly. 
 
 ' The diet which thus assembled on the death of a king 
 of Poland to elect a sovereign to occupy the vacant throne 
 was not unfrequently characterised by the most sangui- 
 nary proceedings. This assembly, which consisted of the 
 senate, of the representatives of districts, uf the clergy, 
 and the nobles the latter a most numerous body met 
 on horseback in a plain adjoining the village of Wohla in 
 the neighbourhood of Warsaw. Though the electors were 
 prohibited from appearing at the meeting attended by 
 any body guard, they yet uniformly came armed with 
 pistols and sabres, prepared to perpetrate the greatest 
 excesses. Every member of the diet, as previously men- 
 tioned, was entitled to call for a division of the assembly 
 on any question, or to put an end to the deliberations, or 
 even the existence of the assembly, merely by protesting 
 against its proceedings. This singular and absurd 
 privilege, which was frequently exercised in those meet- 
 ings of unenlightened and violent men, was productive of 
 the most fatal consequences. It often led the stronger 
 party to attack, on the spot, their antagonists, sword in 
 hand j and it not unfrequently formed the origin of civil 
 wars, by which the resources and the stability of the nation 
 were undermined, patriotism extinguished, and the pro- 
 gress of liberal knowledge retarded. Before the successful 
 candidate was proclaimed king, he had to sign the Pacta 
 C'jnventa, or the conditions on which he obtained the crown, 
 which, on his knees, he had to swear never to violate. 
 
 'Such was the ancient constitution of Poland, 
 monarchy blended with aristocracy, in which, for several 
 centuries previously to its dissolution, the latter prevailed. 
 The Poles, indeed, denominated their government a 
 republic, because the king, so extremely limited in his 
 prerogative, resembled more the chief of a commonwealth 
 than the sovereign of a monarchy. But it wanted one of 
 
84 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 the necessary characteristics of a republic: The people 
 were kept in a state of slavery and vassalage, and enjoyed 
 not even the semblance of any civil privilege : the whole 
 power was engrossed by the nobles ; and thus the Polish 
 constitution possessed not that community of interests, 
 that general diffusion of political privileges which are the 
 very life and stamina of a republic, as well as of a mixed 
 monarchy, and with which, in spite of much internal mis- 
 rule, and of the agressions of foreign enemies, Poland 
 might have flourished to this day. 
 
 ' The administration of justice, and the execution of the 
 law in Poland, was characterised by the grossest abuses. 
 The judges, nominated by the king, were chosen without 
 the most remote regard to their talents or integrity ; the 
 decision of the courts of law were openly and unblushingly 
 sold to the highest bidder ; and no cause, whatever its 
 merits, could be successful, unless supported by the all- 
 prevailing power of money. Nor was this corruption, for 
 which no redress could be obtained, confined to cases in 
 which the litigants were wealthy, or in which, as resulting 
 from some base and unprincipled transaction, the most 
 ample arid liberal payment ought to have been demanded. 
 Actions for which a man deserved the thanks of the state, 
 were, when brought before a legal tribunal, the source of 
 much unjust expense to the person performing them. 
 " If a man apprehended a murderer," says a writer quoted 
 by Malte-Brun, " and brought him before the proper 
 officer, he was charged ten ducats for his trouble, which, 
 if he were unable or unwilling to pay, the murderer was 
 immediately set at liberty." Had he submitted to this 
 payment, the sums that would, on some pretence or other, 
 have been exacted of him, ere the offender was brought to 
 justice, no man unacquainted with the history of Poland 
 could conjecture. " It has cost," says the same writer, " a 
 merchant of Warsaw 14,000 ducats for apprehending two 
 thieves." Nor was the expense of a plea more to be 
 execrated than the duration of it. No litigation, even the 
 simplest one, for example, between a debtor and credi- 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 85 
 
 tor could be brought to a termination in less than four 
 years. In so short a time, however, was almost no case 
 decided. Vautrin mentions that he knew cases which had 
 been pending for sixty years, and which, so far as he could 
 foresee, might continue undetermined "till the last 
 generation." The nobles, disgusted with this fatiguing 
 tediousness, not unfrequently withdrew their pleas from 
 the decision of the courts of law, and settled tliem by 
 force of arms, of which some instances occurred even so 
 recently as the middle of the last century/ 
 
 Such seems to have been the history of Poland. In 
 the fabulous period of Polish history the. land appears to 
 have been colonised or conquered, and ruled by the 
 followers and descendants of a Scandinavian or a Caucasian 
 hero called Lekh, led thither by a white eagle, which 
 became the national symbol, and from whom the old 
 English name for the people Polack, and the Russian 
 name Polekh, or Polach, was given to them. 
 
 The nobles were always peers, and equals in political 
 rank, and by some it is alleged that the whole population 
 were such for a long time, but the yeomen became serfs, 
 if they were not so originally. The monarchy was limited 
 in power, and became elective. At first successive con- 
 cessions were made by each one ascending the throne, and 
 ultimately absolute freedom of election was proclaimed, an 
 annuity alone been required to render it valid, and a charter 
 was prepared, by which all privileges granted by previous 
 sovereigns were renewed and confirmed. It was established 
 that the king was to be chosen by the whole body of the 
 nobility an 1 freeholders of the nation, and that in case of 
 the king infringing the laws and privileges, his subjects 
 should be absolved from their oaths of allegiance. 
 
 By union with Lithuania, and consequent on the various 
 changes, civil and ecclesiastical, which followed, curtailing 
 both civil and religious liberty, and ultimately in 1772 
 the first partition of the kingdom occurred. 
 
 There are in the list of the kings of Poland names which 
 have been held in high honour by the loveis of freedom, 
 
86 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 The partition may be traced to measures adopted by the 
 dominant party to curtail the religious liberty of dissenters 
 from the Church of the State and the Church of Rome. 
 'The reformed religion, though early introduced into Poland, 
 was not for two centuries very generally adopted. The 
 Protestants, called Dissidents (a term which also comprise^ 
 those of the Greek church), were tolerated, though they 
 were obliged to labour under many civil disabilities. 
 During the interregnum that preceded the election of 
 Poniatowsky, a decree had bjen made by the diet, by 
 which the dissidents were, in a great measure, forbidden 
 the free exercise of their worship, and totally excluded 
 from all civil and political privileges. 
 
 * The dissidents could not submit without a struggle to the 
 deprivation of their most valuable privileges. They com- 
 bined unanimously to endeavour to accomplish the repeal 
 of this decree, and, for this purpose, applied for advice and 
 assistance to some of the most eminent powers of Europe. 
 And accordingly Russia, Prussia, Great Britain, and 
 Denmark, made remonstrances to the Government of 
 Poland on this subject. These remonstrances, however, 
 were without effect ; for the decree was confirmed by the 
 coronation diet held after the king's election. The dis- 
 sidents in the meantime presented to the government 
 petitions and memorials, and the decision of the question 
 was at last referred by the diet to the bishops and 
 senators. And upon a report from them, the diet made 
 some concessions, which, however, were far from satisfying 
 the dissidents, who thought it absurd that the redress of 
 their grievances should be entrusted to those very persons 
 who were the authors of them. The dissidents, whose 
 cause was now openly espoused by Russia, Prussia, and 
 Austria, were not to be flattered by the concessions of 
 these persecutors, nor overawed by their power. They 
 formed confederacies for their defence in every province, 
 and were determined to resist unto blood in support of 
 their rights and privileges. Nor were the Popish clergy 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 87 
 
 and their adherents slow in making preparations. The 
 Confederation of the Barr, the hope and bulwark of their 
 party, took up arms. The cries of liberty and religion 
 became every where the signal of a war, the true object 
 of which, with the Catholics, was, not only to disperse or 
 destroy their opponents, but to dethrone Stanislaus, whom 
 they regarded as friendly to the dissidents, and to rescue 
 Poland from the influence of Russia. The confederates, 
 as the Catholics were now termed, feebly supported by 
 Saxony and France, were vanquished in almost every 
 battle ; and the dissidents would have been secured in the 
 open and unshackled profession of their faith, had the 
 sovereigns to whom, in no mean degree, they owed their 
 success, been actuated by any regard to their cause, or had 
 not trampled under foot every principle, which the law of 
 nations, which the law of nature, should have taught 
 them to cherish and reverence. 
 
 ' These sovereigns, however, instead of being animated 
 in the cause of civil and religious liberty, were, under the 
 false pretences, labouring solely to extend the boundaries of 
 their respective dominions, and to promote the aggrandise- 
 ment of their power. Nothing less than the dismember- 
 ment of Poland, and the partition of it among themselves, 
 was their object in the assistance they afforded the 
 dissidents, an object which could only be attained, or at 
 least more easily attained, by fomenting internal divisions, 
 and thus undermining the resources and unanimity of the 
 kingdom. This plan, it is thought, was first contemplated 
 by Prussia ; but Russia and Austria readily enough em- 
 braced it, though all these kingdoms at different periods 
 owed much of their glory, and even their very existence, 
 to the country which they thus resolved to destroy. A 
 great proportion of Poland was thus seized upon by these 
 kingdoms, and a treaty to this effect was signed by their 
 plenipotentiaries at St. Petersburg in February 1772. The 
 partitioning powers having forced the Poles to call a 
 meeting of the diet, threatened, if the treaty of dismem- 
 berment was not unanimously sanctioned, that the whole 
 
88 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 kingdom should immediately be laid under military execu- 
 tion, and be treated as a conquered state. The glory of 
 Poland was past; and though some of the nobles, rather 
 than be the instruments of bringing their country to 
 ruin, chose to spend their days in exile and poverty, the 
 measure was at length agreed to ; and Stanislaus himself, 
 threatened with deposition and imprisonment, was pre- 
 vailed upon to sanction it. Europe, though astonished at 
 what was taking place in Poland, remained inactive. The 
 courts of London, Paris, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, 
 indeed, sent remonstrances against this usurpation ; but 
 remonstrances without a military force will, as in the case 
 before us, be ofttimes unavailing. 
 
 " Oh bloodiest picture in the book of time, 
 Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime ! " 
 
 A. large portion of the eastern provinces were seized by 
 Kussia; Austria appropriated a fertile tract on the south- 
 west ; while Prussia acquired a commercial district in the 
 north-west, including the lower part of the Vistula. 
 Poland was thus robbed of 70,000 square miles, or about 
 a fourth of her whole territory/ 
 
 Wars followed. Russia and Prussia triumphed, Warsaw 
 still remained unconquered. At length Warsaw also fell 
 before an invading host. 
 
 'Poland being thns overthrown, the two ursurping 
 powers were about to form a partition of it betwixt them, 
 when Austria unexpectedly stept forward, and declared 
 that she could not permit the entire destruction of Poland, 
 unless she were allowed to share in the division. The 
 consequences of a refusal they were not willing to encoun- 
 ter ; and Austria had thus her ambitious views realised, 
 without having incurred the smallest danger or expense. 
 Stanislaus, who had all this while remained in his capital, 
 was at length removed to Grodno a second time, where he 
 was compelled to resign his crown, and was thence carried 
 to St. Petersburg, where he resided as a state prisoner in 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 89 
 
 solitude and exile till his death, which took place in 
 February 1798. 
 
 ' The result of this partition was as follows : 
 
 J^te^^?* 
 
 Square Miles. Population. 
 
 To Austria, .... b4,UUU 4,UU,UUU 
 
 To Prussia, .... 52,000 3,500,000 
 To Russia, . ,, . . 168,000 6,700,000 
 
 284,000 15,000,000 
 
 ' Of this territory, the partitioning powers appropriated 
 to themselves those districts that lay most convenient to 
 their dominions, the acquisitions of Russia being larger 
 than those of the other two taken collectively.' 
 
 On this occasion, as was remarked at the time, the 
 largest share went to Russia, the most populous to Austria, 
 and the most commercial to Prussia. The portion which 
 fell to Russia contained numbers of inhabitants who were 
 already connected with that country by religious ties ; 
 and I may take occasion to state that while I have heard very 
 severe things said by Polish noblemen against Russia, I 
 have been told by a Pole that there exists in Poland a still 
 more bitter leeling against Prussia. 
 
 The conquests of Napoleon made great changes in 
 Poland ; and at the great settlement of 1815 the Emperor 
 Alexander I. proposed to form the whole of ancient 
 Poland into a constitutional state under the Russian crown ; 
 but it was ultimately arranged that Galicia should be 
 given back to Austria, Posena to Prussia, and that the 
 rest of the Napoleonic Duchy should be formed into a 
 constitutional state, with the Emperor of Russia as king 
 provinces acquired by Catherine 1L at the portion of 
 1772 remaining incorporated with the Russian empire ; 
 and it was governed accordingly. It had its diet, its 
 national administration, and its national army. In 1830 
 an insurrection broke out. When this was suppressed all 
 that was changed, and measures were taken to Russianise 
 
90 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 the country if possible. A second insurrection broke out 
 in 1863, and this also was suppressed. 
 
 Ths population is reported as about five millions of 
 souls. I presume of inhabitants, though in Russia that 
 term is applied to males alone. According to one esti- 
 mate reported to me, about two-fifths of the inhabitants 
 are Jews, and something less than that proportion are 
 Poles. According to a Russian estimate, the Russians 
 are under 10,000 males, and the Jews number upwards 
 of 600,000 males. 
 
 The serfdom of the peasantry was comparatively 
 restricted, but it could be made very oppressive. In the 
 insurrection of 1830 the leaders sought to secure their co- 
 operation by promising them emancipation and a freehold 
 possession of lands in their occupation ; and a similar 
 arrangement was adopted by the Russian Government. 
 
 I have not the information necessary to enable me 
 to form an opinion in regard to the propriety, expediency, 
 or the justice of subsequent proceedings, which brought 
 ruin and exile upon many noble-minded natives of Poland, 
 males and females, nobles and peasants, alike. In the 
 minds of many, Poles and Siberia are closely associated. 
 I have not the means of either verifying or disproving 
 any of the allegations which are current in regard to the 
 number of Poles who have been expatriated by exile 
 thither. But to this I cau testify : for about seven years 
 from 1833 to 1840 inclusive every male going to Siberia 
 was supplied with a copy of the New Testament scriptures. 
 All of these passed through my hands ; and in no one year 
 did the number of New Testaments in Polish appear to 
 be disproportionate to the numbers required in other 
 languages spoken in the provinces Finnish, Lettish, 
 Estonian, Swedish, German, and French. 
 
 Of the Polish exiles on their journey to Siberia, 
 Michie, in his volume entitled The Siberian Overland 
 Route from Pekin to St. Petersburg, mentions that the 
 number of Polish prisoners met with on the road 
 
POLISH HISTORY. 91 
 
 at some places threatened seriously to impede his 
 journey. Between Kazan and Perm he encountered 
 companies of them on their way, and this at almost 
 every station. This was in 1863 or 1864, and he writes : 
 ' The resources of the posting establishments were 
 severely taxed to provide horses for so many travellers at 
 once, and we had frequently to wait till the Poles were 
 gone, and then take the tired horses they had brought 
 from the last station. The Poles travelled in the same 
 manner as we did, in large sledges, containing three or 
 four people, sometimes more. Those who could not be 
 accommodated with sledges had carts or telegas, which 
 \yere more or less crowded. None of them travelled a-fooU 
 All were well clothed in furs. On the whole, I was sur- 
 prised to find such a number of people travelling with so 
 much comfort. The prisoners were invariably treated 
 with kindness and consideration by the officer in charge 
 and by the gensdarmes. They are under close surveillance, 
 but I did not see any of the prisoners in irons, though I 
 was informed that some of them were so. ... They 
 ate well, and talked loudly ; the din of their voices at a 
 post-station was intolerable. Many joked and laughed a 
 great deal, by way of keeping up their spirits, I suppose ; 
 but no indication whatever was given that they were exiles 
 undergoing the process of banishment. If one might 
 judge from appearances, I should say they rather liked it/ 
 Of the passage of the Volga, he writes : ' The ferry- 
 boats were engaged the whole day in conveying Polish 
 exiles across the river bound for Siberia. It is a sad sight 
 to see so many people in captivity, and still more so to see 
 a number of women accompanying the exiles. It is quite 
 common for the wives, daughters, and mothers of the poli- 
 tician convicts to follow their relatives into Siberia. This 
 is not discouraged by the Russian Government ; on the 
 contrary, every facility is granted to enable their families 
 to emigrate, and they have always the means of travelling 
 in company. The object of the Government is to colonise 
 Siberia, so that the more people who g > there the better. 
 
92 FORESTRY IN POLAND. 
 
 Besides, the residence of families in exile offers some 
 guarantee against any attempt at a return to their native 
 country.' Describing then two old ladies, well dressed 
 in black silk and warm fur cloaks, he says : ' They were 
 treated with great kindness by the soldiers, who lifted 
 them carefully out of the boat, carried them to their 
 sledges which were in waiting, and put them in as tenderly 
 as if they had been their own mothers. After carefully 
 wrapping them up with their furs a Cossack got in beside 
 each of the ladies, and they drove off to Kazan. A girl 
 who was with them was equally well attended to by the 
 officer in command of the part}', who seemed to consider 
 the Polish maiden to be his especial charge.' 
 
 Some additional information relative to the opinions 
 entertained by Polish exiles in Siberia and others 
 in regard to advantages which they enjoy in Siberia 
 is supplied by Mr Michie (pp. 337-342). I believe 
 it to be a fair representation of the case ; and it is in 
 accordance with everything stated by Dr Lansdell in 
 his volume entitled Through Siberia, published in 
 1882, in which he gives details of arrangements of almost 
 every prison in Siberia, to visit which, with a view to 
 supplying the prisoners with copies of the New Testament 
 was the design of his journey. A review of what he says 
 I embodied in a companion volume to this, entitled 
 Forestry in the Ural Mountains in Eastern Russia* 
 
 * Forestry in the Mining Districts of the Ural Mountains in E<istern Russia. In 
 which are given details of a journey from St Petersburg thither, and of forest exploita- 
 tion in the government of Ufa ; an account of the Ural Mountains and the population 
 of metallurgy works creating a demand for forest products j an account of the forests 
 of the district ; of the exploitation of these ; and of abuses connected with this, with 
 a parting glimpse at the life of the people ; and the conquest of Siberia by Russia. 
 
PART II. 
 LITHUANIA. 
 
 CHAPTER T. 
 LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 
 
 ACCORDING to a Gazeteer published in the last century 
 (1798), Lithuania is ' a large country between Poland and 
 Russia. It is about 300 miles long, and 250 in breadth. 
 It is watered by several rivers, the principal of which are 
 the Dneiper, the Dwina, the Nieman, the Pripeez, and the 
 Bog. It is a flat country like Poland, and the lands are well 
 adapted for tillage. The soil is not only fertile in corn, but 
 it produces heavy wood, pitch, and vast quantities of wool. 
 They have also excellent little horses which they never 
 shoe, because their hoofs are very hard. There are vast 
 forests, in which are bears, wolves, elks, wild oxen, lynxes, 
 beavers, gluttons, wild cats, &c., and eagles and vultures 
 are very common. In these forests large pieces of yellow 
 amber are dug up frequently. The country abounds with 
 Jews, who, though numerous in every other part of Poland, 
 seem to have fixed their head quarters in this duchy, and 
 this is perhaps the only country in Europe where Jews 
 cultivate the ground. The peasants are in a state of 
 the most abject vassalage. The religion was formerly 
 Romish, but now there are Lutherans, Calvinists, Socinians, 
 Greeks, and even Turks, as well as Jews/ 
 
 As it was then, so is it still. In a later Gazeteer 
 published by Fullarton, it is stated : ' Lithuania, called 
 in German Littauen, is a very ancient division of Europe, 
 
94 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 lying between Courland, Russia, Poland, and Prussia. In 
 the eleventh century the country was tributary to Russia ; 
 in the thirteenth it became a grand duchy under Ringold. 
 The Grand Duke Jagellan, having married the Polish 
 princess Hedwig, united his duchy to the crown of Poland 
 about the year 1386. At the first partition of Poland in 
 1773, a considerable portion of Lithuania was assigned to 
 Russia, and the governments of Mobile v and Polozk, or 
 Vitebsk, were formed out of the newly acquired territory ; 
 while the remainder of Lithuania, forming the territories 
 of Vilna, Troki, Polozk, Novogrodek, Brzesc, and Minsk, 
 remained attached to the Polish monarchy. By the 
 partition of 1793 and 1795, Russia further acquired those 
 portions of Lithuania which now form her governments 
 of Vilna, Grodno, and Minsk, while Prussia acquired that 
 portion which constituted her regency of Gumbinnan.' It 
 is the Russian portion, exclusive of this, upon which I now 
 report. 
 
 Lithuania, like Poland, has played an important part in 
 the development of Russia, in so far at least as modifica- 
 tion of political government is concerned. In Russia at 
 the present time, we have, in combination with absolute 
 monarchal power in all that relates to national matters, 
 what looks like absolute democratic power in all that 
 relates to communal matters, and in a former day there 
 was in Russia in one district a democratic republic side by 
 side with an absolute monarchy. According to one legend 
 the real founders of the Russian monarchy were Normans 
 who found their way to the district in which is situated 
 the city of Novgorod, either coming thither by invita- 
 tion or in the prosecution of their personal pursuits. 
 
 Of what followed Mr Mackenzie Wallace writes : 
 ' For six centuries after the so-called invitation of Rurik 
 the city on the Volkhof had a strange chequered history. 
 Rapidly it conquered the neighbouring Finnish tribes, 
 and grew into a powerful independent state, with a 
 territory extending to the Gulf of Finland, and north- 
 wards to the White Sea. At the same time its com- 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 95 
 
 mercial importance increased, and it became an outpost 
 of the Hanseatic League. In this work the descendants 
 of Rurik played an important part, but they were always 
 kept in strict subordination to the popular will. Political 
 freedom kept pace with commercial prosperity. What 
 means Rurik employed for establishing and preserving 
 order we know not, but we know that his successors in 
 Novgorod possessed merely such authority as was freely 
 granted them by the people. The supreme power 
 resided, not in the prince, but in the assembly of the 
 citizens called together in the market-place by the sound 
 of the great bell. This assembly made laws for the 
 prince as well as for the people, entered into alliances 
 with foreign powers, declared war and concluded peace, 
 imposed taxes, raised troops, and not only elected the 
 magistrates, but also judged and deposed them when it 
 thought fit. The prince was little more than the hired 
 commander of the troops and the president of the judicial 
 administration. When entering on his functions he had 
 to take a solemn oath that he would faithfully observe 
 the ancient laws and usages, and if he failed to fulfil his 
 promise he was sure to be summarily deposed and 
 expelled. The people had an old rhymed proverb, " Koli 
 khud knayaz, tak v grayaz /" (" If the prince is bad, into 
 the mud with him !"), and they habitually acted according 
 to it. So unpleasant, indeed, was the task of ruling those 
 sturdy, stiff-necked burghers, that some princes refused to 
 undertake it, and others, having tried it for a time, 
 voluntarily laid down their authority and departed. But 
 these frequent depositions and abdications as many as 
 thirty took place in the course of a single century did 
 not permanently disturb the existing order of things. 
 The descendants of Rurik were numerous, and there were 
 always plenty of candidates for the vacant place. The 
 municipal republic continued to grow in strength and in 
 riches, and during the thirteenth and fourteenth century 
 it proudly styled itself "Lord Novgorod the Great'" 
 (Gospodin Veliki Novgorod}. 
 
96 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 ' " Then came a change, as all things human change." 
 To the East arose the principality of Moscow not an 
 old, rich municipal republic, hut a young, vigorous State, 
 ruled by a line of crafty, energetic, ambitious, and un- 
 scrupulous princes, who were freeing the country from 
 the Tartar yoke and gradually annexing by fair means 
 and foul the neighbouring principalities to their own 
 dominions. At the same time, and in a similar manner, 
 the Lithuanian princes to the Westward united various 
 small principalities, and formed a powerful independent 
 State. Thus Novgorod found itself between two powerful 
 aggressive neighbours. Under a strong government it 
 might have held its own against these rivals, and success- 
 fully maintained its independence, but its strength was 
 already undermined by internal dissensions. Political 
 liberty had led to anarchy. Again and again on that 
 great open space where the national monument now 
 stands, and in the market-place on the other side of the 
 river, scenes of disorder and bloodshed took place, and 
 more than once on the bridge battles were fought by con- 
 tending factions. Sometimes it was a contest between 
 rival families, and sometimes a struggle between the 
 municipal aristocracy, who sought to monopolise the 
 political power, and the common people, who wished to 
 have a large share in the administration. A State thus 
 divided against itself could not long resist the aggressive 
 tendencies of powerful neighbours. Artful diplomacy 
 could but postpone the evil day, and it required no great 
 political foresight to predict that sooner or later Novgorod 
 must become Lithuanian or Muscovite. The great families 
 inclined to Lithuania, but the popular party and the 
 clergy looked to Moscow for assistance, and the Grand 
 Princes of Muscovy ultimately gained the prize.' 
 
 There are indications in early legends and history that 
 the most absolute liberty was enjoyed, or let me rather 
 say, possessed by the Russian peasantry. Not only was 
 every man's house his castle, but every man was king in 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 97 
 
 his own family, and was the subject of no one. At a later 
 period the so-called noblemen were nominally and to some 
 extent under the authority of the prince, but it was a 
 subjection which left the man free to do as he liked. By 
 degrees the prince gained power, and the nobles lost it. 
 And in reference to the changes going on in the times 
 just alluded to, Mackenzie Wallace writes : ' When the 
 Grand Princes of Moscow brought the other principalities 
 under their power, and formed them into the Tsardom of 
 Muscovy, the nobles descended another step in the political 
 scale. So long as there were many principalities they 
 could quit the service of a prince, as soon as he gave them 
 reason to be discontented, knowing that they would be 
 well received by one of his rivals ; but now they had no 
 longer any choice. The only rival of Moscow was Lithu- 
 ania, and precautions were taken to prevent the discon- 
 tented from crossing the Lithuanian frontier. The nobles 
 were no longer voluntary adherents of a prince, but had 
 become subjects of a Tsar ; and the Tsars were not as the 
 old princes had been. By a violent legal fiction they 
 conceived themselves to be the successors of the Byzantine 
 Emperors, and created a new court ceremonial, borrowed 
 partly from Constantinople and partly from the Tartar 
 Horde. They no longer associated familiarly with the 
 Boyars, and no longer asked their ad vice, but treated them 
 rather as menials. W^hen the nobles entered their august 
 master's presence they prostrated themselves in Oriental 
 fashion occasionally as many as thirty times and when 
 they incurred his displeasure they were summarily flogged 
 or executed, according to the Tsar's good pleasure. In 
 succeeding to the power of the Khans, the Tsars had 
 adopted, we see, a good deal of the Tartar system of 
 government/ 
 
 To this has to be added the impoverishment of the 
 nobles through extravagant expenditure, and the priva- 
 tions of the poor through lack of remunerative employ- 
 ment, and, it may be, want of energy and past wrongs 
 done to them by petty local officials. The last mentioned evil 
 
 H 
 
98 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 is one not limited to this province, but an illustration 
 taken from it may be more satisfactory than mere illusions 
 to the general forms which it assumes throughout the 
 empire. 
 
 By one of my personal friends I was informed that on 
 the occasion of wide spread famine in this region some 
 years ago, provision was made by the Government for the 
 supply of the destitute with corn. He happened to be 
 present when the Government official, appointed to en- 
 quire into the state of the poor in the locality where he 
 was, came to the house of a poor man whom he knew to be 
 in want. To his surprise, in answer to the enquiry of the 
 official whether he needed help, he said, ' No.' The official 
 seemed equally surprised, and varied the form of the 
 question, but still got the same reply. He began to 
 reason -with the man in regard to the folly of not availing 
 himself of the provision which the Government had made 
 for supplying corn to them free of all charge ; but still the 
 man maintained that he did not need it. And the 
 apparent phiianthrophy of the official was completely 
 baffled by the apparent independent spirit of the peasant. 
 When the official had gone my friend astonished asked of 
 him, ' How is this ? You and your family are in danger 
 of starvation, and yet you say you are not in want. I 
 cannot understand it/ ' Yes,' said the peasant, ' we are 
 in want. But of whatever grant may be made by the 
 Government a great deal will be retained by those 
 through whose hands it first passes ; the same will be done 
 again and again by all those through whose hands it must 
 pass in succession before it could reach us ; and reach us it 
 never will. So if we must starve any way I would 
 rather starve just as I am than give to these fellows an 
 opportunity of making money under the pretext of saving 
 us from starvation.' 
 
 But among the courtiers there was to be found, in 
 the times spoken of by Mackenzie Wallace, or shortly 
 thereafter, ' Lithuanian nobles, who found it more profit- 
 able to serve the Tsar than their own sovereign/ 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 99 
 
 Of the treatment to which men of their order were 
 subject twenty years ago, a picture is given by the Rev. 
 Fortescue L. M. Anderson in a little volume entitled 
 Seven Months Residence in Russian Poland in 1863. 
 
 In 1863 the Rev. Fortescue L. M. Anderson accepted 
 an invitation from Count Alexander von Bisping-Galen to 
 accompany him to his estate of Wereiki in Lithuania, he 
 having made his aco/uaintance at the University of Bonn, 
 where his father held the appointment of English 
 chaplain. The Count was in his political views what was 
 known as a Conservative Pole, that is one who was 
 opposed to insurrection ; and as indicative of the desire of 
 the Count to avoid even the appearance of sympathy 
 with the disaffected it is mentioned by Mr Anderson, in 
 giving a narrative of their journey, in prosecuting which 
 they had reached Konigsberg, ' he (the Count) had bought 
 some time before a pair of guns and pistols of superior 
 workmanship, which he naturally wished to carry home 
 with him. But to have tried to introduce these with his 
 own luggage at the Russian frontier would have been to 
 expose them to certain seizure, and himself probably to 
 heavy penalties. To have sent them (as he might have 
 done) by boat up the river, along with a reaping machine 
 which he had bought in England, and which was now 
 awaiting his arrival in Konigsberg, would have been 
 simply an evasion of the law, and have subjected him to 
 the charge of secretly supplying arms for the insurgents. 
 He resolved, therefore, at once to abstain from any and 
 every attempt, directly or indirectly, to make use of the 
 guns and pistols which he prized so highly ; and begged 
 me to ask my father, in the letter I was then writing, to 
 take charge of them. They were accordingly sent off to 
 Bonn, before our departure from Konigsberg ; and my 
 father has them still in his possession, with the cases 
 unopened/ 
 
 They found everywhere an abundance of military, but 
 the first offensive conduct which they saw was at Grodno. 
 ' From Wilna our next journey was to Grodno ; the 
 
 
100 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA 
 
 country is for the most part flat, and only diversified here 
 and there by small lakes, and patches of fir and birch 
 plantations. The intermediate stations were all crowded 
 with soldiers ; but no authentic particulars of information 
 could be learned anywhere respecting the insurrection 
 which had thus drawn them out from their various 
 winter quarters. We had learned much more about its 
 progress, whilst we were yet at a distance, from English 
 and French and German newspapers, than we seemed 
 likely to learn in the country disturbed by it. 
 
 ' A run of about four hours by railway brought us to 
 Grodno, where we were received by a cousin of the 
 Count ; and, having dressed hastily at the hotel, went to 
 dine with Prince and Princess Lubecki, who received us 
 with the utmost kindness. I was agreeably surprise! 
 to find that the Princess, who is an aunt of the Count, 
 spoke English ; and this circumstance, joined with the 
 hearty friendliness of all the party, tended not a little to 
 secure for me a most agreeable evening in this land of 
 strangers, 
 
 ' Our breakfast next morning presented the novelty of 
 tea served up in tumblers, accompanied with cigarettes, 
 and, from that time until midday, there was an uninter- 
 rupted succession of visitors coming in to see the Count. 
 We went out for luncheon to a neighbouring restaurant, 
 and met a number of Russian officers who had been 
 playing billiards there. The demeanour of the Russian 
 officers, especially those of the Imperial Guard, is gene- 
 rally marked by great courtesy ; but, upon the present 
 occasion, I must confess, they exhibited it only in scant 
 measure. In fact, one of them did not scruple to stretch 
 his hand rudely over the table and help himself to a 
 portion of bread which had been placed for our party. 
 Whether he did it intentionally, or from inadvertence, I 
 cannot say ; but a significant smile which passed, at the 
 same moment, over the face of one of his brother officers 
 who observed him, forced me to believe that they were 
 trying how far they might venture to show their contempt 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 101 
 
 for those whom they regarded as merely Polish intruders. 
 But their plan to pick a quarrel with us if such had 
 been their purpose was frustrated by our taking not the 
 slightest notice of their conduct. 
 
 ' On Friday morning, the 6th of March, we started by 
 post-waggon for Wereiki, one of the Count's country 
 houses, south of the Niemen, about thirty English miles 
 from Grodno, The v two waggons, which drew up to the 
 door an hour after the appointed time, resembled Scotch 
 hay-carts. One of them was drawn by four rough-looking 
 horses abreast, and the other by three. The rapid 
 pace at which they galloped along the wretched roads 
 was perfectly surprising, and the violent jolting which the 
 passengers thereby suffered, for the waggons had no 
 springs, may be better imagined than described. Our 
 progress at first was slow enough ; the rough pavement 
 of the streets making it necessary to traverse them 
 nearly at a walking pace, and the obstruction at the 
 bridge over the Niemen being not easy to overcome. 
 There are two bridges across this part of the Niemen ; 
 the one, a tubular bridge, for the railway to Warsaw ; 
 the other, a .flying bridge, as it is called, but of a 
 very different construction from those bearing the 
 same name, with which the traveller on the Rhine is 
 familiar at Bonn, Konigswinter, and Neuwied. The 
 movement of the Rhine bridges, as the reader probably 
 knows, is carried on by the action of the stream, and 
 controlled by a chain, which is attached to the stern of 
 the two barges which support the platform of the 
 bridge, and thence passing through a high wooden frame- 
 work, is drawn over a series of boats stationed at inter- 
 vals up the stream, and is fastened over the stern of the 
 hindmost boat, to the bottom of the river. The Niemen 
 bridge is likewise set in motion by. the stream; but, 
 instead of being attached to boats, its course, from one 
 bank to the other, is controlled by a stout cable, which 
 passes upon rollers, through two upright posts fixed on 
 each side of the bridge, and is fastened at each end to a 
 
102 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 windlass on either side of the river. The Niemen is not 
 hal f so broad at this point as the Rhine, or this mode of 
 making the bridge swing to and fro would not be prac- 
 ticable. The platform, which composes the floor of the 
 bridge, is laid over two strong barges, like those upon 
 the Rhine, and large enough to carry, at each trip, carts 
 and horses and foot passengers. Upon the present 
 occasion there could not have been less than a hundred 
 passengers and fourteen or fifteen carts and waggons, 
 besides our own. This motley assemblage, packed of 
 course very closely together, presented a scene of hope- 
 less confusion. Not much inconvenience, indeed, was 
 suffered by our own party, for precedence was given to 
 the post-waggon in which we were carried. But those 
 who followed could only gain the bridge by a general 
 scramble; men, women, and children, soldiers and pea- 
 sants, pushing and quarrelling, swearing, screaming 
 each striving to reach it first. Two of the party 
 especially attracted my attention, a peasant boy, and a 
 Jew woman about fifty years old, each leading a horse 
 and a four-wheeled market cart down towards the bridge. 
 The woman was rather in advance at first, but the boy, 
 whilst she was wrangling with the manager of the bridge, 
 contrived to get his horse and cart in front of hers. 
 Whereupon the woman, as soon as she perceived it, 
 beat his horse savagely about the head, and then turned 
 with equal fury upon the boy himself, scratching his 
 face and kicking him. The boy was not slow to pay 
 her in her own coin, and a regular pounding-match 
 followed, to the amusement, apparently, of the lookers*- 
 on. But, in the midst of the scuffle, the boy was still 
 mindful of his main purpose, and, watching his oppor- 
 tunity, succeeded in making good his stand upon the 
 bridge. The woman, too, followed, and would fain 
 have renewed the contest; but, finding this impracti- 
 cable, contented herself with pouring out an incessant 
 torrent of abuse upon the object of her rage. The 
 so-called management of the bridge, as indeed is the 
 

 LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 103 
 
 management of everything else in this country, is in the 
 hands of Jews. But, if the preservation of order be 
 part of the contract, it was certainly set at nought this 
 day. There may have been officers present, whose 
 duty it was to preserve order, but I could not see any. 
 Indeed, it would have required a regiment of police- 
 men to have withstood the pressure of the eager 
 multitude. 
 
 'Once across the bridge, our pace was a continual 
 gallop. Even a steep hill, which we had to ascend 
 soon after leaving the river, and heavy roads, made still 
 heavier by muddy heaps of half-melted snow, had no 
 effect in slackening the speed of the poor horses. The 
 driver was unceasingly employed in shouting to them, 
 or in lashing their jaded sides with a rope whip. The 
 first stage, about fifteen English miles, through a hilly 
 country, was completed in less than an hour and a half; 
 the second, about the same distance, was traversed in 
 about the same time, over a somewhat better road, and 
 the country was more flat. Our luncheon, at the end of 
 the first stage, consisted of brown bread and cheese with 
 caviar and claret. There was a long building by the 
 road-side, which served as a stable for the post-horses, 
 four of which are required always to be kept in readiness 
 for any emergency. Boards were laid in a sloping form 
 for the horses to lie upon, but covered with a very scanty 
 littering of straw ; and little or no pains appeared to be 
 taken to keep either stables or horses clean. 
 
 'We passed some good-looking farm-houses, in the 
 second stage of our journey, and also some rich-looking 
 fen land, which reminded me of the best parts of the 
 border country of Norfolk and Lincolnshire.' 
 
 They made a round of visits to the relatives of the 
 Count. All is described, with notices of the domestic 
 habits of the families visited, with a naivete which shows 
 that nothing political, much less anything treasonable, was 
 in their thoughts. 
 
104 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 While thus spending their time, and devoting much of 
 their leisure to fishing and the chase, the insurrection 
 which was being expected, broke out ; and Mr Anderson 
 records some of the cases of what he considered oppression 
 which came under his notice, when he went with his 
 friend, Count Bisping, to spend the summer months with 
 him on his family estates in Lithuania, little imagining 
 that like treatment was to be given to themselves. But such 
 was the case. He was about to return to Bonn, where he 
 was expected before the end of September, when, most 
 unexpectedly, he and his host together were thrown into 
 prison. Of his arrest and imprisonment he tells : 
 ' On Friday, the fourth of September, we came to Grodno 
 from Wereiki, intending to proceed the following week 
 to Wiercieliszki, and attend the harvest home which was 
 to be there celebrated. We remained in Grodno the 
 whole of Saturday and Sunday ; and, on Monday after- 
 noon, set out for the farm. The weather was beautiful ; 
 the Jew post-master had sent us his best team of four 
 horses to convey us ; and the Count, his German 
 servant, and I left the hotel, about three o'clock, in 
 high spirits; little dreaming of the events that were 
 soon to befall us. 
 
 ' Upon reaching the town barrier, where the passports 
 are always examined, I saw two sentries of the Imperial 
 Guard standing in their dress uniform, in honour of 
 some grand festival. The Count hurried upstairs as 
 usual, with the papers, whilst I remained in the carriage. 
 Hardly had he left me, when a gensdarme came up, 
 and asked whether the carriage in which I was sitting be- 
 longed to Count Bisping. On my replying in the affirma- 
 tive, he told me to go upstairs with the luggage, which 
 consisted of two portmanteaus and a carpet-bag. I was 
 somewhat startled at receiving such an order ; but, 
 without making any remark, at once obeyed it. Count 
 Bisping was even more astonished at seeing me enter 
 the passport office, and asked what was the matter ? I 
 referred him for information to the gensdarme, who 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 105 
 
 forthwith showed, that, in his opinion, something very 
 serious was the matter ; and that it was his duty to 
 call us strictly to account for it. In a loud, dictatorial 
 tone, he ordered the servant to open the boxes, and 
 demanded from us our papers. Both these orders were 
 instantly complied with ; but, in surrendering my papers 
 I took the liberty of retaining my English passport as 
 long as I could. t 
 
 ( After the boxes had been examined, and every article 
 of their contents most minutely scrutinised, the officer 
 turned to Count Bisping, and ordered him to undress. 
 The Count immediately pulled off his coat and other 
 garments. The contents also of his pockets were 
 searched ; his watch and purse seized, and all his money 
 counted ; even his boots were taken off and carefully 
 examined by a soldier, to see if any piece of paper were 
 concealed inside them, or between the soles. The Ger- 
 man servant next underwent the same operation ; 
 whilst I quietly looked on. My turn then came. The 
 gensdarme turned to me, and said, " Now, undress." 
 
 1 " I decline doing so," I answered, speaking in French, 
 " I am an Englishman, travelling with a passport given 
 under the hand and seal of our Foreign Secretary ; and 
 I have also a Russian passport. 1 have not broken any 
 of your laws ; and, until I am informed of the cause of 
 my arrest, I shall not submit to be treated like a felon." 
 
 ' He stared at me with a look of blank amazement ; 
 apparently unable to believe his ears, that any one, con- 
 nected with the despised Poles, should dare to disobey 
 the orders of a Russian official. He paused, but only 
 for a moment : then ran, and opened the window, and 
 spoke some words of loud command, the purport of 
 which, the Count told me, was to summon the Chef 
 militaire, and the Chef de police, together with a 
 troop of Cossacks, to our quarters. I could hardly 
 help smiling at this alarming array of force, ordered 
 out against one defenceless man ; and was curious to 
 see whether it were really intended by the Russian 
 
106 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 authorities to mark their proceedings by an act of such 
 egregious folly. 
 
 1 During the absence of the messenger, the Count said 
 to me, " Why do you not yield to their demands ? " 
 
 ' " I will do so," I replied, " as soon as I am informed 
 what their demands are. But I will not submit to the 
 indignity of being treated in this manner, without any 
 reason assigned." 
 
 ' The reader may probably think that I was wrong in 
 making this resistance ; and, if more time for reflection 
 had been afforded to me, I should probably have ab- 
 stained from the attempt to interpose any delay. But, 
 at the moment, I was filled with deep indignation, which 
 absorbed every other thought. 
 
 ' After waiting about half an hour, the Chef militaire 
 arrived, and was soon followed by the Chef de police 
 and the Cossacks. The latter were forthwith despatched 
 at full gallop to the Count's farm, with orders to seize 
 and bring away everything which they could find belong- 
 ing to us. The Chef militaire, I must here mention, 
 was an officer of the Imperial Guard, only acting tem- 
 porarily in the office which he then filled. He was a 
 thorough gentleman ; and I could read in his counte- 
 nance the disgust which he felt at the arrogant offensive 
 manner of the Chef de police. Having been informed 
 of all the particulars of our arrest, and of my refusal to 
 undress, the Chef de police turned round to me, and 
 said, in broken English, " But you moost, my friend, you 
 moost deshabiller." I repeated what I had before said, 
 and told him, that, if the cause of my arrest were 
 explained, I would obey any and every order which it 
 was his duty to impose : but that, otherwise, I should 
 do nothing. They had of course the power to do what 
 they liked. It would be useless for me, I said, to resist 
 them: and I could only appeal to the Governor for 
 redress. 
 
 ' " May the soldiers undress you ? " was the next 
 question. 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 
 
 107 
 
 1 "I have told you already that you may do what you 
 like. I have no means of preventing you ; but I shall 
 certainly not do anything to assist you in the infliction 
 of an insult against which I protest. I have here my 
 English passport, bearing the signature and seal of Lord 
 Russell ; and, if you look at it, you will see that it requires, 
 in thv name of the Queen of England, all those whom it may 
 concern, to allow me to pass freely without let or hindrance, 
 and to afford me every assistance and protection of which I 
 may stand in need. Do you suppose that these words 
 have no meaning? or that I shall quietly suffer you or 
 any man to trample under foot the authority which they 
 assert ? " 
 
 ' " Let me see your passport," said he. I held it out 
 to him. He seized it, crumpled it up, and thrust it into 
 his pocket, adding in a contemptuous tone, " Well, now 
 you have it no longer." I remonstrated as strongly as 
 i could, against such cool audacious insolence ; but the 
 only notice he took of me was to draw the passport out 
 of his pocket again, straighten it, and place it among my 
 other papers, which he duly sealed up. 
 
 ' He then made a sign for two of the soldiers to draw 
 near and strip me of my coat and waistcoat and boots, 
 and examine carefully every part of them. Upon seeing 
 them peep into my boots, I told the Chef de police 
 that Englishmen were not in the habit of carrying money 
 or letters in their boots. " Oh, no," he said, " I have 
 been in England ; and know the ways of Englishmen 
 well enough." 
 
 ' " If that be the case, I think you must have learned 
 that no man in England is treated as a criminal, until 
 his crime be proved. Why have you not remembered 
 the lesson ? " 
 
 ' The work of undressing me being ended, the men 
 proceeded to repack our portmanteaus, and left me sit- 
 ting where I was, occasionally looking at me, and won- 
 dering apparently what was to happen, next. As soon 
 as everything was ready for removal, the Chef de police 
 turned round, and said to me, "Come, Sir, dress.'' 
 
108 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 ' " No, I shall do nothing. You have brought me into 
 this condition, by what I regard as most unjust conduct. 
 I shall leave you to get me out of it as you can." 
 
 ' Upon this the German servant was directed to do 
 what was required ; and, had I not helped him from 
 time to time, I believe his trembling hands would never 
 have accomplished the task. 
 
 ' " Why is the pauvre Anglais so cross ? " said the Chef 
 de police, in a taunting tone, to the Count. "He seems 
 quite angry." 
 
 " I am angry," 1 replied, " at the violation of justice, 
 which is committed under the name of law/' 
 
 To like treatment he was subjected for many days. 
 Of this full details are given pp. 142-214 but the 
 narrative is too long for citation. His deliverance was 
 the result of the circumstance of three English tourists 
 happening to pass through Grodno, who heard there that 
 one of their countrymen was imprisoned. They were the 
 Rev. W. G. Clark, Fellow and Tutor of Trinity College, 
 Cambridge, and public orator ; Mr W. Lloyd Birkbeck, 
 Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge ; and the third a 
 member of Balliol College, Oxford. Mr Clark wrote to 
 Lord Napier, British ambassador at St. Petersburg, and 
 Mr Birkbeck to Mr White, the Vice-Consul at Warsaw ; 
 and thus was secured his liberation. But his host was 
 exiled to the frontier of Siberia. Of his ultimate fate 
 Mr Anderson writes : 
 
 ' Little more remains to be told of what has since 
 befallen my dear friend, Count Bisping. The first intel- 
 ligence which reached me respecting him was that he 
 had been set free. I was not at all surprised at this ; for 
 I knew that his arrest had produced the greatest excite- 
 ment, and that there was a wide and deeply felt 
 sympathy among all classes for him ; and that every 
 effort was made in Grodno and throughout its neighbour- 
 hood to effect his release. A day or two before my 
 departure I heard that a long train of his tenantry and 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 109 
 
 neighbours, headed by a Russian priest, were coming to 
 the Governor of Grodno with a petition on his behalf. 
 The word of a Russian priest spoken in favour of a 
 Polish Roman Catholic proprietor was no ordinary inci- 
 dent ; and I was sanguine in the hope of a successful 
 result. He was indeed released, but only for a short 
 time. He was still fprbidden to leave Grodno ; and, in 
 a few days afterwards, the hand of power was once more 
 laid npon him, and he was removed to St. Petersburg, on 
 his way to the distant province of Orenburg, which 
 adjoins the south-western range of the Ural Mountains. 
 He was told, indeed, that upon arriving at the place of 
 his exile, he should be allowed his personal liberty ; that 
 his valet and man-cook should accompany him ; that he 
 should have the command of his money for the supply of 
 what was needful ; and that his estates should all be 
 preserved. Upon arriving at St. Petersburg he was again 
 placed in confine ment for eight days, until the arrange- 
 ments were completed for the subsequent disposal of him- 
 self and of those who were forwarded, at the same time, 
 to undergo the like or severer banishment. 
 
 'During his stay in St. Petersburg, his servant, who 
 had thus far continued to wait upon him, with the 
 intention of going on even to the end, went to the 
 Prussian Embassy, and their received such formidable 
 accounts of the risks to which (through ignorance of 
 the Russian language), he might probably be exposed in 
 the place of his master's exile, accompanied with such 
 strong advice that he should retrace his steps home- 
 ward, that his resolution to share his master's fortunes 
 was utterly shaken. Ludwig hastened to his master, 
 and told him of all that he had heard, and of the fears 
 aud perplexities by which he was beset. His master 
 frankly told Ludwig that he should be sorry to part 
 with him, but still more sorry if his intention to follow 
 his master into the interior should entangle him in 
 serious difficulties. He urged him, therefore, to act 
 upon the advice which he had received ; to go home to 
 
110 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA, 
 
 his family ; and to believe, that, if circumstances should 
 at any future time allow him to resume the duties which, 
 for nearly three years, he had faithfully performed, his 
 master would gladly receive him. This generous and 
 considerate conduct of the Count is exactly what I should 
 have expected from him. Courageous, and stedfast, and 
 even cheerful, in the endurance of his own trials, he 
 would yet have been miserable at the thought of bringing 
 any one else, through his influence, into the same 
 dangers ; and, therefore, not grudgingly or reluctantly, 
 but with sincere and hearty goodwill, he dismissed the 
 servant who, he believed, loved him ; and furnished him 
 with ample means to return home. 
 
 ' I have frequently seen the servant since his return, 
 and heard many a fresh tale of sorrow from his lips. 
 The good priest at Massalani, of whom I have before 
 spoken, has been added, among others, to the long list 
 of recent prisoners ; but I have not yet heard what sen- 
 tence has been passed upon him. 
 
 ' The various houses at which I stayed have, each and 
 all of them, been visited, if not permanently occupied, 
 by Russian troops. At Wereiki especially, where Ludwig 
 passed a few hours one day, thirty Cossacks were found 
 to have taken up their quarters in the room which 
 had been our usual dining-room ; and it can be readily 
 understood, that, at their departure, whensoever that 
 may be, little or nothing will be left behind. Every- 
 where the work of pillage and oppression goes forward ; 
 and, though the formal sentence of confiscation of the 
 Count's estates have not been proclaimed, yet who can 
 estimate the amount of damage that has been, and still 
 is, wilfully and wantonly inflicted upon every species of 
 his property ? 
 
 ' Of the Count himself, I am thankful to say that I 
 have heard a better account than I had dared to hope 
 for. The place of his residence is Ufa, in the province of 
 Orenburg. The climate has thus far agreed with him ; 
 and the Governor of the place appears to do everything 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. Ill 
 
 he can to relieve the irksomeness of his exile. But the 
 question which I cannot help asking myself, and to 
 which I have not yet been able to find a satisfactory 
 answer is, Why is such a man in exile at all ? If he had 
 been really guilty of doing anything, directly or indi- 
 rectly, to promote the work of revolution, is it to be 
 supposed, that, in the present temper of the Russian 
 Government, his liffe or property would not have been 
 immediately forfeited ? The mere fact that his life and 
 property are spared is proof incontrovertible that the 
 charges attempted to be brought against him are false ; 
 and that the Government knows them to be false. But, 
 if false, why not admit their falsehood ? Why not punish, 
 as they deserve, the perjured witnesses that dared to 
 slander him? Why not fully reinstate the Count in the 
 property of which he is the rightful owner, and to the 
 improvement of which he is ready to devote his fortune 
 and the best energies of his noble nature ? There is, 
 indeed, one answer, and only one, but who can call it a 
 satisfactory answer ? to be returned to these and other 
 like questions, namely, that the unsparing rigour of 
 MouraviefFs government forbids the display, I will not 
 say, of mercy, but of any approach to equity or fair 
 dealing towards any Pole, whose name has been in 
 the slightest degree associated it matters not how 
 wrongly with the insurgent cause. The fate of 
 Count Bisping is but the fate of hundreds and 
 thousands of others who, like him, are, or were, landed 
 proprietors in Lithuania and the adjoining provinces. 
 The system pursued has been simply a system of 
 indiscriminate proscription ; and, even whilst these sheets 
 are passing through the press, I observe a proclama- 
 tion, lately issued by Mouravieff and now making the 
 circuit of every journal in Europe in which he regards 
 with wondrous self-complacency the work done by his 
 hands within the last few months, and prides himself in 
 the belief that there is no longer left, throughout the 
 extensive districts entrusted to his charge, a single 
 
112 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 inhabitant who dares to utter any other word, or to 
 harbour any other thought than that of entire sub- 
 mission. It may be so. He may have so closely 
 gagged the mouth, and so heavily oppressed the heart 
 of Russian Poland, as to make her powerless any 
 longer to speak or to breathe. But is this to re-estab- 
 lish order and tranquility within her borders? As 
 well may the physician, who ascribes to his patient a 
 malady to which he is a stranger, and drenches him with 
 remedies which destroy him, dream that he has dis- 
 pelled the danger, because he has silenced the meanings 
 of pain, or made the limbs of the strong man helpless 
 as the limbs of an infant. 
 
 'The narrative in the foregoing pages has been pur- 
 posely confined to the notice of those persons only 
 with whom I was brought into personal and friendly 
 relation. The sympathy awakened within me by their 
 distresses, I know to be a just and lawful sympathy; 
 and, howsoever imperfect may have been the expression 
 of it which I have tried to give, it has been given without 
 hesitation, because I am convinced of the truth of the 
 grounds on which it rests. If ever man were animated 
 with a single-hearted purpose to do his duty as a 
 steward of God's bounties, amid a people who looked up 
 hopefully to him for help, it is the friend with whom 
 I passed six months and more, upon the soil on which 
 he and his people dwelt. Day by day I witnessed his 
 honest and consistent efforts for their welfare ; day by 
 day I knew that he was stedfast and loyal to the 
 Emperor, to whom he and his people alike owed sub- 
 jection. Yet I have lived to see him torn from the 
 home of his fathers; and the people, whom he would 
 fain have protected and cherished, left once more to the 
 tender mercies of the roving Cossack, or to the grasping 
 extortion of the Jewish trafficker. His loftiest aspira- 
 tions have been crushed in the very prime of his youth- 
 ful manhood ; and the " sun " of his brightest hope has 
 suddenly " gone down whilst it is yet day " (Jer. xv. 9). 
 
LITHUANIA AND ITS PEOPLE. 113 
 
 This is, indeed, a sore trial ; fitted, indeed, to lead every 
 one who bends beneath the weight of it to seek more 
 earnestly the protection of Him, who in adversity as 
 well as in prosperity, is our surest stay. They who lean 
 the most trustfully upon Him, and walk in the closest 
 obedience to His will, will find that even the pathway 
 of tribulation leads, in His own good time, to blessing. 
 But it would be the forfeiture of this blessing, were we 
 to varnish over, with the gloss of a false name, the 
 hideous oppression of the country of which we have 
 been speaking. We dare not, therefore, dignify with the 
 name of Government (as Mouravieff and his agents would 
 fain do), the work of plunder, proscription, and massacre, 
 which they have carried on ; neither dare we apply the 
 hallowed name of Peace to the desolation which they 
 have spread over " unhappy Poland." '* 
 
 The Lithuanians seem to be of the same race with the 
 Samogitians, and they resemble both the Poles and the 
 Russians. Their appearance speaks of extreme poverty. 
 Their carts are made entirely of wood, sometimes without 
 a single piece of iron, and even the harness of the horses 
 is often made of the more flexible branches of trees. And I 
 have been told that the landed proprietors have become 
 greatly impoverished, many of them possessing only half a 
 desatin of land, and estates of insolvent proprietors being 
 constantly for sale ; while the Government has been 
 endeavouring to provide for them by encouraging emigra- 
 tion to Simbirsk and Tobolsk, by offering them settle- 
 ments on crown lands in these governments. 
 
 * ' Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium ; atque, ubi solitudinem 
 faciunt, pacem appellant.' Tac. Agric. c. xxx. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 THERE is little to strike the eye or arrest the attention of 
 a traveller in passing from Poland into Lithuania, which 
 is conterminous with it throughout its eastern boundary, 
 though extending much further both to the north and to 
 the south. All that is seen of forest lands from the rail- 
 way in both countries is alike. The forests are not 
 continuous in either, nor confined to any well defined 
 localities. Nor is there anything remarkable to be seen 
 in the one or in the other. 
 
 The surface of the country is very flat, generally sandy, 
 intersected by vast marshes and bogs, and covered with 
 forests abounding in bears, wolves, wild boars, and other 
 animals, amongst which is the urus, or wild ox, but this is 
 now rarely met with, and it seems to be diminishing both 
 in size and strength. The most common trees are the 
 pine, the oak, and the elm. A considerable quantity of 
 potash and pearl ash is prepared in the forests ; honey is 
 also collected in great abundance. But the people 
 generally are indolent. The best lands lie fallow, the hay 
 is allowed to rot on the meadows, and whole forests are at 
 times destroyed by fire. 
 
 My journey took me through the governments of Godno, 
 Vilna, and Vitebsk. In the government of Grodno is the 
 celebrated forest of BialowiSga, which extends over the 
 district of Bialistock, and which still serves, or did some 
 years ago, as a refuge for the last descendants of the urus 
 of Oriental Europe. This forest is one pre-eminently 
 suggestive of the expression primeval forest. 'It looks as 
 if no provision had been made for its management, and 
 it had been abandoned to the uncontrolled operations of 
 

 ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 115 
 
 nature. It is among those aged woods which overshadow 
 the source of the Narova that the urus found safety ; and 
 there wander also the elk and the buffalo. And amid 
 those scenes of primitive nature subsists a distinct popula- 
 tion the Ruskes, almost as savage as the animals which 
 surround them/ 
 
 The area of forests in the government of Grodno is 
 958,000 desatins, of which 557,440 desatins belong to 
 the crown, equivalent to 28'1 desatins of forests, or 15'7 
 desatins of crown forests per square verst, and to 1 
 desatin of forests, or 0'6 desatins of crown forests per 
 inhabitant. The annual fellings in the crown forests 
 yield 12* 2 cubic feet, and the revenue is 23*1 kopecs per 
 desatin. 
 
 The area of forests in the government of Vilna is 
 1,156,000 desatins, of which 387,145 desatins belong to 
 the crown, equivalent to 33'9 desatins of forests, or 10*4 
 desatins of crown forests per square verst, and to 1*3 
 of forests, or 0'4 desatins of crown forest per inhabitant. 
 The annual fellings in the crown forests yield 15'4 cubic 
 feet, and the revenue is 16'4 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 Of the town of Vilna, Dr Pinkerton, who travelled 
 through this district in the early part of the present 
 century as agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 writes: 'The town of Vilna is built among sand hills 
 at the confluence of the two streams Villia and Vilika. 
 It was founded in 1305 by Guedemin, Grand Duke of 
 Lithuania, of which it afterwards became the capital. 
 Many remains of ancient public buildings, both in and near 
 the town, bear ample testimony to its former grandeur. In 
 1748 it was burned down ; and it is recorded that at that 
 time thirteen churches and synagogues, about one hundred 
 and forty-six shops, twenty-five palaces, and four hundred 
 and sixty-nine store houses, &c., &c., were reduced to 
 ashes. Still there are at the present time many fine 
 
 
116 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 churches and public and private buildings in Vilna, and 
 daily improvements are still making. The present number 
 of inhabitants is about 40,000, of whom one half are Jews. 
 'The Jewish population seem all engaged in buying and 
 selling ; the men hawking their goods about the public 
 places, and the women seated before their shop doors 
 knitting stockings, and loquaciously inviting the passers 
 by to purchase of their wares. They all dress in the 
 fashion of the Polish Jews ; the men with black silk or 
 stiff long robes, in eastern style, girt upon them, and 
 round caps turned up with fur, with bushy beards and 
 long hair, shining with oil and curled ; the females are 
 somewhat more European in their attire, with rich head 
 dresses, ornamented with mock or real gems, according to 
 their ability. The great majority of them look dirty and 
 
 'Taking leave of my Vilna friends I directed my 
 course towards Troki, the ancient residence of the Grand 
 Dukes of Lithuania, which lies about twenty miles to the 
 north-west of Vilna, We reached this district town, which is 
 beautifully situated on the lake Bressal, in the evening. 
 This lake has a communication with the river Villia by 
 a canal. The ruins of an ancient ducal palace are still 
 prominent on one of the little islands which spot the 
 bosom of this extensive lake, whose waters are clear as 
 crystal. Troki is said to have been founded by the Grand 
 Duke Gusdemin in 1321. It was burned down in 1390, 
 and ruined by the Russians in 1655. The present town 
 is divided into three parishes. In one of the churches is 
 an image of the Virgin, which occasionally attracts a 
 number of pilgrims from the surrounding country. The 
 houses are built of wood. The scenery around the lake 
 is remarkably fine in a country like this, where the eye 
 is so seldom relieved from the sameness of prospect of 
 extensive plains and woods ; and the evening being fine, 
 I greatly enjoyed it.' 
 
 Conterminous with the government of Vilna on the 
 
ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 117 
 
 north-west is the government of Kovno. In the govern- 
 ment of Kovno the area of forests is 768,000 desatins, of 
 which 243,765 desatins belong to the crown, equivalent 
 to 21*9 desatins of forests, or 6'9 desatius of crown 
 forests per square verst, and to 0*7 desatins of forests, or 
 0'2 desatins of crown forests per inhabitant. The annual 
 felling in the crown forests yield 147 cubic feet, and the 
 revenue is 16'9 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 Kovno, the capital, is an ancient town, finely situated 
 for commerce at the confluence of the Villia and the 
 Niemen, bears numerous marks of depopulation, poverty, 
 and decay. The pavement of the market place is over- 
 grown with grass, and many of the public buildings seem 
 hastening to ruin. The population does not exceed four 
 thousand, of whom a great proportion are Jews, and the 
 rest Roman Catholics. 
 
 This statement I make on the authority of Dr Pinkerton. 
 In an account of his journeying in this district, he 
 writes : ' From Kovno we continued to travel down the 
 banks of the Niemen for about twelve versts, when we 
 changed horses at a village swarming with Jews, with 
 whom I left a Testament and a few tracts. At Svedrick, 
 another populous Jewish town, I conversed with the 
 people for an hour, and gave them two Hebrew Testa- 
 ments and a Hebrew tract. We prosecuted our journey 
 all night northward till about four in the morning, when 
 we arrived at the district town of Rossiena. With some 
 difficulty I obtained a room at the house of a Jew, where 
 I attempted to get a few hours rest ; but the place was so 
 cold and so uncomfortable that I felt not at all refreshed 
 by it. 
 
 c Rossiena is chiefly inhabited by Jews ; and is now but 
 an insignificant looking place, though formerly the 
 residence of a Voivod under the Poles. It looks more 
 like a village than a town ; the houses are mere wooden 
 huts, and most of the streets not even paved. The 
 Samogatian population of the district of Rossiena amounts 
 to about 90,000. 
 
118 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 ' The Bishop of Samogatia has his residence here. It 
 was a great holiday when I was there St. John's day 
 and the peasantry were flocking towards it from all 
 quarters. The general aspect of the country from Kovni 
 to Rossiena is level, the soil sandy and clayey by turns. 
 
 ' Leaving Rossiena about midday, 1 took the road for 
 the district town of Shawel. At a village called Titifian 
 there was a fair similiar to what we had left at Rossiena. 
 In the evening we found the roads filled with country 
 people returning from it, among whom I was pained to 
 observe a great number intoxicated ; I even became 
 doubtful of my safety in travelling by night through 
 extensive and little frequented roads ; yet we continued 
 our course in the rain, along very bad roads, for about 
 fifteen miles, and then halted about midnight at a 
 Samogatian village, where I purposed resting a few hours, 
 but the heat and vermin in the hut was so annoying, even 
 though I merely stretched myself on a bare bench by the 
 side of the wall, that I could not sleep. 
 
 ' We arrived in the district town of Shawel about eight 
 the next morning. It consists of 280 dwellings, mostly 
 wooden huts of different dimensions, the rest of brick. I 
 found the Jews, who form the majority of the inhabi- 
 tants, extremely shy, and averse to conversation on 
 religious subjects. ...... 
 
 1 On leaving Shawel I took the road to Telsh, another 
 district town of Samogatia, at which I arrived about one 
 in the morning. On approaching Telsh the level and 
 uninteresting aspect of the country undergoes a favour- 
 able change, becoming undulating, and in some parts 
 even hilly. 
 
 ' The mayor and others in Telsh assured me of a fact 
 which will scarcely be credited that the princes of the 
 family of Gedroitz are so numerous, and so poor, that 
 some of them gain their support by cutting firewood, and 
 carting it to the Vilna market for sale. Many of them 
 cultivate the ground for their livelihood. So low is the 
 princely dignity fallen in Lithuania ! And as to the state 
 
ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 119 
 
 of the nobility of Samogatia it is also degraded beyond 
 conception, since in the district of Telsh there are not 
 fewer than 700 individals of noble descent who cultivate 
 the ground with their own hands ! 
 
 ' The number of houses in Telsh is 160, of which one 
 half are inhabitated by Jews, who are mostly very 
 indigent.' 
 
 My route led from Vilna to Vitebsk. Following up- 
 ward from Dunaburg the course of the Dwina, and 
 passing New Alexandrosky on the right bank of the 
 Dwina and Poletka we reach the town of Poletsk, one 
 of the oldest towns mentioned in Russian history. It 
 was formerly the provincial town of a district of the same 
 name, which in 1796 was united to that of Vitebsk. 
 
 ' It was known to the ancients under the name of 
 Pletiscum, and in the time of Ruric, the Russian 
 Egbert,' says Pinkerton, c it had its own princes, who 
 reigned there until the time of Vladimir the Great. This 
 prince, irritated at the refusal of Rogneda, daughter of 
 the reigning prince Rogvalde, to marry him, laid siege to 
 the city, took it, killed the prince and his two sons, 
 married the princess against her will, and added the 
 principality of Poletsk to his dominions. After this the 
 son of Rogneda obtained this principality from his father, 
 Vladimir, and his descendants continued to reign there for 
 several centuries, until 1305, when Guedemin built 
 Vilna, which became then the capital of those parts of 
 Lithuania. But even to the time of Peter the Great the 
 Russian Tsars continued to take the title of Prince of 
 Poletsk. In the intervening ages it was repeatedly 
 taken and retaken by the Russians and Poles, but it 
 generally remained in the hands of the latter until 1772, 
 when Catherine II. united it to her empire.' 
 
 The area of forests in the government of Vitebsk is 
 1,738,000, of which 380,615 desatins belong to the crown, 
 equivalent to 44*5 desatins of forests, or 9'7 desatins of 
 crown forests per square verst, and to 2'L desatins of 
 
120 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 forests, or 0'5 desatins of crown forests per inhabitant. 
 The annual fellings in the crown forests yield 11*3 cubic 
 feet, and the revenue is 12'6 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 The town of Vitebsk stands on the banks of the 
 Dwina and Vitspa, which flow through it. It is a very 
 ancient town, and is said to have been known to the 
 Scandanavians and Greeks as early as the tenth century. 
 The country around is level, and abounds in extensive 
 forests, and the land produces abundance of grain and 
 excellent hemp. 
 
 In the government of Moghileff the area of forests is 
 1,184,000 desatins, of which 180,415 desatins belong to 
 the crown, equivalent to 28*1 desatins of forests, or 4*2 
 desatins of crown forests per square verst, and to 1-3 
 desatins of forests, or 0'2 desatins of crown forests per 
 inhabitant. The fellings in the crown forests yield 134 
 cubic feet, and the revenue is 18'3 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 ' The province of MoghilefT,' says Pinkerton, ' is about 
 350 versts long, and 300 broad, with a population of 
 upwards of 900,000 souls; all are Russians, except a 
 few Lithuanians, and a numerous tribe of Jews, who 
 formed a settlement here during the period of the Russian 
 civil wars, when White Russia was in the hands of the 
 Poles. It abounds in extensive forests of fir and hazel- 
 wood ] those in the district of Tchernigov are considered 
 the finest. Numbers of the peasantry are employed in 
 felling and floating timber to Riga by the Dwina, and to 
 the Black Sea by the Dnieper, and to those parts of Little 
 Russia which are but scantily supplied with this necessary 
 article. 
 
 ' The principal commodity of trade in Moghileff is 
 leather ; there are upwards of twenty tanneries ; but its 
 merchants carry on a considerable commerce also with 
 the ports of Danzig, Memel, and Riga, in potash, hemp, 
 leather, and grain. 
 
 ' In this district is situated one of the old towns, or 
 rather cities, of Russia, interesting on account of ancient 
 
ASPECT OP THE COUNTRY. 121 
 
 historical associations. It is the town of Pleshkoff, built 
 on the banks of the Velikaia and the Plescova, by the 
 famous Russian Princess Olga, who was born in a village 
 about eight miles distant from it, named Sibout, whence 
 the young prince Igor espoused her for his wife, But 
 her love for her native place was so strong, that after she 
 had become a Christian, about the year 965, she came 
 from Kief to propagate the Christian religion among its 
 heathen inhabitants : and at that time, as the legend 
 goes, founded the city on the spot indicated to her by a 
 supernatural light from heaven, which descended upon a 
 certain place on the banks of the two above mentioned 
 streams. She began by erecting a church to the Holy 
 Trinity, and the city rose around it, and became distin- 
 guished for its power and commercial importance through 
 many succeeding ages. The evidence of this is seen in 
 the extent of the ruins of the massive buildings required 
 by the necessities of a crowded city of enterprising 
 merchants, enriched by the gains of an extensive and 
 successful trade, now yielding materials which have been 
 employed extensively in the repairs and erection of 
 buildings required by the demands of modern times. It 
 is described as being in a most dilapidated condition. It 
 is still divided into three parts the Kremlin, the central 
 city, and the great city. The towers and fortifications of 
 the outer walls occupy a circle of about seven versts : these 
 are all of limestone ; and are so reduced by the effects of 
 the frosts in winter, and the heat in summer, that 
 certainly a few ages more will cover the mouldering heaps 
 with green turf. 
 
 ' The population is about 10,000 people. 
 
 ' When the famous Vladimir the First divided his 
 kingdom among his ten children, whom he had by an 
 equal number of wives, Pleshkoff fell to the lot of 
 Sondislav, who became in consequence its first sovereign 
 about 1030. But the fate, and even the government of 
 Pleshkoff, was in general intimately connected with that 
 of its rival, and elder sieter, Novgorod, until its union 
 
122 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 with the Hanseatic towns, about the beginning of the 
 fifteenth century, at which time they began to coin silver 
 money at Pleshkoff. This coin had the head of an ox, 
 with a crown below it ; and on the reverse, the value 
 marked. Republican principles prevailed in Pleshkoff 
 till it was subdued by the Grand Duke Ivan Vasillivitch, 
 in 1509. The Russian chronologer, Nestor, says that the 
 Christian religion was propogated as early in the region 
 of Pleshkoff as in Novgorod by St. Joachim the 
 Chersouite.' 
 
 Conterminous with the government of Moghileff, and 
 occupying the centre of Lithuania, is the government of 
 Minsk, conterminous with Vilna and Grodno on the west. 
 ' Minsk is an ancient Lithuanian town, situated on the 
 river Swistoche ; sometimes subjected to the principality 
 of Poletsk, and at others to that of Smolensk. So early 
 as 1066 the two sons of the Grand Duke Jarosloff 
 beseiged it, took it, massacred all the males, and distribu- 
 ted the women and children as slaves to those who 
 accompanied them. In 1104 a Russian prince named 
 Gleb Vseslavitch reigned here, who afterwards became 
 Prince of Poletsk. Its fortunes were for many ages 
 united to those of Poland (of a Palatinate of which 
 kingdom it formed the capital), but was taken by the 
 Russians in 1656. It is now the seat of government 
 for the province of the same name, and of a Russian 
 archbishop, who takes the title of Archbishop of Minsk 
 and Lithuania. There is also a Russian Catholic Bishop 
 of Minsk. The Jews form two-thirds of the population. 
 At the last census there proved to be 8000 Jews, and 
 only 4000 Christians of all denominations, in the town of 
 Minsk. Many of the public buildings are of brick ; but 
 the houses of the inhabitants are chiefly of wood. There 
 are a number of manufactories of hats in this place, 
 which are thence exported to every part of the dominion 
 of Russia. The country around Minsk is fertile in grain 
 and pasturage. Extensive forests of pine still cover a great 
 
ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 123 
 
 part of the province, the felling and transporting of which, 
 down the rivers to Cherson in the cast, and Konigsberg in 
 the north, form a principal branch of the industry of its 
 inhabitants. They are reckoned at two millions of souls ; 
 and consist of Lithuanians, Poles, Jews, and Russians.' 
 
 At Minsk Dr Pinkerton met a number of distinguished 
 Poles at the table of one of the nobles, and he remarks : 
 ' The spirit of national rivalry and enmity betwixt the 
 Poles and the Russians is still strongly cherished in 
 secret, and manifests itself in a variety of ways ; the 
 Polish ladies, for instance, I was told, refuse to dance with 
 Poles who have become officers in the Russian regiments ; 
 and this deep-rooted national enmity against the Russians 
 is daily nourished in the family circles and private associa- 
 tions of the Poles.' 
 
 In the government of Minsk the area of forests is 
 3,676,000 desatins, of which 1,019,522 desatins belong to 
 the crown, equivalent to 424 desatins of forests, or 11*7 
 desatins of crown forests per square verst, and to 3 
 desatins of forests,, or 0'8 desatins of crown forests per 
 inhabitant. The annual fellings in the crown forests are 
 7'1 cubic feet, and the revenue is 9'8 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 In the government of Yolhinia, conterminous on the 
 north with the governments of Grodno, Minsk, and 
 Moghiieff, the area of forests is 2,733,000 desatins, of 
 which 674,639 desatins belong to the crown, equivalent to 
 43'3 desatins of forests, or 10*7 desatins of crown forests 
 per square verst, and to 1'6 desatins of forest, or 0*4 
 desatins of crown forests, per inhabitant. The annual 
 fellings in the crown forests yield 16*9 cubic feet, and the 
 revenue is 16*9 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 Conterminous with the government of Volhinia on the 
 south is the government of Podolia, in which the area 
 of forests is 589,000 desatins, of which 113,195 desatius 
 belong to the crown, equivalent to 16 desatins of forests, 
 or -3 desatins of crown forests, per square verst, and to 0'3 
 
124 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 desatins of forests, or 0*05 desatins of crown forests, per 
 inhabitant. The annual fellings in the crown forests 
 yield 53*1 cubic feet, and the revenue is 147*8 kopecs per 
 desatin. 
 
 Like the level of the Theiss in Hungary, the soil of 
 Podolen is composed of the sediment of a recent ocean, 
 in which a large proportion of vegetable sediment sub- 
 stance preponderates, and which, being saturated with 
 salts, needs no artifical manure to enable it to produce a 
 succession of the richest crops. The forests are extensive, 
 affording for export timber, pitch, tar, rosin, and potash, 
 and what is known as Polish cochineal. 
 
 A great extent of Lithuania is known as White Russia, 
 while the remainder of it, along with the government of 
 Podolia, which is conterminous with the south of the 
 government of Volhinia, is known as Black Russia, and 
 to the country comprising both is given the designation 
 West Russia, while to the Ukraine, comprising the govern- 
 ments of Tchernigov, Kiev, Poltava, and Kharkov, is 
 designated Little Russia, and to the Emperor is given 
 the designation Tsar of all the Russias. 
 
 Most of the roads in White Russia run in straight 
 lines, ditched and planted with rows of birch trees. 
 The clay cast up from each side forms the road. In dry 
 weather they are pleasant to travel on, but liable to be 
 very dusty, and after rains they become almost impassable. 
 And the light colour of the clay, in a state of dust, may 
 have confirmed the name of White Russia given to the 
 district ; but I consider it more probable that the desig- 
 nations Black and White Russia were given in consequence 
 of the dark hue given to some districts by abounding pine 
 trees and oaks, and the white colouring given to other 
 districts by the bark of abounding birches. 
 
 ' In most of the towns which I visited in White Russia/ 
 says Dr Pinkerton, writing of jourueyings more than fifty 
 years ago, but there changes take place but slowly, ' a 
 
ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. 125 
 
 comfortable inn is not to be found. The traveller there, 
 as in Poland, and in the interior of Russia, must make up 
 his mind to encounter every privation in this respect, and 
 be glad if, on the road between provincial towns, he can 
 procure anything better than black bread, milk, eggs, 
 beer, and common brandy. On this account the country 
 nobility generally carry their provisions with them when 
 on a journey, together with a cooking apparatus, and even 
 bedding ; between the government towns they provide a 
 sufficient quantity of white bread, poultry, wine, &c., to 
 supply them till they reach the next town/ 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 IT is not from anything peculiar to the forest manage- 
 ment of Lithuania that it has been made the subject of 
 this treatise, but, as has been stated, solely because it 
 happens to be an integral part of the Russian empire 
 adjacent to Poland, which has been treated of in the 
 preceding part of this volume, and it supplies an oppor- 
 tunity of bringing under consideration the forest adminis- 
 tration of the Imperial domains. To show this adminis- 
 tration and management in action, I find it necessary to 
 take my readers beyond this limited field ; and this I can 
 do without breaking violently away from it. 
 
 The largest river traversing Lithuania is the Dnieper, 
 a river extensively utilised for the floatage of wood. 
 By Professor ShavranofF, of the St. Petersburg School of 
 Forestry, there was supplied to me a series of papers by 
 Mr M. 0. Polytaief, On Forests of the Dneiper, which 
 supplies the illustrations of this of which I was desirous ; 
 and Mr Richard Sevier, of St. Petersburg, a friend whom 
 I found ready to give me every assistance in my enter- 
 prise which I could desire, supplied me with a translation 
 of the whole, which I shall insert entire. 
 
 The Dnieper, I may premise, rises in the southern 
 portion of the government of Tver, passes by Smolensk, 
 shortly after which it enters Lithuania, passes MoghilefF, 
 and flowing thence towards Kiev, it afterwards passes 
 Kkaterinoslav and Cherson, falling into the Black Sea a 
 little beyond. It is navigable from a little above 
 Smolensk to the mouth. From Smolensk its course is 
 south-west, till it reaches Orcha, in the government of 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 127 
 
 Moghileff, under the parallel of 54 32', whence it has a 
 southern course through the government of Mogbileff, 
 which it divides on the south-west from that of Minsk. 
 In this part of its course it receives numerous tributary 
 streams ; amongst others, the Dneitz, or Drouts, and the 
 Berezina, which is united to the Dwina by means of a 
 canal, and the Verditch, all on the right bank. At the point 
 where it leaves the government of Moghileff, and turning 
 to the west and south forms the boundary between parts of 
 the governments of Minsk and Tchernigov, it receives the 
 Soj on its left bank. Before it reaches Kiev, past which 
 it flows, it receives the Pripett, which the Muchavice and 
 Orginski canals connect with the Vistula and the Niemen 
 on the right bank. After passing Kiev it receives on the 
 same bank the Teterev, Zdvij, and Irpen. Further on it 
 receives the Roso ; and, after receiving others on the right 
 bank and the left, it is joined by the Bug, which traverses 
 Podolia. By itself and its tributaries the Dnieper 
 supplies abundant facilities for the transport of timber 
 and firewood to the south. 
 
 In conjunction with the Bug, ' it forms a large liman, or 
 swampy lagune, called Dnieprovskoi, nearly 50 miles long, 
 and from 1 to 6 miles broad, by which it discharges itself 
 into the North Gulf of the Black Sea. This liman extends 
 from Cherson to Oezakoff, and in summer has hardly six 
 feet of water. The Dnieper, seen from Cherson, re- 
 sembles a vast lake studded with islands. The entire 
 length of the Dnieper, measured by its windings, is 
 about 1,200 miles; in a straight line it is about 650 
 miles from its source to its mouth. Its depth of water at 
 Smolensk is from 1 6 to 20 feet ; at Kiev, 20 feet ; at 
 Krementchug, 20 feet ; at the rapids, 8 feet ; below the 
 rapids, from 7 to 12 feet ; at its embouchure, from 5 to 6 
 feet. Its average width is estimated at 700 paces, and 
 the surface which this river and its tributaries drain is 
 exceeded only among European streams by that of the 
 Danube. The Dnieper flows for the most part between 
 high banks, the greatest elevation of which is along 
 
128 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 the east side. The upper part of its course is through a 
 marshy country ; in the middle and lower course it passes 
 over numerous rocks, and between banks of the older 
 calcareous formation. It is broader, deeper, and more 
 rapid than the Don, and is navigable from Smolensk to 
 Kiev ; but below the latter town, the river is traversed by 
 a granitic chain, and the navigation is interrupted for about 
 40 miles by 13 rapids called poroge, and also by huge 
 blocks of stone. Here the river presents a most magni- 
 ficent sight, careering along in a bed at least 1000 feet 
 wide, which for miles on miles is one continued sheet of 
 boiling foam. This space is passable for vessels of small 
 draught during the spring floods only, and even then only 
 with great difficulty and danger. Works have been 
 undertaken at various periods to render this part of 
 the 'river navigable. All merchandise for Cherson, 
 on the Black Sea, used to be unladen at Old 
 Samara, whence it was conveyed by land to Alex- 
 androfsk, at the mouth of the Moscofska, a distance 
 of about 46 miles by land. From this spot to the mouth 
 of the Dnieper, a distance of 260 miles, the navi- 
 gation is unimpeded. The goods that descend the rapids 
 of the Dnieper consist almost exclusively of timber, 
 firewood, and iron from Siberia. Tar is also brought in 
 immense quantities from the Polish forests. Below the 
 cataracts, and as far as the liman of this river, upwards of 
 70 islands occur, amidst which moving sands impede the 
 navigation during summer. These islands produce a grape 
 called biroussa, which resembles the currants of Corinth. 
 They are reported to swarm with serpents, and abound in 
 a sort of wild cat. Flowing through more than 9 degrees 
 of latitude, great diversity of climate is experienced along 
 the course of this river. At Smolensk the waters freeze 
 in November, and continue ice-bound until April ; at Kiev 
 they are generally frozen from January to March. The 
 direction of its course from north to south delays its rise 
 till late in the spring, as the streams which feed it from 
 the north do not thaw till the end of April. The 
 
FORESTS OF THE DNIEPER. 129 
 
 Dnieper abounds in fish, particularly sturgeon, carp, 
 pike, and shad. This river is the Borysthenes of the Greeks, 
 and the Danapris of the middle ages. It is first mentioned 
 by Herodotus. Except the more southerly parts, its banks 
 have long been inhabited by races of Slavonian origin. 
 Towards the mouth, from the Ross on the right, and the 
 Vorska and Soula on the left bank, the country was for a 
 long time a mere steppe, where nomadic tribes fed their 
 numerous flocks. By treaty with Turkey, and since 
 the partition of Poland, both banks of the Dnieper 
 have become the property of Russia. The lower part of 
 its course has been the scene of many sanguinary conflicts 
 between the Turks and Russians ; the upper part, parti- 
 cularly the neighbourhood of Smolensk, was the scene of 
 some severe conflicts in Bonaparte's retreat in November 
 181 2.' 
 
 Of the forests on the Dnieper, M. Polytaief writes : 
 ' Under the name of Dnieper forests I understand the 
 forests that are on the Dnieper, and also those on its affluents, 
 therefore into the number of Dnieper forests enter those 
 in the governments of Minsk, Moghileff, Smolensk, Orel, 
 Koursk, Tchernigov, Kiev, Volhinia, Cherson, Ekatherin- 
 oslaff, and Poltava. In inspecting the forests of these 
 governments I shall principally pay attention to the 
 crown forests or more correctly speaking, the forests 
 under government management. 
 
 ' The extent of the crown forests in the above-named 
 governments equals about 3,000,000* desatins, and 
 although, according to their extent, they form less than 
 l-3()th of the whole extent of the crown forests, neverthe- 
 less, by their value in the wood trade, they are very 
 important. Supplying timber and wood materials for 
 exportation, the Dnieper forests have at the same time 
 great importance in the inland wood trade, because they 
 furnish timber to about ten governments poor in wood. 
 
 * A desatin is equal to 2-69972 imperial acres ; a rouble, 3s 4d, but according to 
 present rate of exchange, 2s. 
 
130 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Constituting less than l-30th of the whole extent of the 
 crown forests of European Ilussia, the forests under con- 
 sideration realise a revenue of about 500,000 roubles, 
 that is one- eighth of the whole income derived from 
 forests. The necessity of more assiduously guarding these 
 forests is the reason why in the Dnieper forests there is 
 about one-quarter of the whole number of foresters, and 
 that the expense of the local management forms about 
 one-seventh of all the expenses for forest management 
 in all the governments. By these ciphers is sufficiently 
 demonstrated the importance of the Dnieper forests, as 
 well in the wood trade as in the income and expenditure 
 of the forest management. 
 
 ' Of the Dnieper forests the Smolensk woods have 
 least importance in the timber trade, because they are 
 not conveniently situated as regards sales. 
 
 ' Though situated at the sources of three basins, they are 
 for the most part distant more than ten versts from floatable 
 rivers, so that the expense of land transport to these con- 
 stitutes the greatest parfc part of the outlay. Out of 136,000 
 desatins only 60,000 desatins are at a distance of tea 
 versts from floatable rivers; the remaining mass of the forests 
 is much further. Of the above 60,000 desatins, near the 
 affluents of the river Moskva there are not more than 1500 
 desatins ; near the tributary streams of the river Ourga 
 there are about 3000 desatins, about 15,000 desatins are 
 near the Dnieper and its affluents ; and the remaining 
 40,000 desatins are on the tributary streams of the 
 western Dwina and Volga Of these floating ways the 
 Volga, Dnieper, and Dwina to the principal marts is 
 very far ; and only by the river Moskva to the principal 
 marts is it about 400 versts. There are inconveniences of 
 another kind ; of the whole surface of forest estates of the 
 government of Smolensk about 20,000 desatins compose 
 about 400 separate forest parts, almost separate estates, 
 of which there is not one of more than 20 desatins, and 
 many of only 2 or 3 desatins and less. These estates have 
 no importance in the timber trade, but in an economical 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 131 
 
 sense they may be rather considered inconvenient than 
 convenient areas, as it is difficult to manage when, with 
 a preponderance of the coniferous trees, the whole estate 
 occupies a space of onlv 2 or 3 desatins. No dealer will buy 
 on such estates, and the conservation of them entails 
 expense. 
 
 ' These surfaces, considered part of the whole forest 
 area, give an incorrect idea of the amount of income per 
 desatin of forest surface, that is surface convenient for 
 forest management, not only by the productiveness of the 
 soil, but likewise by the extent of surface. For forest man- 
 agement an estate of 500 square fathoms, or 2 or 3 desatins, 
 in such a place as the government of Smolensk, cannot be 
 convenient. With a preponderance of coniferous trees in 
 such a surface it is difficult to state the period of recurring 
 fellings ; and with this kind of economy one cannot expect 
 sales, nor can one expect any income remunerating the 
 expense of guarding, when hundreds of such estates are 
 under one forester, and are strewn over a surface of some 
 hundreds of square versts. The conversion of these estates 
 into rent paying estates, or the exclusion of them from the 
 forest area, is the urgent requirement of the forest 
 management of the Smolensk government. In conse- 
 quence of this, 20,000 desatins (which make about one- 
 sixth of the Smolensk forests), we shall leave out of con- 
 sideration, and only take into account the remaining 
 110,000 desatins. 
 
 ' The government estates are inconveniently placed even 
 with regard to the future railways, as well of that Vitebsk- 
 Smolensk as of Orel-Smolensk ; but both the railways 
 pass through private forests abounding with firewood. 
 These roads will pass near only three crown estates ; but 
 even then not nearer than 25 versts. 
 
 ' But notwithstanding these unfavourable circumstances, 
 the price of government wood is rising from year to year, 
 the revenue from the forests is increasing, and in the 
 course of six years it has more than doubled, from the 
 sale of wood materials from the crown estates alone. 
 
132 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 There was received in 1861, 
 1862. 
 1863i 
 1864, 
 1866, 
 
 4,605 roubles. 
 6,895 
 6,567 
 7,032 
 10,182 
 
 ' In 1866 the average price of a desatin was in the 
 Porctihie forest circuit, 18 roubles ; in Dorogo- 
 bouje, 100 roubles; in Donhovchina, 19 roubles; in 
 Gjatsk, 89 roubles ; in Bielsk, 19 roubles : the average for 
 the whole governments, 49 roubles. In the statistical 
 description of the government of Smolensk with regard to 
 forests by Herne, it is seen that in 1861 the* average 
 price was 32 roubles, consequently the demand and price 
 of crown woods increase with every year, and as to the quality 
 of the sold estates, to what kind of forest materials the 
 increase of the revenue is due. Firewood and building 
 materials of small dimensions, offered for sale, in the 
 majority of cases had no buyers; the increase of the 
 revenue was solely owing to a growing demand for forest 
 materials of large dimensions, in consequence of fewer 
 offers of the same from private estates. Firewood, 
 and forest materials of small dimensions, are bought 
 on private estates ; and by an increased felling of 
 these, the owners strive to make up the deficiency of 
 income from their estates which proceeds from the 
 assortments sold being of lower quality. The offers 
 of firewood and small building materials on private estates 
 is so considerable that the crown forests cannot compete 
 with them, the more so that for 135,000 desatins of 
 crown forests there are 1,526,000 desatins of private 
 forests : that is, for 1 desatin of crown forests there are 11 
 desatins of private forests; or, taking 15 fathoms of firewood 
 to 1 desatin, we receive 165 fathoms from private estates 
 to 15 fathoms for crown. The competition is unfavourable. 
 The constant rising of prices, and the demand for big 
 timber, show the diminution of these latter in the private 
 estates ; and as such materials require a recurrence of 
 fellings every 100 or 150 years, we think that the im- 
 portance of the crown forest estates in the government of 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 133 
 
 Smolensk will increase every year, if in the majority of 
 these be introduced a forest economy with distant 
 recurrence of fellings. And no objection can be raised to 
 distant recurrence of fellings, as in most of the estates the 
 plantations and soil are quite suitable for such a form 
 of economy. 
 
 ' With regard to the value of a desatin of forests, the 
 following estates are worthy of notice : 
 
 ' Klevtzovokholmovskaia. This estate forms part of 
 the Gjatsk forest circuit, and is in the Gjatsk dis- 
 trict ; it measures 859 desatins, 473 fathoms, of which 776 
 desatins, 1109 fathoms, are covered with wood; 8 desatins 
 by buildings ; and 74 desatins, 1764 fathoms, are waste. 
 The forest surface on 407 desatins pine predomin- 
 ates ; on 300 desatins, fir ; the average age of the planta- 
 tion is about 100 years ; 68 desatins are taken up by 
 cuttings and glades. Out of this estate, in 1864, were 
 sold 10 desatins for 1115 roubles, that is 111 roubles the 
 desatin ; in 1865, 10 desatins for 1273 roubles, or 127 
 roubles the desatin ; in 1866, 10 desatins for 890 roubles, 
 or 89 roubles the desatin. This decrease was occasioned 
 by the dealers ; and in consequence of it in 1866 they, 
 by the proposal of the taxator, began to leave seed trees 
 60 pine trees to a desatin, though the pine trees make the 
 principal value in a clearing. Having grown in a dense 
 forest, these trees have their summit at a height of 6 or 
 7 fathoms from the earth, and an even trunk without 
 branches. Being in a plantation where, to a desatin, there 
 were about 500 trees, the pine trees left for bearing seed 
 will be blown down before they bring any profit by sow- 
 ing the clearing. This estate has a great similarity to the 
 Zabolotsky estate in the government of Moghileff. In 
 the Zabolotsky estate it was likewise proposed to leave 
 seed-bearing trees in a similar plantation, and the 
 result was only the reduction of its value, and not the 
 sowing of seed. In such plantations the natural sowing 
 of the clearing, with indiscrimate sale, can only be aided 
 by arranging the clearing, so that the felling of one 
 
134 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 stripe shall not follow that of another proximate 
 to it within five years, or generally not earlier 
 than the lapse of that number of years, after which seed 
 years occur. 
 
 'With the small breadth of the clearings the 
 sowing of them will take place from the surrounding 
 plantations. In planing out the clearings, one by the 
 side of another, for five, seven, or ten years, as this is 
 sometimes done in order to diminish the labour, the 
 leaving of seed trees will not assist reproduction. The 
 seed trees will be broken by the wind, and the leaving 
 them, without bringing any assistance to reproduction, 
 will only bring a loss in the sale. 
 
 'Holovin Waste, Ojatsk Forest Circuit. Surface 371 desa- 
 tins, 257 fathoms ; of this number 367 desatins, 257 fathoms 
 are under forest ; 4 desatins, waste land ; and 25 desatins, 
 330 fathoms, under cuttiDg and glades. Of the space 
 occupied by forests, 312 desatins are under fir, and 3 
 under birch. The ripe plantations are about 70 per cent. ; 
 those of middle growth, 30 per cent. Of this estate there 
 were sold in 1864, 7 desatins for 382 roubles, or 54 roubles 
 per desatin; in 1865, 5 desatins for 275 roubles, or 55 roubles 
 per desatin ; in 1866, 5 desatins for 278 roubles, or 55 
 roubles per desatin. 
 
 ' Senskaia Estate in Dorogobuj Forest Circuit. It is 
 generally divided into crown forests, with the square con- 
 tents of each, shown separately, but as in an administra- 
 tive point of view, it forms one whole, and we show the 
 items. The general surface is 2,318 desatins, 654 fathoms. 
 Of this space the forest surface is 1,845 desatins, 1,354 
 fathoms, of which 170 desatins are under pine ; 1,502 
 desatins under fir ; 70 desatins under birch, alder, and 
 aspen; under clearings, 103 desatins; under buildings, 
 17 desatins, 400 fathoms ; waste ground, 455 desatins, 
 300 fathoms. From this estate there were sold in 1865, 24 
 desatins for 1,912 roubles, or 79 roubles per desatin ; in 
 1866, 21 desatins for 2,200 roubles, or 105 roubles per 
 desatin. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 135 
 
 ' To the number of remarkable estates of the Smolensk 
 government with regard to value of clearings may be 
 added : 
 
 ' Orel Estate, District Eln, Dorogobuj Forest District. It 
 occupies about 306 desatins, 2,017 fathoms, of which 286 
 desatins, 2376 fathoms, are forest surface ; and 19 desatins, 
 2,041 fathoms, waste ; and 26 desatins, 1260 fathoms, under 
 cuttings and glades. Of the forest surface 12 desatins are 
 of pine; 214 desatins of fir; and 15 desatins of mixed. 
 With regard to age, young plantations are 5 per cent., 
 and ripe 95 per cent. In 1864 there were sold 4 desatins for 
 300 roubles, or 75 roubles per desatin; in 1865, 3 desatins 
 for 217 roubles, or 72 roubles per desatin ; in 1866, 3 
 desatins for 218 roubles, or 72 roubles per desatin. 
 
 'All these estates supply wood materials of large 
 dimensions, and the sale of their yearly cuttings goes on 
 well, whereas cuttings of small building materials and 
 firewood seldom find buyers ; therefore, we repeat the 
 gradually rising importance in the wood trade will effect 
 those forests in the government of Smolensk which have 
 a store of large dimensions ; and consequently for the 
 greatest number of estates there is required forest manage- 
 ment with a remote return of cutting. 
 
 'The importance of the Smolensk-Dnieper forests in 
 local trade is unimportant, and one can calculate only on 
 the trade beyond the frontier of the government, and on 
 three markets, the mouth of the Dnieper, Riga, and 
 Moscow. The Moscow market, from its proximity, we 
 consider the principal market for the Smolensk-Dnieper 
 forests. In consequence of this connection of the 
 Smolensk forests with the Moscow markets, we consider 
 it not out of place to make some comparison of the taxes 
 of the Moscow government with the taxes of the govern- 
 ment of Smolensk. The greatest similarity is between 
 the districts of Mojaisk and Volokamsk of the govern- 
 ment of Moscow, and the Gjatsk district of the govern- 
 ment of Smolensk. The difference between them, in a 
 commercial point of view, consists in this that in the 
 
136 
 
 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Gjatsk district the local demand for material is much less than 
 in that of Mojaisk and Volokamsk ; and with regard to float- 
 age it must be remarked that, by the course of the rivers 
 Konsa and Moscow, the district of Gjatsk is 100 versts 
 farther from Moscow. The medium price of birch wood 
 in the districts of Mojaisk and Volokamsk is 4 roubles for 
 highest quality, and in the district of Gjatsk, 4 roubles ; 
 and wood of lowest quality is 2*10 kopecs in all, though the 
 distances from the principal markets are different.' 
 
 Of forests in the government of Orel he writes : 
 ' The forests of the Orel government, like the forests of 
 Smolensk, are situated likewise on the basins of the 
 Dnieper, Oka, and Don, but the crown forests of the Orel 
 government have a much higher importance in the wood 
 trade than those of Smolensk ; the Orel crown forests 
 form a much larger extent of the whole surface under 
 forests than those of Smolensk, and, with regard to 
 communication, are under still under more favourable 
 conditions. 
 
 ' The whole extent of crown forest estates which are 
 under government management is distributed in the 
 districts as follows : 
 
 Of this number the 
 
 In the district of Orel, 
 
 2,458 des. 
 
 ,, Mtzensk, 
 
 502 
 
 , Karatchev, 
 
 25,142 
 
 
 , Brian sk, 
 
 161,640 
 
 
 , Tronbteheosk, 
 
 87,890 
 
 
 Sevsk, 
 
 10,710 
 
 
 Dmitrovsk, 
 
 770 
 
 
 Kromin, 
 
 1,995 
 
 
 Liven, 
 
 7,645 
 
 
 Jeletz, 
 
 15,703 
 
 
 Bolchov, 
 
 132 
 
 
 Malo-Archan- 
 
 
 gelsk, 
 
 1,945 
 
 
 344,532 des. 
 
 forest surface 
 
 2,297 des. 
 
 502 
 
 19,813 
 
 131,078 
 
 72,544 
 
 9,036 
 
 722 
 
 1,902 
 
 5,600 
 
 13,000 
 
 132 
 
 1,845 
 255,533 des. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 137 
 
 ' According to approximate information, by which the 
 local forest administration are guided, there are of 
 private forests : 
 
 In the d 
 
 ."'f 
 
 strict of Orel, 14,125 desal 
 Mtzensk, 10,747 
 Karatchev, 36,566 
 Briansk, 234,897 
 Tronbteheosk, 214,525 
 Seosk, 51,125 
 Dmitrovsk, 37,249 
 Kromin, 7,840 
 Liven, 10,048 
 r . Jeletz, 34,471 
 Bolchov, about 24,000 
 , Malo-Archangelsk, 24>000 
 
 bins. 
 
 699,597 desatins. 
 
 ' The information anent the crown forests is much more 
 correct than the information as to private forests, 
 particularly in the districts of Bolchov and Malo-Archan- 
 gelsk. If, instead of the general extent of crown forests, 
 we take into account only the forest surface, which even, 
 with regard to private estates, is shown after excluding 
 all the appurtances contained in the limits of the forest 
 estates, then we will perceive that the crown forests are 
 almost two and a-half times less than the private forests. 
 Taking the districts there are important deviations for 
 instance, in the Mtzensk district the crown forests are 
 only one- twentieth part of the private forests, and only in 
 the districts of Karatchev and Briansk are the crown forests 
 more than half. With such proportion the Orel crown 
 forests may have a much higher importance in the forest 
 trade than those of Smolensk. 
 
 ' Taking the number of inhabitants of the district as a 
 foundation census of 1862, we find that 
 
138 
 
 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 In the district of Bolchov, 
 
 Orel, 
 
 ,, Mtzensk, 
 
 ,, Karatchev, 
 
 ,, Briansk, . 
 
 Tronbteheosk, 
 
 Seosk, 
 
 Dmitrovsk, 
 
 ,, Kromiu, 
 
 ,, Malo-Archangelsk, 
 
 Liven, 
 Jeletz, 
 
 With a 
 population 
 of 
 
 For 1 man 
 there is 
 general surface. 
 
 Of which 
 extent 
 forest. 
 
 121,113 
 
 1-94 dec. 
 
 0-012 dec. 
 
 162,981 
 
 1-10 
 
 0-094 
 
 90,051 
 
 2-32 
 
 0-115 
 
 98,822 
 
 3-42 
 
 0-57 
 
 110,168 
 
 6i23 
 
 3'2 
 
 95,473 
 
 5-63 
 
 2-87 
 
 112,174 
 
 2 '82 
 
 0'53 
 
 82,325 
 
 2-54 
 
 0-448 
 
 96,128 
 
 1-85 
 
 0-099 
 
 145,797 
 
 2-02 
 
 0-673 
 
 224,317 
 
 2-25 
 
 0-06 
 
 205,432 
 
 2-41 
 
 0-22 
 
 There is for each man 
 
 
 Crown forests. 
 
 Private forests. 
 
 In the district of Bolchov, 
 
 0001 dec. 
 
 0-1 Idee. 
 
 Orel, 
 
 0-014 
 
 0'08 
 
 , , Mtzensk, 
 
 6-005 
 
 0-11 
 
 ,, Karatchev, 
 
 0-2 
 
 0-37 
 
 ,, Briansk, 
 
 1-1 
 
 2-1 
 
 ,, Tronbteheosk, 
 
 0-22 
 
 2-5 
 
 ,, Seosk, 
 
 0-08 
 
 0-45 
 
 ,, Dmitrovsk, 
 
 0-008 
 
 0.44 
 
 ,, Kromin, 
 
 0-019 
 
 0-08 
 
 ,, Malo-Archangelsk, 
 
 0-013 
 
 0-016 
 
 ,. Liven, 
 
 0-02 
 
 0-04 
 
 Jeletz, 
 
 0-06 
 
 0-16 
 
 ' Consequently with regard to the abundance of wood, 
 the government of Orel can be divided into three groups 
 the districts of the basins of the Dnieper, the Don, and 
 the Oka. 
 
 'To the first group belong the districts of Briansk, 
 Tronbteheosk, Seosk, and Karatchev. To it refer likewise 
 the greatest part of the crown forests, viz, : 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 139 
 
 Of which are 
 under forests. 
 
 1. Briansk circuit, 61,399 desatins. 2,230 fathoms. 
 
 50,457 desatins. 
 
 2. 30,602 
 
 448 
 
 14,092 
 
 3. 69,639 
 
 1,354 
 
 66,529 
 
 1. Tronbteheosk, 43,246 
 
 145 
 
 32,315 
 
 2. 38,288 
 
 
 35,280 
 
 3. 6,356 
 
 
 4,942 
 
 Karatchev, 25,142 
 
 
 19,813 
 
 Seosk (namely 
 
 
 Seosk district), 10,710 
 
 9,036 
 
 ' In these forest circuits the greatest part of the forests 
 constitute crown estates, whereas in the remaining forest 
 circuits they belong to the peasants. 
 
 ' The second group contains Jeletz, Liven, and Malo- 
 Archangelsk. 
 
 'To the third group belong the districts of Orel, 
 Bolchov, Mtzensk, Dmitrov, and Kromin. 
 
 c It is evident that the two last groups must be referred to 
 places with little wood. The importation of forest products 
 into these districts from the south and east is impossible 
 in consequence of their being no forests in these parts ; 
 the importation by the river Oka, and generally from the 
 north from the governments of Tula and Kaluga 
 also cannot be great, because the government of Tula 
 has no excess of forest materials, and the forest materials 
 of the government of Kaluga will always find an increa- 
 sing demand on the Orel-Moscow railway, and being 
 floated down the Oka, will find a better market in 
 Moscow because those landed at Serpuchov will be 
 transported by rail only 90 versts, whereas from Serpuc- 
 hov to Orel by railway is much further, and besides the 
 floating by the Oka against the stream, and frequently 
 against a contrary wind, is long, and costs dear. In the 
 meantime the demand for forest materials in these 
 districts must increase rapidly. In Orel three branches 
 of railways meet, in consequence of which the sale of the 
 manufactures of the government of Orel must increase, 
 
140 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 and this increase must increase the consumption of forest 
 materials, because in the government of Orel leather 
 and tallow fabrics, &c., have a great importance, and 
 consume large quantities of forest materials. 
 
 * So the importation of forest materials to the places 
 destitute of wood in the Orel government is inevi- 
 table ; it will increase yearly, and the prices, with the 
 opening of railways, will rise greatly. The most profit- 
 able supply of forest materials will be from the Dnieper 
 forests of the Orel government, that is from the first 
 group to which refer the districts of Briansk, Tronbteheosk, 
 &c. This part of the Dnieper forests, as the most easterly, 
 and is near to the woodless stripe, the principal places of 
 which mast be counted Kursk and Orel. Even now the 
 lack of wood in this stripe calls for a constant land 
 transport of forest materials to the neighbourhood of Orel 
 and Kursk, and farther in the direction of Woronetz and 
 Kharkov. 
 
 ' The forests of the Dnieper basin have a future. 
 The Orel-Smolensk railway cuts through the northern 
 part of this group of forests ; the Kursk-Kiev passes 
 not far from the southern part; the navigable river 
 Dwina passes almost through the middle of this group, 
 and affords a possibility of cheap conveyance of forest 
 materials from the furthest parts of these forests to one or 
 other of the railways, each of which leads to the important 
 wood markets of Orel and Kursk. Besides this the Kursk- 
 Kiev railway, passing by the left bank of the river Seyina, 
 enables the transport of forest materials to be made to 
 the north-west part of the government of Kharkov, and 
 the south-west part of the government of Kursk, where 
 the local forests are insufficient for local wants. The 
 river Dwina, passing through the middle of this group of 
 forests, permits of the floating to the lower governments of 
 those sorts for which their might be no demand in the 
 aforenamed two markets. These circumstances favouring 
 the sale from the crown estates lying on the Dwina, in 
 the governments of Orel and Ticherigov, confer on these 
 
FORESTS ON THE DflEBPER, 141 
 
 estates the characteristic of one econ^fcic&Lunit, for which 
 even a separate administration would not be unprofitable 
 'Anincreased demand,and yearly increased revenue, being 
 fully guaranteed to the forests of this group, their impor- 
 tance in the wood trade will rise with every year, because 
 in addition to the demand of other districts of the Orel 
 government there is a great local demand for forest 
 materials for different industries, among which not the least 
 important are saw-mills. With such a future for the 
 Dnieper forests of this group there should be no hurry to 
 sell, that is to offer for sale, such a quantity of forest 
 materials as would exceed the demand. Such offers only 
 call forth lower prices, and consequently less income, from 
 a desatin of forest surface. And here it would be advanta- 
 geous to have a more commercial system of sales. With 
 that importance of wood in the wood trade which this 
 group has it would be advantageous to offer for sale only 
 that quantity of forest materials which had been felled in 
 the previous year, and not the full quantity which the estate 
 could produce for sale. Of course in that case when by the 
 state of the property more can be felled than is annually 
 sold, and part of which every year remains unsold, it is 
 the more necessary that there should not be offered for 
 sale the surplus left unsold from former years. The offer 
 for sale of any goods in a greater quantity than there is 
 demand for is unprofitable for any economy, and particu- 
 larly in cases when an increased demand in a short time, 
 and increased prices for the goods, is foreseen. 
 
 ' The commercial system of sales in these cases appear 
 to offer more advantages to the wood trade than the 
 present. This commercial system is not to offer for sale 
 more than the quantity sold in the preceding year ; and if 
 in any current year a good deal more be in demand than 
 in the preceding year, then in the next (that is the 
 third year) to offer for sale a quantity only so much 
 more that none should be left unsold. With such a 
 commercial system of sale the offer for sale will corres- 
 pond with the demand, and this is the principal thing in 
 every traffic ; as for the prices, they will rise every year in 
 
142 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 conformity with the demand, and therefore the highest 
 price per desatin will be received. 
 
 Means of Conveying Timber from the Forest Districts 
 in the Government of Orel. 
 
 ( The transport of forest materials from the forest belt to 
 that destitute of wood was carried on before the emanci- 
 pation of the serfs by the proprietors, by cartage ; grain 
 was brought to the wood belt, and timber taken back. 
 The proprietors derived the principal benefit from this ; 
 and it may be said that this cartage was concentrated in 
 the hands of large capitalists. With the freedom of the 
 serfs the character of the transportation changed ; it fell 
 into the hands of small peasant proprietors, because 
 extensive areas of private forests were sold to commis- 
 sion traders for ready money; and the wish to get a 
 quick return of capital led to sale in retail on the 
 estates. The peasantry, accustomed to cartage, began 
 to buy different sorts of wood which they conveyed to the 
 destitute places, on making a previous agreement as to 
 price and quality with the persons requiring timber. In 
 the course of the winter they could return several times 
 to Orel and bring forest material instead of the grain 
 which they took. The possibility of getting on in these 
 cases with a small capital then concentrated the wood 
 trade in the hands of small dealers. Now a third plan 
 commences with the system of conveying wood materials. 
 
 ' The railroad, although it affords a means of supplying 
 Orel with wood material cheaper than was done by 
 cartage, will require a much larger capital ; and therefore 
 the transportation, and with it the wood trade, will again 
 concentrate itself in the hands of extensive wood dealers. 
 The remark may be made that formerly the conveyance 
 of forest materials may have been partly met by the pay- 
 ment for the cartage of grain; but now the grain will 
 also go by railway, and cartage will only be required to 
 take wood to the railway, fewer carts will be required, 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 143 
 
 and only for a short time. The waggons that take the 
 grain will be loaded principally with timber on their 
 return ; and at the railway stations along the line 
 woodyards will be opened, from which only the cartage 
 will commence, and with this a small wood trade, so 
 that the railway having increased the demand for forest 
 materials, will considerably diminish the expense of its 
 transport, and this circumstance is particularly favourable 
 to forest proprietors. But in any case cartage will not 
 loose its importance in the wood trade in the zone 
 destitute of wood of the Orel and Kursk governments, 
 and in making out the estimates this must be taken into 
 consideration. 
 
 ' With regard to Orel itself the railway and its tariff 
 alone will be important, but with regard to places lying 
 between railways special attention must be paid to cartage, 
 because it will materially influence the prices of wood 
 materials. 
 
 ' The cost of land transport, although subject to 
 different changes, has, however, sufficiently defined founda- 
 tions the cost of food, and consequently the degree of fer- 
 tility of the year, the distance of the forests from the places 
 of consumption, and the state of the weather, as influen- 
 cing the duration of the transport ; these are the points on 
 which generally the prices per pood of the land transport 
 depend. The principal reasons for differences in the cost 
 of transport of different kinds of goods are the cost of pack- 
 ing and the degree of injury goods are liable to in trans- 
 portation. These same circumstances determine the cost 
 of transport of forest materials. The quantity of poods of 
 one or other sorts of forest materials determine the 
 quantity of horses required for cartage ; therefore the 
 weight of the beam, spar, or other sort of forest material, 
 must be taken into consideration in stating the expense 
 of transport, the quantity of each sort of materials that 
 can be placed on each one horse cart, and likewise the 
 cost of a one horse cart for a given number of versts, or 
 for the time necessary for going the distance. In trans- 
 
144 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 portation of forest materials of more minute workmanship, 
 such as rakes, a more careful packing is required, and 
 more care must be taken during transportation. The 
 products of wood technically prepared particularly require 
 more costly packing, and therefore their transport is 
 much more expensive than other forest materials, particu- 
 larly such as require the least care in transport, and there- 
 fore the land carriage per pood is cheaper. On these 
 considerations we think thatprevious to making an estimate 
 we must ascertain the weight of each sort of forest materials, 
 and the number of horse carts required for the trans- 
 port of this assortment, if it be of large dimensions; and if 
 of small dimensions, then in the number of pieces of this 
 assortment that can be placed on one cart. The chief 
 foundations for such estimates are the following: The 
 weight of a cubic foot of wood, the cubic contents of one 
 or other assortment of materials, and the normal strength 
 of a peasant's horse. These are of course known, but hitherto 
 have scarcely been taken into account in estimates. In 
 making the following table we have had in view to give a 
 foundation for such calculations requisite in each case. With 
 regard to the cubic contents (shown lower in the table), in 
 most cases the medium for the three dimensions should be 
 increased a little if it can be foreseen that an unequal 
 number of different dimensions, and principally great, will 
 be received ; in the contrary case they should be lessened. 
 ' With this calculation the weight of a cubic foot for 
 coniferous and soft leaved kinds in a half-dry state has been 
 considered 40 lb., and for the hard leaved sort, in the half- 
 dry state, at 60 lb ; for soaked timber (floated) on landing 
 it a quarter more should be added to the weight. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 145 
 
 aaqrajx 
 
 snojajmoQ 
 
 20 per Ho 
 
 B 
 
 1- 
 
 o 
 
 W 
 
 I 
 
 . . . |; 
 
 83 2 
 
 
 jjos PUB : g 
 
 BIUWOJIUOO V. 1 < o 2 ; 
 
 (NCO 
 
 ^^ 2; 
 
 -H C^ CC 
 
 > O CO 
 
 i5 PH 
 
 a 
 
 ui ssaujioiqj, 
 uiq-j 
 
 "1 
 
 ja 
 
 1-1 w 
 
 OS 
 00 
 
 CO 
 
146 
 
 FOBESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 
 eauiqoay 
 
 ui qjSuaq 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 147 
 
 ' A cubic fathom of firewood, coniferous kinds, 
 requires about ten carts, a cubic fathom of birch and 
 hard leaved kinds will require thirteen carts. Of the 
 loads brought to market they frequently pile a cubic 
 fathom out of eight loads. Generally one must distinguish 
 three kinds of cubic fathoms of wood : Forest fathom, 
 that is the fathom received from the labourers in the 
 forest who are paid by the fathom ; trade fathom, that is 
 the fathom as piled up in the woodyards for sale by the 
 dealers themselves ; and contractors' fathom, that is the 
 fathom piled by the labourers who receive pay for cartage 
 by the fathom. This fathom is called contractors, because 
 on delivering wood per contract, the carters, who likewise 
 pile the wood in the place where it is received, 
 receive an addition if out of the number of fathoms taken 
 by them from the yard more come out at the place of 
 delivery. In cubic contents the forest fathom is the 
 largest. 
 
 ' For each vershock of thickness, and archine of length, 
 one need not make a calculation, because in practice in 
 carting such a calculation will not be applicable. There 
 may be changes in these ciphers for instance, at the 
 commencement of the day, when the horse is fresh, more 
 is put on the load, and with a beam they put several stakes 
 cr poles, &c., but on an average the quantities stated in 
 the tables may be accepted. 
 
 ' The number of horse working days for cartage must 
 be determined according to the distance of each forest 
 estate or clearing from the floating river, or the principal 
 market at which it is expected to make the most 
 remunerative sale. In carting to the river, if the timber 
 be prepared at the distance of 5 versts, it is estimated 
 that the cart will go twice ; with a distance of 1 verst it 
 will go 10 times; with a distance of 16 versts, once. If 
 the wood be carted for a long distance, one may calculate 
 on 50 versts per day by winter roads ; but in rainy, and 
 generally bad weather, 40 versts. By the price of the 
 horse working day is determined the price of each article 
 
148 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 of forest material. For instance, if a horse working day 
 is worth 40 kopecs, and the timber is prepared 4 versts 
 from the river, the cartage of a beam 9 archines by 7 
 vershocks, of coniferous kinds, will be 10 kopecs, because a 
 one horse cart will bring four beams per day ; but in 
 winter, from the scarcity of work, a horse working day 
 may be 30, even 25 kopecs, then the cartage will cost 
 about 7 kopecs ; the cartage over 10 versts will be 20 and 
 24 kopecs, and over 16 versts 30 and 40 kopecs. The 
 difference is more noticed in those cases where large 
 materials are transported, requiring several horses. 
 
 ' When the distance of the principal mart is determined 
 then the cost of a one horse cart per day is determined. 
 In this case the taxation of wood comes into contact with 
 the general official prices, which can be taken as a 
 groundwork, or at least is taken into consideration. 
 
 ' In transporting to great distances the price per pood for 
 transport to a given mart then must be considered ; in trans- 
 port by water in ships the freight per pood ; and in transport 
 by rafts, the number of days they were on the way, and the 
 number of workmen required for each raft. The price of 
 working day by the general prices may give a means to 
 determine the cost of transport. 
 
 ' The distance of the estate by water from a given market 
 can be determined with great accuracy and ease with the 
 assistance of the charts of the General Staff and of 
 Poltoratsky and Ilyin.* 
 
 ' The third basis for forming estimates, which at present 
 it is difficult to obtain, but which in future will be easy, are 
 the market prices for forest materials. These prices are 
 subject to different changes, and if these changes were 
 reported each time one could judge pretty accurately of the 
 value of the forest materials ; but generally these prices 
 are not noted, and in making estimates there are raked 
 up some data from memory ; and mistakes are of course 
 
 * The Government has published a chart of Russia by Schoubert (scale of ten versts 
 per inch), and on the same scale a particular atlas of the Russian Empire by 
 Poltoratsky, 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. u& 
 
 unavoidable. If we take into account that the service 
 in one place of the government or local foresters, is not 
 long, then one cannot but agree that there may be often 
 cases in which the making of estimates for a given place 
 fa) Is to the duty of one who has had no means of getting 
 acquainted with the conditions of the demand and sale. 
 In making estimates on this system where it is not known 
 in a given government by what they are guided in the 
 adjoining governments, there arise in consequence un- 
 avoidable differences in the estimates, which, if not 
 mutually contradictory, are not justified by the reality. 
 To avoid this it is desirable that the local foresters, or 
 forest revisors, in the course of the year, should supply to the 
 Journal of Forestry three or four times a year information 
 of the market prices of the forest materials in one or 
 other of the markets. If such reports on the part of 
 the foresters (there are 400 of them) be considered 
 inconvenient, then from the revisors (of whom there are 
 100) it appears to us it may be practicable and sufficient, 
 as with the help of the local foresters each forest revisor can 
 collect information as to the prices in those markets 
 which he has to visit in making the revision. This infor- 
 mation should be supplied three to four times a year to the 
 editor of the journal, and the supply and placing of these 
 statements in the journal should be arranged in a formal 
 manner. If there were such a collection of information 
 as to market prices it would be possible to see the regular 
 changes, and likewise the occasional changes in prices ; 
 and in making estimates, for one government to take into 
 consideration the prices in other governments. The 
 correctness of these prices could be timely considered and 
 rectified. Such information would further afford a 
 possibility to private forest proprietors to keep fixed 
 prices, so that even between them there would be more 
 unity in determining prices then exists at present ; the 
 taxators would find it possible to guide themselves 
 by the varying prices of each locality for several years, 
 and persons specially learning fore st economy would have 
 
150 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 an opportunity even at school to get acquainted with 
 present prices of produce of forest economy in different 
 localities, which might be of use in future to forest pro- 
 prietors. 
 
 ' The determination of the cost of preparing each assort- 
 ment is possible, if a stated number of working days necessary 
 for preparing such were fixed ; a similar, so to say task 
 allowance, should be taken as a general groundwork fjr all 
 estimates, and then the cost of a working day can be 
 determined by the official prices. 
 
 ' On these foundations estimates are determined easily and 
 correctly. Difficulties may occur only in such localities in 
 the governments of Volinia, Minsk, Moghilev, Kostroma, 
 and similar governments, as the market value of forest 
 materials is less than the cost of working days required 
 for felling and cartage. For instance, there are many 
 places where a fathom of wood in the market is 3 roubles 
 whereas in felling it two working days were employed, and 
 10 horse working days for carting the same, and for 12 
 days is received 5 roubles or 23 kopecs per day ; and whereas 
 in the same locality a workman receives 25 to 30 kopecs 
 per day, and a labourer with a horse 40 to 50 kopecs. In 
 such cases it is impossible to fix the value of forest materials 
 by the market prices. But such prices only prove that 
 the greatest part of forest materials that appear in the 
 market are acquired in the forest estates without the 
 consent of the proprietors. 
 
 Remarks on the Wood Trade in the Government of Orel. 
 
 ' The north-west district of the Orel government, Briansk, 
 containing a large mass of forest as stated before, has 
 besides, this important privilege that by the rivers Dwina 
 and Bolva it is connected with the wooded parts of the 
 governments of Kaluga and Smolensk. The railway in 
 the course of construction near Briansk, and the river 
 Dwina, connects Briansk with places where there is a 
 scarcity of wood, by easy and cheap ways of communica- 
 
FORESTS Otf THE DNIEPER. 
 
 151 
 
 tion for the sale of wood materials. For these reasons 
 the district of Briansk will be the principal centre of the 
 wood enterprise. At present there are three steam and one 
 water power sawmills : two of them are not specially for 
 sawing, but they can be applied to that purpose principally 
 they are for grinding corn. On the principal of these fabrics 
 the sawing apparatus is for two frames each of 10 saws ; 
 and for cutting off the edge there is a large saw. At the 
 other mill there are 40 saws ; here they make the same 
 sorts of timber as at the first. At the third mill there are 
 50 saws ; and the sawmill worked by water has 44 saws in 
 4 frames. The total number of logs sawn in these mills 
 is about 50,000, for the most part not longer than 3 
 fathoms, with a thickness of from 6 to 12 vershocks. Boards 
 are prepared of 1 J to 2 vershocks thick, and 7, 8, and 9 
 archines long ; and deals of f vershocks thick. The pro- 
 duce is floated down the Dwina to the southern govern- 
 ments, or sent by cartage to the parts destitute of wood in 
 the governments of Kursk and Orel. With the opening of 
 the railway the produce will be sent principally by rail to 
 Orel and Kursk. The existence of sawmills, and the 
 exhaustion of neighbouring private forests, draws atten- 
 tion to the crown forests ; and the opening demand for 
 wood leads to the conclusion that it should not be 
 offered in greater quantity than the demand. At the 
 fore mentioned sawmills the prices for boards are 
 
 9 archines long, and 2 vershocks thick, 60 kopecs. 
 
 H 
 
 50 
 45 
 35 
 30 
 25 
 18 
 15 
 12 
 
 'The average width of these sorts is 6 vershocks ; when 
 wider 12 kopecs is added for each vershock, so that up to 
 
152 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 12 vershocks the addition will be 72 kopecs, that is a board 
 of 9 archines long, 12 vershocks broad, and 2 vershocks thick, 
 will be worth 132 kopecs, and if there be a demand, 150 
 kopecs. The floatage to Kiev for 100 boards is 3 roubles 
 50 kopecs, or 3J kopecs per board ; the floatage of deals 
 half that charge. To Krementchug the floatage is per 
 board, 4 J kopecs ; per deal, 2 kopecs. On the rafts to 
 Kiev the labourer receives 30 roubles ; on ships the 
 captain gets 50 roubles, and the, labourer 20 roubles; to 
 Kherson tho captain gets 80 roubles, and the labourer 30 
 roubles. The cost per pood is to Kiev 12 kopecs, to 
 Krementchug 16 kopecs, to Kherson 20 kopecs. Formerly 
 the prices were not so high, the demand for labourers for 
 railways have raised the prices ; and with the completion of 
 these it is expected the prices will fall 3 to 5 kopecs per 
 pood. With the transport by land the expenses are 10 to 
 25 kopecs per board and deal, according to size, which 
 decides the weight, and consequently the number on each 
 cart. 
 
 ' In Briansk there are 20 brickworks, and fuel costs 
 there about 550 kopecs ; but the general quantity of wood 
 used in these works will barely amount to a few cubic 
 fathoms. Glass and crystal fabriques are very common ; and 
 the quantity of potash brought for them from Nijni-Nov- 
 gorod amounts to 30,000 poods. If the wood dealers of the 
 governments of Moghilev, Minsk, and Volhinia, were to 
 direct their attention to this then the great remnants of 
 oak would not be removed in the clearings to their 
 detriment, but would bring in a pretty considerable income. 
 The total amount of firewood used in these fabriques is 
 about 75,000 cubic fathoms. In the distiict of Briansk 
 there is an iron foundry remarkable for this, that the char- 
 coal required for it is made in stoves, and consequently is 
 prepared with the greatest economy, which is a rare thing 
 in our fabriques. 
 
 ' Besides these fabriques there are sugar, brandy, and 
 other fabriques requiring fuel. With the completion of the 
 railway the activity of these fabriques will increase, and 
 
ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 consequently the consumption of fuel will considerably 
 increase, and likewise the income from the crown forests 
 on the Dwina and its confluents. 
 
 ' In the Karatchev district is a cooper fabrique worthy of 
 notice, in which they use 1000 heaps of bands for casks, 
 and about 30,000 hoops. 1000 hoops is worth 13 roubles ; 
 a heap costs about 3 roubles, and is generally 
 supplied by land in the districts of Klimovitch of the 
 Moghileff government, and Roslave of the Smolensk 
 government. The manufacture of these bands costs on 
 the spot 175 kopecs for 100 pieces of 3 archines long; of 
 2J archines long 1 rouble for 100 pieces ; 1 \ archines, 
 80 kopecs ; and 18 vershocks, 50 kopecs per 100, according 
 to length of band, and the number used for a cask, tub, or 
 barrel (from 10 to 26 hoops) ; the produce is sold from 6 
 roubles to 240 kopecs, and from \\ roubles to 2 roubles. 
 In all there are manufactured about 3000 pieces, princi- 
 pally tubs are prepared, which are sold on market days in 
 the district of Orel ; sometimes they get orders from brandy 
 fabriques. 
 
 ' In the district of Tronbteheosk, on a confluent of the 
 Dwina, from the left side in the village Promniss, situated 
 in a woody place, there is a sawmill worked by water 
 which draws by the local prices 10,000 roubles. 
 
 ' Wood materials are much used by leather fabrics of the 
 government of Orel. These are in all parts of the govern- 
 ment, but the principal centres are Bolchov and Jeletz, 
 and after them the districts of Tronbteheosk, Seosk, and 
 partly Briansk. The total amount of skins manufactured 
 amounts to 600,000. According to this number the con- 
 sumption of wood materials is determined as follows. 
 For manufacture of skins put into one vat are required 
 
 Bark oak, 250 poods. 
 
 Tar, 8 
 
 Pitch, 2 
 
 Firewood, ...... \ cubic fathoms. 
 
 The smallest number of skins put into a vat is 90 ; the 
 
154 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 greatest number, 350 ; the medium about 200 ; therefore 
 for the manufacture of 600,000 skins 3000 vats are 
 required, and consequently 
 
 Of Bark, 750,000 poods. 
 
 Tar, 24,000 
 
 Pitch, 6,000 
 
 Wood, - 60,000 cubic fathoms. 
 
 ' The greatest influence on the forest and wood trade in 
 this case is the destruction of the bark ; and as the bark 
 of young trees is required, or of young branches of trees from 
 3 to 5 years old, then the preparation of sale bark must 
 act generally injuriously to forest economy. In this case 
 woods are partly helped by the circumstance that willow 
 bark is frequently preferred, although it contains less 
 tanning acid ; it pounds easily, and being more binding, 
 it is used for manufacturing the rougher sorts of 
 leather. 
 
 * Willow bark is brought from the neighbouring govern- 
 ments, and is parti} 7 collected in the government of Orel. 
 The price of it at Bolchov and Jeletz, the centres of con- 
 sumption, is 30 to 40 kopecs per pood ; in winter it falls to 20 
 kopecs. Willow bark is often 5 kopecs higher than oak 
 bark. The average in the districts of Seosk and Tronbtch- 
 eosk are the same. If we take 20 kopecs as the average 
 price of the whole quantity consumed, the value of the 
 bark will be 1,500 roubles. But as the price at Jeletz is 
 more frequently 35 kopecs, then the amount will be about 
 2,000 roubles : and this is the case, because in Bolchov, 
 to which place the bark is brought from the government 
 of Kaluga, in consequence of the unequal supply, the price 
 sometimes rises to 40 kopecs. Such a consumption of willow 
 bark obliges us to direct attention to the marshy places of 
 the crown estates, and to adapt them to forest economy, 
 in order to receive the requisite material for the leather 
 fabriques of the Orel government, which form a very impor- 
 tant produce of this locality. The prices of bark from the 
 marshy or so-called perspiring places are higher than for 
 

 FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 155 
 
 bark from dry places. The plantation of willow does not 
 present any difficulties; and it can with great 'facility be 
 produced in many places of little use. On the river 
 Dwina and its confluents there can be no want of spaces 
 fit for such an economy. To determine the size of area 
 requisite in this case for producing a determinate quantity 
 of bark, we have no data as there is no data as to how 
 much bark is collected per desatin. For crushing the 
 bark many fabriques have steam crushing machines. 
 
 'With regard to the value of other forest materials requisite 
 for the leather fabrication, we must remark that in the centres 
 of this fabrication, Bolchov and Jeletz, the prices of birch 
 and oak wood vary from 8 to 10 roubles ; aspen wood, 
 from 6 to 7 roubles; tar, from 1J to 2 roubles; pitch, 
 from 1 to l roubles. The prices for the last two articles 
 will soon be lower, because the considerable use made of 
 these for the wheels of carts for transporting goods will 
 soon be less, as with the building of railways the number 
 of carts going any great distance wilt not be so great. 
 
 ' The substitution of antracite for wood is being introduced 
 very slowly in Jeletz, as they say it costs 40 kopecs per pood. 
 At this price it of course cannot replace wood, which even 
 in the Jeletz district costs about one-fourth of that 
 less. With the opening of the Jeletz-Briansk railway 
 antracite will certainly be cheaper, and forest materials 
 will get dearer, so that the change must take place ; but 
 there is no danger to the sale of forest materials from 
 such a substitution, because the demand for them is 
 increased. 
 
 ' With regard to the substitution of turf for wood, al- 
 though this is possible in some districts, they seldom 
 attempt the working of turf. The greater number of the 
 peasantry consider it a sin to heat with earth ; and if with 
 the increase of workmen after the railroads are completed 
 they should work it in large quantities, meanwhile much of 
 the turf riches will be washed away by water, and will be 
 burnt out by the carelessness of the local population. 
 c By this means the competition of turf and coal, 
 
156 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 however desirable, is almost impossible; unfortunately 
 other kinds of fuel : kiziah (dried cow dung), louzga, and 
 straw, can be much used ; this, will lead to the exhaustion 
 of the fields, which will be more serious than the exhaus- 
 tion of the woods ; for however fertile the land may be, with 
 such economy it rnay be soon converted into unproductive 
 ground. If the products of the first necessity are getting 
 every year dearer, the principal reason of this dearness is 
 not so much financial difficulties as the wasteful 
 system of carrying on agricultural economy. 
 
 Sales from the Crown Estates of the Orel Government. 
 
 ' The wood trade in the crown estates, or as they say, sales 
 from the crown estates of the Orel government, present 
 facts worthy of attention, and partly confirm our views 
 of the importance in the wood trade of the wood belt 
 of the Orel government 
 
 In 1863 were sold 466 desatins for 16,785 roubles, or 36 roubles per des. 
 
 1864, no information of the 
 number of desatins 
 
 sold, 23,251 
 
 1865, were sold 945 desatins for 34,524 35 
 
 692 38,625 55 
 
 ' That is, the prices in the course of four years were 
 nearly doubled. The principal mass of the wood sales is 
 in the wood belt of the Orel government, where there is 
 rather an excess then a want of forest materials ; and 
 therefore the whole area of clearings offered for sale 
 was not bought. For instance, in 1863 940 desatins 
 were offered for sale, but only 466 desatias were bought ; 
 in 1865, 2004 desatins were offered, and 945 were bought ; 
 in 1866, 2094 desatins were offered, and 692 were bought. 
 
 'Comparing 1865 with 1863, we see that double the 
 area was then bought ; but the price per desatin remained 
 almost the same, consequently the increased demand did 
 not lead to higher prices, because the quantity offered for 
 sale exceeded the demand. With a more commercial 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 157 
 
 system of sales, of which I have already spoken, the 
 prices per desatin would have risen much more rapidly. 
 The increase of the income in 1865 was principally from 
 the increased demand for forest materials for constructing 
 railways ; with the termination of the construction this 
 demand will somewhat diminish ; and therefore for the 
 next three years one must expect for the government of 
 Orel a less progressive demand than in the last three 
 years. In the government of Orel, besides the sales not 
 accounted for, sales are made with payment for the 
 manufactured article, and likewise sales are made in 
 advance per contract, with increased payment after the 
 expiration of a few years. In view of the rapid increase 
 of prices, and greater demand for crown woods, to which 
 we have frequently drawn attention, the sales of wood in 
 advance for long periods cannot be considered advanta- 
 geous ; but with regard to sales the material to be paid for 
 when manufactured, it appears to us that the simple 
 sales, the advantages of which have been proved by the 
 experience of the last years, deserve a preference, particu- 
 larly in such places as the woody parts of the government 
 of Orel, where the rapid increase of demand and sale is 
 guaranteed. 
 
 ' The above ciphers of the income are taken from the 
 general amount of income in order to show more 
 accurately the change of price per desatin of forest area 
 generally, but the total income of 1863, 1864, and 1865 
 were as follows : 
 
 1863. 1864. 1865. 
 
 Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. 
 
 Sold, .... 1,9561 25,817 48,373 
 
 Sold by lower estimate, - 5,326 6,341 15,955 
 
 Without money, - - 245 619 335 
 
 Received rents from estates, 5,656 5,602 6.. 480 
 
 arrears, - - 578 1,475 682 
 
 Duty for billets, - - 139 143 168 
 
 Interest, 378 570 944 
 
 31,883 41,167 72937 
 
158 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 ' With the general extent of forest estates under crown 
 management of 344,832 desatins, there was received of 
 income 
 
 In 1863, .... 9 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 1864, - 12 
 
 1865, - 21 
 
 But taking into account only the area covered by forests, 
 viz., about 255,533 desatins, we find the amount 
 received 
 
 In 1863, 24,649 roubles from the forest area, or 10 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 1864, 33,491 13 
 
 1865, 65,755 21 
 
 In this case we take into account the wood sold, and also 
 that sold at a reduced price, and free duty for billets, and 
 interest for money exacted in selling the timber. 
 
 ' Of the estates of the government of Orel deserving 
 notice from the value of the yearly clearings, the 
 first one is not far from Orel, the crown estate Poslovs- 
 kaio, of the extent of 236 desatins 1740 fathoms. In this 
 estate there are 221 desatins of forest area, and 15 desa- 
 tins of waste land. Of the forest land 113 desatins are 
 under pine trees ; the remainder is under oak growth. With 
 regard to age 40 per cent, are mature, 40 per cent, are young 
 plantations, and 20 per cent, are of medium growth. There is 
 one desatin sold yearly from this estate, at the price of 
 400 to 500 roubles. This valuable estate remains until 
 now not organised, and it is guarded by foresters. There 
 is no word yet about artificial renewing of the estate, not- 
 withstanding its great revenue. The income from this 
 estate is appropriated to the Alexandrina Female Institu- 
 tion. 
 
 ' The greatest number of estates in the government of 
 Orel, giving an annual income from the sale of yearly 
 fellings, are concentrated in the first Briansk forest district. 
 Of the general area of the forest estates of this forest district 
 of 61,399 desatins 2,230 fathoms, the estates having a full 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 159 
 
 sale cover 59,365 desatins 1,012 fathoms. In this area 
 are included the crown estates : Souponev, 7,927 desa- 
 tins 660 fathoms ; Soensk, 7,485 desatins 2,251 fathoms ; 
 Koulnev, 16,819 desatins . 2,364 fathoms; Koritchijko- 
 Krilov 3,576 desatins 2,209 fathoms; Vorpomorsky, 
 13,513 desatins 1355 fathoms. In these estates there is 
 of forest 41,249 desatins, of which there are under 
 pine, 18,414 desatins ; under fir, 7,616 desatins ; mixture 
 of coniferous and broad-leaved trees, 8,386 desatins ; under 
 broad leaf, 5,167 desatins. In eacli of these estates some 
 parts of them lie at 5 and 10 versts from the most con- 
 venient roads for sales ; other parts of the same estates lie 
 still further, so that the division of the mass of wood by 
 estates, as it exists at present, is not satisfactory either 
 with regard to forest trade or economy. With regard to 
 trade in wood, since into one whole are joined parts 
 differing between themselves as to expense of cartage of 
 timber, this is inconvenient in making estimates in an 
 economical point of view, because being in contact with 
 each other these estates require their boundaries to be 
 cleared, whereas if the whole area of these estates were 
 taken as one economical unit then all the trees of the same 
 section by one numeration could be divided according to 
 convenience of cartage ; and then the boundary lines would 
 be changed for division lines, which would give great 
 convenience in making the estimates, and in an econo- 
 mical point of view would require less labour in clearing 
 the cuttings. 
 
 ' Above we have remarked that the annual sales are 
 preferable to the contract sales for cuttings for a series of 
 years, and we adduce in confirmation of this the follow- 
 ing : In the first Briansk forest district is situated the 
 Polpinsky crown estate, which is on lease ; its total area is 
 4,652 desatins 760 fathoms; of this area their are 
 under wood 4,016 desatins; annual cuttings, 58 desatins ; 
 giving a gross revenue of 676 roubles, 46 kopecs, or 11 
 roubles per desatin; whereas the average value of a 
 desatin of clearings in the government of Orel, as we saw 
 
160 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 above, was from 30 to 50 roubles ; moreover, this average 
 price is rapidly increasing, and the lease rent remains for 
 a number of years the same. In this forest district there 
 is likewise the estate of Koritchijko-Uralov (in the 
 management of the Briansk forest officials) of 2,850 desa- 
 tins 1,835 fathoms. Besides the crown estates there are 
 peasant estates, the total area of which is 4,474 desatins 
 396 fathoms. 
 
 * The first Briansk forest district is the principal one in 
 the government of Orel, as well from its present condition, as 
 from the future which it will have with the opening of the 
 Smolensk-Orel railway, which runs through it for several 
 versts. From the value of the cuttings in the above-men- 
 tioned estates of this forest district Koulkovsky is remark- 
 able. The average price per desatin on this estate is 87 
 roubles, but frequently their are parts where the price 
 per desatin is above 100 roubles. One meets likewise on 
 the Soensk^estate with desatins much above the average 
 price per desatin in the government. In this estate some 
 desatins attain sometimes to 140 roubles. The Soensk 
 and Koulkovsky estates are also known under the names 
 of first and second parts of Polninsky estate. 
 
 ' The Karatchev forest district has almost like impor- 
 tance with the first Briansk, because from most of the 
 estates of this forest district there is a possibility of tran- 
 sporting forest materials by railway (not over 80 versts), 
 with a cartage of 5 to 20 versts. Besides the district town, 
 Karatchev is a local consumer, and is situated at a 
 distance from the principal mass of forests of about 20 
 versts. 
 
 ' The principal estates of this forestry are : Recetitzk, 
 5,020 desatins 1,380 fathoms ; of this there are under forest, 
 4,645 desatins 2,355 fathoms; on lease, 118 desatins 
 1,580 fathoms ; in the management of the forest guards, 
 97 desatins 400 fathoms ; under the remaining appur- 
 tances, 5 desatins 2,880 fathoms ; waste area, 152 desa- 
 tins 1,985 fathoms ; under pine, 685 desatins ; under 
 fir, 45 desatins ; under mixed kinds, 2,657 desatins ; 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 161 
 
 under birch and alder, 1,226 desatins. At the annual 
 cuttings on this estate one meets with fellings, the value 
 of which often attain 100 roubles. 
 
 'The bordering estate, Poldevsky, 16,263 desatins 1,875 
 fathoms, is under similar conditions of sale. The division 
 of these estates from each other has no importance 
 whatever in an economical point ; both the estates are 
 organised ; the bordering corner lines between them are 
 quite useless. It would have been much more useful in 
 a commercial view for making estimates if both had been 
 grouped together with regard to the distance of their 
 quarters or sections from the town of Karatchev, and from 
 the line of railway, &c. Such grouping of quarters of thi 
 mass of forest, in an economical point of view, is much 
 more practical than the division of the estates according 
 to the boundaries of the general survey. The whole 
 extent of the Karatchev forest district is 25,142 desatins 
 2,194 fathoms, of which there is in the possession of the 
 peasantry only 1,525 desatins 2,384 fathoms. 
 
 ' The first Briansk and Karatchev forest districts occupy 
 in the government of Orel the first place among all the 
 forest districts of this government with regard to the 
 facility of sales of forest materials; and likewise the 
 convenience of living for the foresters: Land, houses, 
 nearness to railways, and the three towns Briansk, 
 Karatchev, and Orel, are of course not unimportant 
 privileges. For these two forest districts it is of the 
 greatest importance to have roads for carting timber or 
 cuttings, which should by the shortest way connect the 
 clearings with the railways, and would afford the cheapest 
 means of conveying the timber from the most distant 
 parts of these forestries. 
 
 ' The third Briansk forest district is remarkable from 
 having the Okonlitsk estate, upon which many look as an 
 immense reserve of forest riches which may readily rot 
 in the wood without any profit to the crown, and which 
 require, therefore, an early and speedy sale. We do not 
 adopt this view. 
 
 M 
 
162 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 'This estate occupies 53,853 desatins, and must bedivided 
 into two principal parts : a south-western near the river 
 Iput, and a north-eastern near the railway from Smolensk 
 to Orel. By this railway the distance to Briansk is not 
 above 40 versts from the north-eastern part of the 
 Okonlitz estate. A considerable development of the 
 wood trade in Briansk, and the constant decrease of private 
 estates, will in a short time oblige the wood dealers to 
 have recourse to the Okonlitz estate, the more so, that 
 with the opening of the railway to the western Dwina, 
 they can get by it goods for Riga. The products of 
 forest technical manufacture can be most profitably 
 obtained from the Okonlitz station, because, being near 
 a part of the country where there is no wood, there is no 
 local demand for forest materials, and therefore everything 
 that is unprofitable to transport by rail may be manu- 
 factured ; and with the abundance of pine plantations, of 
 which there are 1,600 desatins on this estate, the abun- 
 dance of pitch to be obtained from fallen trees allows a 
 possibility for the pitch business to exist for several years 
 coming, Towards the end of this century there will ensue 
 a rapid increase of income from the Okonlitz estates, if 
 until then the sales be made on the general principle of 
 fellings for immediate payments, without a hasty seeking 
 of buyers on however exclusive conditions This is the 
 most desirable system of sale from the Okonlitz estate, 
 but with the payment of duty> not from the quantity of 
 materials manufactured, but from the number of fallen 
 trees, for only in this case will the felled timber be most 
 economically converted into goods. 
 
 ' In the first Tronbteheosk forest district is worthy of 
 remark from its size, the crown estate Ouspenskaia, of 
 30,548 desatins. This estate is remarkable in that it has 
 on lease 1,561 desatins, and waste area, 5,422 desatins ; 
 of forest, 23,319 desatins; of which pine occupies 12,061 
 desatins, and the remainder is under different broad- 
 leaved species. The total crown estates in this forestry is 
 33,199 desatins, and there are 10,046 desatins belonging 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 163 
 
 to peasants, so that the whole amounts to 43,246 desatins, 
 145 fathoms. 
 
 'The third Tronbteheosk forest district consists of 
 estates in the possession of the peasantry, the whole area 
 of which is 6,356 desatins 677 fathoms. 
 
 1 In the second Tronbteheosk forest district the principal 
 forest mass is the Novonikolskaia crown estate, measuring 
 2,805 desatins 1,400 fathoms. In this estate the forest 
 area is 25,106 desatins, of which 9,565 desatins are under 
 pine, and 9,142 desatins are occupied by a mixture of 
 coniferous with leafy trees ; 3,539 desatins are under 
 birch, and 2,172 desatins are under alder. An extensive 
 space in this estate is under waste, 1,495 desatins 1,798 
 fathoms; and under lease there are 826 desatins 1,470 
 fathoms. 
 
 ' Into part of Seosk forest district enter first the forests 
 of the Seosk district (which we consider to belong to the 
 Dwina river forest belt) amounting to 10,710 desatins 1,294 
 fathoms ; and secondly, the forests of the districts 
 Kromin, in which there are forests under crown adminis- 
 tration, 1,395 desatins ; and Dmitrovsk, in which are 
 forests under crown administration, 770 desatins 833 
 fathoms in extent. 
 
 ' The remaining three forest districts Liven, Jeletz, 
 and Orel, are composed almost exclusively of peasant 
 estates Liven, forest district of estates of the Liven ; and 
 Malo-Archangelsk, districts of 7,645 desatins 696 fathoms ; 
 Eletz, forest district of peasant estates of the districts of 
 Orel, Bolchoff, and Mtzensk ; and there is one crown 
 estate in the Orel district. 
 
 ' The general distribution by districts of the crown and 
 private forests is 
 
 Crown. Private. 
 
 3 Briansk forest districts in Briansk, 161,400 des. 234,897 des. 
 
 3 Tronbteheosk, Tronbteheosk, 87,890 214,525 
 
 Karatcheff, Karatcheff, 25,142 36,566 
 
 Seosk, Seosk, 10,710 51,125 
 
 Kromin, 1,995 ,, 7,840 ,, 
 
164 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Crown. Private. 
 Seosk forest districts 
 
 Dmitrovsk, 770 des. 37,429 des. 
 
 Liven, Liven, 7,645 10,048 
 
 Malo-Archangelsk, 1,945 1,895 
 
 Jeletz, Jeletz, 15,703 ,, 34,471 
 
 ' Such a preponderance of private forests over crown in 
 the government generally, and in some districts in parti- 
 cular, places rural economy in great dependence on private 
 forests ; and in the meantime the conservation of private 
 forests is the weakest point of forest economy. In the 
 present year, by the direction of the government Land 
 Administration, a pamphlet was printed for the assembly 
 of the Land Administration, in which it is stated that the 
 destruction of forests may lead in one case to the deca- 
 dence of the leather trade in consequence of the want of 
 bark and firewood, and on the other hand to the exhaus- 
 tion of the cultivated lands, in consequence of the con- 
 stantly increasing consumption of dung and straw as 
 fuel. In this pamphlet it is stated that the decadence 
 of the private wood trade proceeds from the general 
 destruction of private forests, and from the sale in the 
 crown estates in small parts of annual clearings, in con- 
 sequence of which the bulk of the purchasers have turned 
 to crown forests. 
 
 ' If we take into account the revenue from private forests, 
 and the number of wood dealers preparing in them forest 
 materials, we may suppose that the wood trade, and the 
 income from wood, is falling off; but if of the forest trade 
 and the income from forests we judge from the amount of 
 income from the crown forests then we can maintain that 
 the forest trade is not falling, and that the income from 
 the forests is constantly increasing because it is only 
 under such conditions the forest income in the govern- 
 ment of Orel could in the course of three years double 
 itself as it has done. This is sufficient to show the 
 characteristic difference between private and crown 
 forests of the Orel government. 
 
 'In the above-mentione 1 pamphlet an idea is propounded 
 
 
FOKESTS ON tHE JDNIEE&. 165 
 
 as to the necessity for the peasantry to occupy themselves 
 with the planting of forests ; one cannot but wish for this 
 idea a realisation in practice, particularly if with the 
 trouble taken about the future forests the existing forests 
 be not forgotten. 
 
 Remarks on the Wood Trade of the Government of Kursk. 
 
 'The forests of the Kursk government are generally 
 not taken into account in speaking of the Dnieper basin j 
 the reason is that the Kursk forests are situated too far 
 to the east of the general mass of the Dnieper forests. 
 The greater part of the Kursk forests are on the confluents 
 of the river Seyina, which forms a part of the Dnieper 
 basin ; and cutting in, as it were, in a long and narrow 
 stripe between the Oka and Don basin, it is situated at the 
 northern, and at the same time, the most eastern part of 
 the woodless belt of the Dnieper basin. 
 
 ' From the banks of the river Seyina commences that 
 part of the Dnieper basin country where there is little 
 wood ; likewise from the river Seyma commences in a 
 southern direction the preponderance of oak, and that of 
 pine ceases ; finally, from the banks of the Seyma 
 commences that part of the Dnieper basin in which there 
 is not sufficient wood for local consumption. Further 
 east than the government of Kursk forest materials are 
 not taken from the Dnieper forests ; and only south to the 
 governments of Kharkov, and partly Starropol and the land 
 of the Don-Cossacks, are taken forest manufactures of oak ; 
 and with regard to building materials, boards, and planks, 
 these are taken from Glonchov and Novgorodseversk, 
 districts in the government of Tchernigov, through the 
 government of Kursk (Pontivle district), to the districts 
 of Soumnic and Lebedian in the goverment of Kharkov. 
 In this way forest materials very seldom get to the towns 
 of Achtiska and Bogodonihov, and still more rarely to 
 Kharkov, so that the boundary of their spreading south- 
 east may be taken the post road from Kursk to Kharkov 
 
166 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 and further to Constantinograd. In Constantinograd 
 commences the supply of forest materials by land which 
 were floated down the Dnieper to the ports of Kremente- 
 boug and Ekatherinoslav. 
 
 'The forests of the government of Kursk have their 
 principal markets within the boundaries of the govern- 
 ment ; and in consequence of its having little wood the 
 sales are very profitable. Generally, for the Kursk 
 government forest materials are brought from the govern- 
 ment of Tchernigov for the districts of Pontivle, Ruilsk, 
 Soudjan ; and for the districts of Kursk, Lgov, and Fatej, 
 from the districts of Tronbteheosk and Seosk of the 
 government of Orel. The cartage from the government 
 of Orel is principally done by the peasantry of the 
 Dmitrov district, whose position at about the half-way 
 gives them the means of using their own provender, and 
 of not requiring to be long absent from their homes. For 
 both of the cartages (from the governments of Orel and 
 Tchernigov) there is a different future. The cartage of 
 forest materials from Tchernigov government to the dis- 
 tricts of Pontivle and Ruilsk in the Kursk government, and 
 to Soumnia and Lebedran, in the Kharkov government, 
 must diminish, because the Kursk-Kiev railway, passing 
 through the Tchernigov government, facilitates the trans- 
 portation to these districts of a great part of the forest 
 materials by railway. But the cartage of forest materials 
 from the districts of Tronbteheosk and Seosk in the Orel 
 governments to Fatej and other districts of the Kursk 
 government, will increase, because the Kursk-Orel railway 
 will not only add to the demand for forest materials in 
 these districts, but it will give no facilities for transporting 
 them cheaper, because the cartage is by a much shorter 
 road than by rail. 
 
 ' Going to the Tronbteheosk and Seosk districts for 
 forest materials, the peasantry take some goods from the 
 Kursk government, principally grain, or for small dealers, 
 different spices, fruits, and wine, and on their return 
 bring principally boards, and small binding materials. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 167 
 
 Under favourable circumstances they manage to make six 
 turns (a turn is considered the sale of the wood.) 
 
 ' Favourable circumstances consist in fine weather and 
 the quick purchase of forest materials in the forest belt, 
 and in the quick sale of these in the parts requiring wood. 
 
 ' With regard to the fine weather they are guided by the 
 traditions of the elders, and as the medium length of each 
 half way is about a week, therefore for such a short time 
 the predictions of the local meterologists are generally not 
 far wrong. 
 
 ' For expediting the purchase of forest materials in the 
 forest belt they apply to the some dealers, or joining 
 together, buy a part of a wood, divide it among themselves, 
 tree by tree, and then each fells his own and carts it away 
 with his own horses. As guard and manager on the spot 
 there remains generally the most respectable member of 
 this company, and he receives for his trouble a remunera- 
 tion in forest materials ; remunerations in money are con- 
 sidered insulting. The principal condition for the success 
 of this trade are rapid sales in places requiring wood. 
 For this object they find purchasers beforehand, and make 
 an agreement as to what materials, and for what price, they 
 are to bring. Frequently the materials are brought to 
 market, and if there be no buyer at a remunerative price 
 (which sometimes happens when there is great supply), 
 they have to feed their horses several days in the expec- 
 tation of a buyer. But this is unprofitable, because 
 buyers appear generally only on market days, of which 
 there is only one or two a week, and consequently the 
 provender of horses would cause great expense ; and they 
 sell their trees to a richer dealer who can wait for a 
 purchaser. Such a sale does not bring the same profit 
 as the sale to a consumer would. With such a supply 
 trade the supply may not be proportionate to the demand, 
 and in such cases the prices fall to the last extreme. In 
 such cases one may see the very same kind of materials 
 sold by different dealers on the same market days asking 
 prices varying from 1 to 2 or 1 to 3. This proceeds from 
 
168 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA, 
 
 the fact that one has been in the market a long time and 
 not sold his goods, and lowered the price ; while another 
 has only just come, and is not convinced of the excess of 
 supply, and therefore keeps to the normal prices ; but 
 several days will pass, and he will lower his prices more 
 than his neighbours. 
 
 ' The want of capital for buying forest materials in such 
 cases has created something like commission yards. For 
 a certain allowance of part of the materials, or of the 
 realised sum for their sale, they put up the unsold 
 materials with an acquaintance ; he is empowered to 
 sell them ; and they call for the proceeds at their leisure. 
 Many capitalists, wood dealers, have commenced by such 
 corn mission ship in the wood trade in the governments of 
 Orel and Kursk. 
 
 ' With regard to the importance of the crown forests of 
 Kursk government in the wood trade we remark that 
 the situation of these forests is very favourable as regards 
 sales 1st, Because crown forests are in better condition 
 than private forests, although I must add that many of 
 the latter are very satisfactorily preserved ; 2d, because 
 the crown forests form almost half the forests of the 
 Kursk government ; and 3d, because the greatest part of 
 the crown forests are in districts that have less forests, 
 and are more distant from the woods of the Dwina river 
 belt governments of Tchernigov and Orel. We therefore 
 suppose that cases of unsuccessful sales of wood cannot be 
 explained by the competition of private forests, as many 
 allege, but that rather the contrary takes place, because 
 sales to peasants at a reduced price or one much lower 
 than the market prices made to a considerable extent, 
 must really tend to reduce prices, or stop for a time the 
 sale not only from private, but even from crown estates, 
 because these redactions draw after them a decrease of 
 demand in the markets, and often consequently limit the 
 extent of the wood trade. 
 
 ' All the forest estates under crown management in the 
 Kursk government form five forest districts : 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 BELGOROD. KARATCHAN. 
 
 RUILSK. 
 
 Desatins. Faths. Desatins. Faths. Desatins. Faths. 
 
 Forest area, 
 Lease sections, - 
 Land belonging to guards, 
 Under appurtenances, 
 Waste land, - 
 
 27 
 
 ,220 
 
 1, 
 
 492 
 
 65, 
 
 836 
 
 40 
 
 15,582 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1, 
 
 282 
 
 2,350 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 126 
 
 1,070 
 
 84 
 
 56 
 
 37 
 
 1,113 
 
 
 584 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 43 
 
 1,000 
 
 459 
 
 205 
 
 
 261 
 
 
 990 
 
 
 178 
 
 1,373 
 
 138 
 
 2,180 
 
 LGOV. 
 
 KUKSK. 
 
 TOTAL. 
 
 Desatins. Faths. Desatins. Faths. Desatins. Faths. 
 
 699 
 
 38,328 
 
 1,983 
 
 169,703 
 
 1,178 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,646 
 
 2,370 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 319 
 
 2,289 
 
 667 
 
 1,287 
 
 758 
 
 3,359 
 
 830 
 
 752 
 
 501 
 
 718 
 
 1,532 
 
 13 
 
 Forest area, - - 22,736 
 Lease sections, - - 364 
 
 Land belonging to guards, 32 
 Under appurtenances, 982 
 
 Waste land, - - 454 
 
 * The general area of private estates is considered to be 
 200,000 desatins. In this are pear plantations, but the sys- 
 tem of using these does not give sufficient reason to include 
 them in the forest area ; and besides this there are waste 
 spaces, so that of actual forest area in private estates 
 there is not more than in the crown estates, that is about 
 170,000 ; and the sum total of forests in the government 
 is about 340,000 desatins, which for 1,827,000 inhabitants, 
 gives a very small quantity. The greatest number of 
 forest estates in the Kursk government are appropriated 
 to supplying wood to the peasantry at a low price ; the 
 sales from the crown estates are only on 11,222 desatins 
 965 fathoms. From the sales of forest materials from this 
 space was received 
 
 In 1864, - - .- - - 14,141 roubles. 
 
 1865, 19,740 
 
 1866, 21,066 
 
 1867, (before the end of the year), 20,236 
 
 1 Consequently in the latter years the gross income per 
 desatin, exclusive of waste land and appurtenances, was 
 about 2 roubles. But if we consider the income from sales 
 in 1861 realising only 6,936 roubles, we remark that in 
 
170 
 
 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 six years the income nearly trebled itself. In 1867 there 
 were fellings for ready money sales on some estates in the 
 Kursk government and this deserves the attention of 
 specialists, because it presents data not void of some 
 interest in discussing the subject of estimates. 
 
 ' In the crown estates of the government of Kursk 
 estimates were made, and in some estates there was not a 
 full sale, the reason assigned was the high estimate of 
 fellings; and therefore to the contracts of 1861 the 
 clearings were offered by a new estimate. 
 
 'The estimates and the market prices present the 
 following figures : 
 
 Belgorod forestry and district 
 
 1st Staritzk estate, - 
 Graivoron district 
 
 Kovensky, ... 
 
 Shiskoffsky, 
 
 Korotchan forestry, Novoshelky 
 district 
 
 Michailov, ... 
 
 Dmitrov district 
 
 Kostin estate, - 
 Ruilsk district and forestry 
 
 Alexayeff estate, 
 Pontivle district 
 
 Botchagan estate, 
 
 Belgorod forestry and district 
 
 2nd Staritzk estate, 
 Lgoff forestry and district 
 
 Kopesheosk, ... 
 
 Borisosk, - 
 Dmitrov district* 
 
 Korobkinsk, 
 
 Desatins. 
 36 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 First Second Market 
 Valuation. Valuation. Prices. 
 Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. 
 
 2,299 2,299 3,400 
 
 1,147 
 122 
 
 2,31: 
 
 478 
 
 140 
 
 214 
 
 1,000 
 139 
 
 1,634 
 
 260 
 
 2,124 3,801 
 
 300 
 
 123 
 
 203 
 
 526 
 
 140 
 
 351 
 
 83 
 31 
 
 30 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 6,717 6,188 10,112 
 
 6,839 2,634 4,025 
 
 2,485 1,278 1,285 
 
 540 320 329 
 
 6,815 2,700 3,010 
 
 * Of this district is not shown the Popovinsk estate, from which there was sold for 
 711 roubles, which, with 19,524 roubles, will make 20,255 roubles, shown above in the 
 income for 1867. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 1?1 
 
 First Second Market 
 
 Valuation. Valuation. Prices. 
 
 Desatins. Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. 
 
 Dmitrov district 
 
 Menshikov, 15 340 180 220 
 
 Olchov, .... 4 211 110 111 
 
 Pogodin, .... 7 389 260 280 
 
 Kursk forestry, Oboyan district 
 
 Medvensky, ... 1 155 100 152 
 
 Total, 112 17,233 7,582 9,412 
 Grand total, 24,073 13,770 19,524 
 
 1 Looking over these ciphers we see that for the 83 
 desatins the first valuation is not only not higher than 
 the market prices, but even much lower than this ; the 
 second valuation is still lower; but with regard to the 
 112 desatins the first valuation is nearly twice as high as 
 the market price, and the second valuation is lower than 
 the market price by 24 per cent. Separating each estate, 
 the difference presents great fluctuations, but in general 
 the first valuation approaches nearer to the market price 
 valuation, the difference between them is 4,500 roubles, 
 whereas the difference between the market price value 
 and the second valuation is 5,800 roubles. 
 
 ' If one were to judge by the per centage addition at the 
 sales, then the second valuation will of course give other 
 results than the first. Many think that the per centage 
 addition at the sales may be considered as a sign of the 
 great activity of the local management, but we think that 
 per centage additions may be rather considered a sign of the 
 incorrectness of the estimates, or that the estimates were 
 incorrectly applied ; the removal of the unfavourable 
 results from both the incorrectnesses, we attribute to the 
 circumstance that the rules confirmed by the Emperor for 
 ready money sales of forest materials by public sales are 
 quite practicable, and are more suitable to the present 
 state of our forest economy, 
 
 
H2 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Remarks on the Wood Trade of the Government of 
 Ekatherinoslav. 
 
 The government of Ekatherinoslav is divided into two 
 principal parts 1st, the Don basin, and 2d, the Dnieper 
 basin. The local wood markets in the Don basin receive 
 wood from the banks of the Volga and Don ; and those 
 in the Dnieper basin, principally from the ports of the 
 Dnieper. In the Don part are situated much more 
 important wood marts than in the Dnieper, as much 
 judged by the higher price as by the variety of forest 
 materials required in the markets. 
 
 ' The wood trade in the Dnieper part is centred princi- 
 pally at the ports on the Dnieper above the rapids, parti- 
 cularly at Ekatherinoslav. The reason is 1st, because 
 the port of Ekatherinoslav is the nearest to the great 
 eastern part of the government ; 2d, because the purchase 
 of forest materials before the rapids is much more profit- 
 able, as high prices have to be paid to traders for the risk 
 of floating over the rapids. Therefore from Ekatherinos- 
 lav, as from ports lying before the rapids, forest materials 
 are taken in every direction to the government of 
 Poltava as far as Constantingrad, to the Taurid govern- 
 ment as far as Bezodiansk, and the Kherson government as 
 far as the river Ingul. All this transportation is done by 
 laud, and principally during summer. In winter the 
 roads are not reliable. Although there are are snowy 
 winters, more frequently the snow appears and disappears 
 several times during winter, and on sledge roads one 
 cannot count even on January. One strong wind from 
 the south or south-east produces a thaw sufficient for 
 melting away the snow. Exposed places and strong 
 winds cause the snow to be distributed unequally. In 
 the steppe, in exposed places, snow barely covers the 
 ground, but in ravines and thickets it forms a layer of 
 considerable thickness. Therefore one cannot rely on 
 winter roads for the transport of forest materials, so the 
 winter is here considered the most unfavourable for 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 173 
 
 the transport of forest materials. Successive thaws 
 in winter, and rains in spring and late autumn, make 
 the transport of forest materials more difficult on 
 wheels. The black soil gets wet through for some 
 eighteen inches, and the cartage of heavy loads is 
 difficult. Only in summer, the end of spring, and 
 beginning of autumn, are the roads passable for burdens ; 
 the dried soil becomes even and hard, and at this time 
 loads can go with the same ease as on a macadamised 
 road. Hains during the summer produce mud about 
 three inches deep, but this dries soon ; one or two sunny 
 days, and a strong wind, and the road becomes practicable 
 this is the time most suitable for transporting burdens, 
 and consequently forest materials. But at this time field 
 labours take place, and the want of means make the 
 transport of forest materials unprofitable ; the end of 
 summer and the beginning of autumn, set free from field 
 labours a considerable number of transport means, but at 
 this time commences the cartage of the products of rural 
 economy to the ports on the Dnieper, and only after the 
 sale of these products are the transport means free. In 
 order not to return home empty from the ports of the 
 Dnieper forest materials are bought and taken back to 
 Ekatherinoslav, and the neighbouring governments. 
 
 ' By such means the forests of the government of 
 Ekatherinoslav meet with difficulties in transportation, so 
 that they sometimes remain partially nnsold, notwith- 
 standing the general want of forest materials. 
 
 ' In the government of Ekatherinoslav the competition 
 of different substitutes for wood has attained greater 
 development than in other governments : stone buildings, 
 huts built of clay and kizik (cow's dung), lougia, reeds, dry 
 
 frass (called burian), straw, coal, and anthracite, and 
 nally with a long and hot summer, and winters not cold, 
 these are competitors with forest materials in this govern- 
 ment. But notwithstanding this competition the prices 
 of forest materials are constantly rising. Although in the 
 eastern part of the Ekatherinoslav government, and the 
 
174 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 parts joining it of the land of the Don Cossacks, there 
 are, as is generally known, beds of coal and anthracite, 
 and the working of the last has received in these places 
 greater development than in other governments ; still, the 
 prices of wood materials here attain their highest delelop- 
 ment. In Taganrok, Rostov, and Nachitchevan, lying not 
 far from the centre of the coal district of Russia, the 
 price of firewood varies between 25 and 36 roubles, 
 and the rise of price in Taganrok to 36 roubles took place 
 in the last year, notwithstanding that in the neighbourhood 
 the coal industry was developing itself. 
 
 ' The crown forests of the government of Ekatherinos- 
 lav are divided into the following forest districts : 
 
 Forest On Ground of Appurten- Waste 
 
 area. lease. foresters ances. land. 
 
 Desatins. Desatins. Desatins. Desatins. Desatins. 
 (Basin of Dnieper.) 
 
 Novomoskovsk, - 6,007 278 262 1,472 1,740 
 
 Ekatherinoslav, - 4,364 3,717 226 
 
 Verchnedreoposk, - 4,924 180 432 2,918 
 
 Parlograv, - - 5,373 130 108 494 
 
 (Basin of Don.) 
 
 Slavianoserbsk, - 4,364 288 226 
 
 Rostov, - - - 1,064 47 
 
 Bachmut, - - - 2,688 110 61 
 
 Velikoanadolsky, - 1,746 2000 60 447 39 
 
 30,530 6,125 1,055 2,351 5,704 
 
 ' In the government of Ekatherinoslav there are in all 
 101,147 desatins of forest, but in this amount the crown 
 forests are entered entire that is, with their lease 
 grounds, lands of foresters, &c. The same must be said 
 of private estates, in which are included the commons on 
 which trees grow. 
 
 ' Many of the crown estates, by their small size a few 
 square fathoms have no importance in the wood trade, 
 and are incapable of repaying the expenses of watching. 
 The same must be said of the forest plantations on which 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 
 
 175 
 
 up to this time trees have been planted. The following is 
 the revenue from the great estates 
 
 Sold for, .... 
 Disposed of at a reduced tax, 
 Given gratis, - 
 From leases and sundry, - 
 Received arrears, 
 
 ,, duty for billets, 
 
 ,, interest, 
 
 1863. 
 
 1864. 
 
 1865. 
 
 1866. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 5,055 
 
 5,264 
 
 4,384 
 
 4,956 
 
 10,049 
 
 14,519 
 
 14,619 
 
 15,225 
 
 1,724 
 
 1,475 
 
 2,544 
 
 
 
 3,321 
 
 1,971 
 
 5,151 
 
 4,987 
 
 11 
 
 111 
 
 56 
 
 515 
 
 50 
 
 50 
 
 48 
 
 47 
 
 55 
 
 103 
 
 86 
 
 80 
 
 17,854 22,999 25,700 25,136 
 
 1 The smallness of the revenue from the sale of wood is 
 principally because the greater part of the wood is 
 destined to be given to the peasants at a reduced price, in 
 consequence of which there is not a proper state of affairs 
 in the wood trade on the local markets. As a character- 
 istic of the difference between the sales at a reduced price 
 and free sales, I adduce the following ciphers : 
 
 1 From the sales at a reduced price or tax in 1866 was 
 received 20,181 roubles, which, with the total area of 
 forests of 48,496 desatins, makes for each desatin 41 
 kopecs income ; but from sales much more was 
 received : 
 
 ' For instance, in the Rostov forest district there is a 
 crown estate, Leontiev-Boerak, of which the area is 1,064 
 desatins, and the revenue received from it was 
 
 From sales, 
 
 2 per cent, money, 
 
 Stamp duty, 
 
 Fines, 
 
 For illegal felling, 
 
 3,179 roubles, 52 kopecs. 
 64 65 
 21 - 
 86 65 
 3 20 
 
 3,354 roubles, 434 kopecs. 
 
 That is, more than 3 roubles per desatin, or eight times 
 more than where the timber is given at a reduced rate. 
 
176 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Remarks on the Wood Trade of Kherson Government. 
 
 'The government of Kherson belongs to those few govern- 
 ments which receive the wood required for local purposes 
 from beyond the frontier ; bat in the government of 
 Kherson foreign wood is used only in small quantity, 
 while the Dnieper private forests are not quite exhausted. 
 Forest materials are brought into the government of 
 Kherson by three ways by the Dnieper to the eastern 
 part of the government, by the Dwina to the west, and 
 principally to Odessa from the government of Podolia 
 and from Galicia, by land from the governments of 
 Volhinia and Kiev to the ncrth-western part of the 
 government, to Odessa and Nicolayev by water from 
 Kherson and from the mouth of the Dwina. 
 
 'The principal demand is for timber of large dimen- 
 sions fit for sawing and shipbuilding. The development 
 of our foreign trade, increasing navigation, and ship 
 building, increases rapidly the prices paid for the larger 
 dimensions; and after this, though somewhat slowly, the 
 prices of other sorts rise, and in the meantime the possi- 
 bility of satisfying the want of forest materials, particularly 
 of large dimensions, is diminishing from year to year as the 
 forests get exhausted. The renovation of the Black Sea 
 fleet will very likely take place soon, for one cannot 
 suppose that this fact will belong to the distant future. 
 With every rumour of this event the prices for large 
 dimensions rise even now, when these rumours have no 
 foundation, but when they become real then the rise of 
 prices will be immense. Some wood dealers, buying 
 estates with large timber, put off the working of them 
 waiting for this event as likely to occur at least within the 
 next ten years. 
 
 ' The Dnieper forests present the chief source of the most 
 convenient and profitable supply of forest materials for 
 our shipbuilding in the Black Sea. If such a calculation 
 be not considered unprofitable for wood traders, then the 
 more so in imperial forest economy must one reckon 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 177 
 
 on the possibility of a change in the demand for 
 forest materials, depending on political events which have 
 taken place, or which may take place in the future. Even 
 if we do not calculate on this temporary rise in the prices, 
 in any case the forest economy in the Dnieper forests 
 being directed principally to the attaining timber of large 
 dimensions, promises very profitable results, because the 
 sales from private estates of firewood and small timber is 
 increasing every year. By increasing the mass of felled 
 timber private individuals try to COVIT the deficiency of 
 income arising from the exhaustion of timber of large 
 dimensions. The sales of timber of large dimensions from 
 private estates is visibly diminishing, and with regard to 
 them crown forests meet every year less and less competi- 
 tion. 
 
 ' Forest materials floated down the Dnieper to Kherson 
 are taken by sea to the ports of the Crimean peninsula, 
 almost to Theodosia, principally timber for sawing, and fit 
 for shipbuilding, To Nicolayev wood of all sorts goes, and 
 from thence higher up the Bug to Vojuesensk, principally 
 boards and building timber, and Odessa is supplied with 
 wood of all sorts. Asa characteristic of the dearness of forest 
 materials in Odessa may be mentioned the sale of firewood, 
 which is sold in such small quantities, that in the wood mar- 
 kets, kiziah (dried dung), reeds, and other fuel, is sold. A 
 few billets are sold for 5, 10, and 15 kopecs to the poorer 
 classes, to serve as chips to light the fire. In such a sale 
 a fathom of wood produces not less than 35 roubles, and 
 such a price exists in a town where the consumption of 
 coal is much developed. 
 
 ' To Kherson, from the upper parts of the Dnieper, wood 
 is floated down only by wood dealers, and here it is 
 purchased wholesale by other dealers for sale in the 
 Kherson, and in the ports of the Dnieper, or for shipping 
 by sea to the above-named places. 
 
 ' The principal demand is for timber for sawing, and as 
 workmen are dear, two sawmills have been erected at 
 Kherson. Their importance is not the same here as in the 
 
 N 
 
178 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 forest country : there they facilitate the sale of forest 
 materials, whereas here they only facilitate the cutting of 
 these, which evert without this have a ready sale ; therefore 
 the sawmills of the government of Kherson do not form a 
 necessity of the wood trade, but are hired to saw up the 
 logs, as workmen are hired generally, and this limits the 
 importance of sawmills in the wood trade. With regard 
 to the influence of cartage on the wood trade I must say 
 that in this respect the government of Kherson is very 
 similar to the government of Ekatherinoslav. 
 
 ' The railway in the Kherson government passes princi- 
 pally near those parts where the crown forests are grouped, 
 and where the foresters reside, viz. : Tiraspol, Ananiev, 
 Novomirgorod, and Krilov. In consequence of this the 
 forests of the above-named forest districts are of great 
 importance, and the forest districts themselves, from the 
 convenience of life for the foresters, deserve the particular 
 consideration of those that wish to become foresters. 
 
 ' The government of Kherson is divided into the five 
 following forest districts : 
 
 Forest On To Under 
 
 area. lease. foresters, appurts. Waste. 
 
 Desatins. Desatins. Desatins. Desatins. Desatins. 
 
 Kherson, - - - 1,028 1,533 37 410 158 
 
 Odessa-Tiraspol,- - 4,698 15,321 113 3,267 758 
 
 Ananiev, - - - 6,914 355 216 501 79 
 
 Novomirgorod, - - 12,565 428 1,055 330 
 
 Krilov, - - - 9,353 266 415 191 
 
 34,768 15,209 1,054 5,648 1,516 
 With regard to revenue there are the following data : 
 
 
 
 
 1863. 
 
 1864. 
 
 1865. 
 
 1866. 
 
 
 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Roubles. 
 
 Sold, 
 
 . 
 
 - 
 
 4,439 
 
 9,130 
 
 5,406 
 
 44,268* 
 
 Sold at 
 
 i reduced 
 
 price, 
 
 1,196 
 
 291 
 
 576 
 
 252 
 
 * The forests of the military colonists were added in 1866. The income from the 
 forests of the military colonists amounts to about 35,000 roubles. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 179 
 
 Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. 
 
 Given gratis, - 57 60 61 2,052 
 
 Loans, . . . 4,898 6,402 5,730 11,735 
 
 Arrears, - - - 1,419 432 291 
 
 Duty for billets, - 61 53 26 
 
 Interest, ... 89 105 69 53 
 
 Reeds, hay, &c., sold, 2,174 3,362 3,882 1,262 
 
 ' In the Novomirgorod forestry, district of Alexandria, 
 is situated the estate of Tchernoless, or black forest, remark- 
 able in New Russia for its great size (3,561 desatins 227 
 fathoms), for the government of Kherson, as well as the 
 age and denseness of the plantation, and besides this, by the 
 different archaeological tronvailles and researches near this 
 estate. The trading importance of this estate is char- 
 acterised by the sale of 98 desatins for 27,794 roubles. In 
 this forestry and district is the Neronbaiev estate of 
 2,827 desatins 220 fathoms, from which were sold 2 
 desatins for 1,120 roubles. In consequence of the impor- 
 tance of these two estates we consider it necessary to 
 relegate some particulars about them to a separate article, 
 as likewise others relating to the Tchouticansby estate, 
 Krilov forest district, from which 66 desatins were sold for 
 18,952 roubles. 
 
 ' By the value of the cuttings are distinguished like- 
 wise the following estates : 
 
 ' 1. Boboskhov, 173 desatins 2,280 fathoms. Of this 
 general area there are under forest, 140 desatins 1700 
 fathoms ; under plantations by forest guards, 5 desatins 
 400 fathoms ; under appurtenances, 26 desatins 1,500 
 fathoms; waste, 1 desatin 1,080 fathoms. Of the forest 
 area there are under oak, 80 desatins ; yoke-elm, 20 desa- 
 tins ; different leaved trees, 32 desatins ; bare places, 8 
 desatins ; sold 2 desatins for 549 roubles. 
 
 ' 2. Zaidovsk, 158 desatins 850 fathoms, of which there 
 are forest area, 143 desatins 700 fathoms ; plantations 
 by forest guards, 5 desatins 400 fathoms ; appurtenances, 
 8 desatins 500 fathoms ; waste, 1 desatin 1,650 fathoms. 
 
180 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Oak is the predominant plant ; 5 desatins were sold for 
 857 roubles. 
 
 ' 3. Plosko-Samarin, 152 desatins 857 fathoms. Of this 
 there are forest area, 94 desatins ; to forest guard, 10 
 desatins 800 fathoms; appurtenances, 44 desatins 400 
 fathoms; waste, 3 desatins 1,557 fathoms; sold 5 desa- 
 tins for 717 roubles. 
 
 General Remarks on the Forests of the Governments of 
 Kherson and Ekatherinoslav. 
 
 ' In the governments of Ekatherinoslav and Kherson the 
 forests are barely 1 desatin to 100 desatins of the general 
 area, and this is according to the statistics of the Russian 
 empire ; although more than the actual proportion it is very 
 near it. In the survey of each government we have stated 
 why the cipher of forests is generally higher ; but if we 
 accept the figures given, and reckon a little larger amount 
 of forest area, then in that case the Kherson and 
 Ekatherinoslav governments present a rare exception in 
 Russia for their having few forests. 
 
 c Notwithstanding the proximity of the sea and the great 
 rivers, as for instance the Dnieper, Dnester, Bug, and 
 others, water these governments at short distances, 
 droughts in these governments are very frequent, and 
 with these there are frequently bad crops. 
 
 ' The want of forests in these governments it is difficult to 
 meet by means of plantations. In the governments of 
 Ekatherinoslav, Kherson, and the northern parts of Taurida, 
 forest plantations have made more progress than in 
 other governments. The example given by government was 
 not lost, many private individuals having occupied them- 
 selves with planting trees in the suburbs of Odessa and 
 Nicolaiev. In the districts of Kherson, Bobrinetz, 
 Ananiev, and Alexandria, plantations have been made on 
 many tens of desatins, and there are already two estates 
 with several hundred desatins in the village Trikratach, 
 380 desatius, arid in Skalevatnack, 260 desatins ; and 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 181 
 
 besides, in the crown villages they have been planting with 
 considerable success. But if we reckon the planting of 
 trees in this country from the sowing of acorns in the 
 neighbourhood of Nicolaiev, by the order of Prince 
 Poterakin, in Taurida, then it will appear that the 
 planting of forests has since then made little progress ; and 
 at the present time in the three governments, Kherson, 
 Ekatherinoslav, and northern parts of Taurida, not 
 more than 10,000 desatins have been planted. During 
 the time of serf labour many occupied themselves with 
 this on private estates, but have given over doing so now, 
 commercial calculations having put a stop for many years 
 to the slow process of forest planting. 
 
 ' In the meantime the planting of forests in this 
 country has brought to it a practical and very palpable 
 benefit. In this respect the first place is occupied by the 
 small forest near Odessa, on the Peresif, planted in 1831 and 
 1834< on 130 desatins of salt soil, to defend < )dessa from the 
 wind, which brought clouds of sand into the town. This 
 planting was made on the idea of the former chief ot 
 OdeR&a, Leoshin, and it is known by the name of the Leoshin 
 plantation. Since then these plantations have increased, 
 and one must remark that planting of trees on the 
 Peresif, composed of .sea drifts of sand and closely packed 
 shells, with a salt soil, and want of water, was difficult, 
 but it proved to the inhabitants of Odessa the possibility 
 and utility of plantations, and from that time the suburbs 
 of Odessa, little by little, have begun to clothe themselves 
 with green trees ; but they are very sickly, and short lived, 
 because the heat, dust, hardness of soil, want of water, 
 and frequent droughts, do not give the trees a possibility 
 to develop themselves properly, and only those trees which 
 are protected from all sides, at least from winds, the 
 drying nature of which forms the greatest danger to 
 vegetation, grow pretty satisfactory. 
 
 ' The Leoshin plantations had the same importance as 
 the great Anadol plantations in the government of 
 Ekatherinoslav ; in both cases they were designed to prove 
 
182 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA 
 
 the possibility of making forest plantations. The difference 
 between them is, that the Leoshin plantations were called 
 for by necessities of the town, and have brought to it 
 a practical benefit by defending Odessa from sand carried 
 by the wind. Besides this, many capitalists of Odessa 
 were so carried away by this example that forest planting 
 was for some time fashionable ; they used to boast of it, 
 and planted trees on estates without any views as to the 
 income and economical significance of their planting 
 there was only one object in view, the so to say climatic 
 influence of these plantations on the neighbouring estates : 
 and of the climatic influence the inhabitants of Odessa are 
 strongly persuaded, because the summer heats and 
 neighbouring steppes frequently remind them of this. 
 
 ' Forests could counteract droughts, because their 
 influence on the winds in the steppes is very visible ; roads 
 and ploughed fields under the influence of wind soon dry ; 
 but the drying proceeds much more slowly, not only if the 
 soil be defended by forests, but even if it be so by burian or 
 high grass. When we see thousands of desatins of ploughed 
 land loosened for several vershocks in depth, and very 
 rapidly drying under the influence of strong winds, then 
 we have a visible indication of what immense stores of 
 water the soil must have in order to satisfy on one side 
 the rapidity of this evaporation, and on the other side the 
 demands of the future vegetable life. The rapid move- 
 ment of the layers of atmosphere nearest the surface must 
 have great influence on the moisture of the soil. 
 
 ' There is not much wood in the governments of 
 Ekatherinoslav and Kherson, compared with other govern- 
 ments ; but for that the demands for forest materials are 
 very limited, and these are used very economically. Mr 
 Konoplin, talking of the wood trade in Prussia, held up as 
 an example the economy in the useof forest materials shown 
 by Prussians; but this economy in the governments of 
 Ekatherinoslav and Kherson is perhaps greater than that of 
 the Prussians : here you will not only not see any log or piece 
 Q timber lying about, but even chips and bark remaining 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 183 
 
 from the logs in landing them is carefully collected from 
 the mud of the Dnieper by the poor inhabitants, amongst 
 whom there is a lively trade in this material. The 
 Jewish population employ part of the materials received 
 in this way for manufacturing different small goods 
 from wood ; the sawdust goes for fuel ; brushwood is 
 strictly sorted in Odessa, and it is partly employed in 
 making baskets, which in many cases replace tubs, which 
 are very dear in this town. With the above retail sales 
 of firewood, in Odessa firewood is subjected to the most 
 careful sorting, the size of the billet, thickness, state of 
 rotteness, dampness, straightness of grain, everything is 
 taken into account, and expressed in kopecs. 
 
 'The very construction of wooden buildings is done 
 most economically ; in most cases farmers of the middle 
 class use in building houses of medium size, being in 
 length 9 to 12 archines, in breath 7 to 8 archines, the 
 following quantity of forest materials : 
 
 ' For posts in the walls, for ties between the posts, and 
 for the beams of the ceiling, 10 pieces of 9 archine 
 beams, 5 vershocks thick ; for truss pieces, 20 pieces of 9 
 archiue beams of the thickness of 3 vershocks ; to the 
 length beams they attach crossings of perches, and to the 
 truss pieces split perches, 50 pieces of 9 archine beams, 
 2 vershocks thick. 
 
 1 Further, for the making of doors and windows, about 
 5 beams, 9 archines long, by 4 vershocks thick ; boards, 
 7 archines long, by 4 vershocks broad, 8 pieces ; deals, 15 
 pieces, and some pieces of slabs, and two loads of brush- 
 wood. Neither deals or boards are used for the floor, 
 ceiling, or roof. Beams for walls are likewise not often 
 used. Such examples of economy will probably not 
 frequently be met with even in Prussia. 
 
 ' The variety of forest materials required in the wood 
 trade, as well with regard to kinds as with regard to 
 dimensions, makes it difficult to fix prices for these 
 materials, and considering the number of materials it 
 would be easy in the wood-yard to mix the prices. The 
 
184 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 necessity to avoid this inconvenience has led to the 
 system of considerably simplifying the business most 
 frequently it is usual to fix the price with timber of the 
 same length from the vershock of thickness, and that of 
 the same thickness from the archine in length ; in the 
 same way is fixed the price for carriage by land by pro- 
 portioning the prices to the cubic contents ; and the 
 weight of the materials also supplies a means of satis- 
 factorily fixing the price for transport. 
 
 ' In addition to this the price in sales by the archine or 
 vershock differs one price is fixed for the archine if the 
 sort is from 9 to 15 archines in length, another if 18 
 archines, and so on ; and in the same way likewise for 
 the vershock of thickness. Such a system might be 
 adopted for estimates of crown forests, because it answers, 
 as it were, the demand of the wood trade, and likewise 
 takes account of the cubic contents of different sorts, and 
 the cost of production of forest materials. 
 
 The Present State of the Wood Trade in the 
 Government of Volhinia. 
 
 ' In latter years the forests in the government of Volhinia 
 have been cut down and cleared to a much greater extent 
 than formerly. For this reason the wood trade of this 
 government is far from being in a satisfactory state ; sundry 
 wood dealers receive very different profits from wood 
 instances of receiving great profits are intermitted with 
 cases of great losses. Generally the wood trade in this 
 government requires great caution. 
 
 ' The principal occasions of such a state were the cheap 
 sale of forests by parties intending to take an active part 
 in the troubles that arose in the south-western country, 
 and the great demand for forest materials that ensued 
 soon after these sales for Prussia, in consequence of known 
 political events. The co-incidence of these two events 
 gave many persons considerable profits ; these were in 
 many cases 75 to 150 per cent. Before this time the 
 
/c^~ 
 
 FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. iss 
 
 fellings in the government of Volhinia were much more 
 limited than in the governments of Kovno, Grodno, and 
 partly Minsk ; and generally the dealers in forest products 
 were very little known in Volhinia, and did not risk to 
 make in it great purchases. When the demand for abroad 
 increased, then in the forests of the governments of 
 Grodno, Kovno, and partly Minsk, so long worked, they had 
 to make fellings in places little convenient for meeting this 
 demand, which had a tendency to raise prices for the tim- 
 ber destined to be taken out of the country. This rise of 
 prices in connection with the cheap and great sales of 
 wood, and there being no increased demand for labour in 
 the government of Volhinia, afforded a means to a few 
 wood dealers well acquainted with the forests of the 
 government of Volhinia to make great profits. But 
 such a state of affairs did not continue long ; it soon 
 changed to the detriment of the wood dealers. In the 
 meantime the rumours of the profits had become 
 known, and many hastened to take part in the wood trade, 
 or to increase the business in it. When by this means 
 the decreasing demand on the one side, and the increased 
 offers of sale on the other, lowered the prices, some hastened 
 to sell, others held, and in consequence of this the different 
 results to the dealers became extreme. Many that 
 waited for a more propitious time lost ; those that hurried 
 to sell received less profit than in former years ; and finally 
 those who bought woods in time, and managed to make 
 a sale before the advent of this unusual state of 
 the wood trade, gained considerable profit. Such varia- 
 tions in the wood trade during the last five years has been 
 reflected on the income of the crown forests. In 1857 the 
 revenue from the crown forests was 11,588 roubles, which 
 increasing gradually, attained in 1861 to 42,215 roubles 
 for sale of timber only; and in 18G2 it fell to 36,753 
 roubles ; in 1863 to 28,591 roubles ; but in 1864 it com- 
 menced to rise, and attained to 40,000 roubles ; in 1865, 
 62,000 roubles; and in 1866, 79,000 roubles ; so that two 
 triennial periods (from 1861 to 1863, and from 1864 to 
 
186 FOBESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 1866) present different results : in the first the yearly 
 decrease of almost 10,000 roubles ; and in the second the 
 annual increase of almost 20,000 roubles, in consequence of 
 which the income in three years almost doubled itself. 
 
 'The gross revenue from the crown forests of the 
 government of Volhinia were 
 
 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 
 Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. 
 
 From sales of timber, - 36,753 28,591 40,624 62,070 79,299 
 Sold by reduced scale, - 13,203 14,418 15,617 19,565 17,821 
 Gratis, .... 3,613 11,023 9,813 12,425 5,941 
 Received for billets and interest, 649 945 1,258 1,816 2,068 
 Total revenue from leases and 
 
 other sources, - - 40,677 31,922 46,641 72,338 102,587 
 
 ' The government of Volhinia deals principally in pro- 
 duce for abroad ; it sends this to Riga and Prussia. The 
 participation of this government in the interior trade with 
 the Dnieper governments having a scarcity of forests is 
 very inconsiderable, which is principally owing to the 
 want of good communication ; the land carriage to the 
 governments of Podolia and Kherson is hindered by the 
 dividing ridge between the basins of the rivers Pripet and 
 Bug, but the water communication is much more con- 
 venient to Riga and Prussia for timber, and to Warsaw for 
 firewood and ordinary building materials. For the Dnieper 
 the principal wood products of the government of Volhinia is 
 pitch and tar, but of both of these products comparatively 
 little goes. The Kiev-Balta railway, with branches on Berdi- 
 chov and Volotchisk, will not have any great influence on 
 the sale of the principal mass of Volhinia forests, in con- 
 sequence of their distance. The branch to Berdichov 
 will have a great influence on the most southern estates of 
 the Gitomir forest district, and the branch to Volotchisk, on 
 the south-western estates of the government of Volhinia. 
 The opening of these railroads will in all probability not 
 take place soon, and until then the sales from the forests 
 of Volhinia will be principally influenced by the state of 
 the wood trade in Warsaw, Danzig, and Riga. 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 18? 
 
 Two Principal Groups of Forests in the Government of 
 Kiev, and their bearing upon the Wood Trade. 
 
 'The crown forests of the government of Kiev are 
 divided into two groups in respect to the wood trade, and 
 even in wood growth, viz., the northern and the 
 southern. 
 
 ' The northern group of forests in the government of 
 Kiev consists of forest estates of the districts of Kiev, 
 Radomisl, and Vassilkov, and forms, in respect to the wood 
 trade, one whole with the forests of three Oster and one 
 Tchernigov forest districts in the government of Tchernigov, 
 the Pereiaslav forestry in the government of Poltava, and the 
 southern part of the Retchiltza district in the government 
 of Minsk. All this ma s of forests is so disposed round 
 Kiev that it can be considered as one estate, and not as 
 separate estates in different governments. Almost in the 
 middle of this mass of forests the rivers Pripet and Dwina 
 fall into the Dnieper. The junction of these three impor- 
 tant floating ways has a great influence in respect to" the 
 wood trade on these forests, because the Pripet, and so like- 
 wise the Dnieper and Dwina, before their junction cut 
 through a great extent of forests. Many wood dealers on 
 a small scale, collecting forest materials in places distant 
 from one another, have no idea of the whole mass of 
 wood prepared for floating down the Dnieper. With the 
 opening of the navigation about Kiev the wood dealers 
 from the rivers Pripet, Dwina, and the upper part of the 
 Dnieper, come for the first time into communication 
 between themselves, and here only learn for themselves the 
 real state of the wood markets with regard to the quantity 
 of prepared materials. The fluctuation of prices continues 
 until the last rafts go. Many small wood dealers take the 
 wood only to Kiev ; here the forest materials pass into 
 other hands, and go to Ekatherinoslav, and very rarely to 
 Kherson, because the great part of the Kherson rafts have 
 their destination from the starting point, in order not to 
 lose time in Kiev, and not to let slip through this the 
 
188 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 highest water over the rapids, which facilitate the passage 
 over them. And when it is necessary for the Kherson 
 rafts to winter then they winter principally at Kremente- 
 bug. 
 
 ' The wholesale purchases for distant floatage have a 
 great influence on the sale of wood floated down for local 
 use ; and this in its turn is greatly dependent on the state 
 of trade generally on the river Dwina. On this river are 
 many fabriques, and many goods are floated down on rafts. 
 The principal employment of these rafts is to carry goods, 
 in consequence of which these rafts can be sold cheaper in 
 Kiev than those that do not carry goods, as the first 
 derive considerable profit from carrying these goods. The 
 number of such rafts, and the character of the forest 
 materials composing them, depends on the demand for 
 fabrique goods, and therefore vary from year to year. 
 
 ' Under the influence of such different circumstances 
 the prices for forest materials are fixed between the 
 mouths of the rivers Dwina and Pripet, and principally at 
 Kiev ; and the state of these prices has an influence on 
 the sale of forest materials from the crown estates concen- 
 trated, as stated above, around Kiev. 
 
 ' Besides the effect of these circumstances on the sale of 
 forest materials, from the estates of the northern group, a 
 great influence comes from a number of works going on near 
 the estates of the northern group, and principally at Kiev. 
 When there is scarcity of work the rural population 
 occupy themselves with the sale of materials that cost 
 them nothing, taken from the private, and perhaps even from 
 the neighbouring crown estates. The result is sometimes 
 an increase in the quantity of forest materials left in the 
 hands of the more considerable dealers, and these remains, 
 particularly those of firewood and small building materials, 
 are not without influence on the price of forest materials 
 of the next season. 
 
 ' Still greater unity to the forest estates round Kiev is 
 given by the Kiev-Balta and Kiev-Koursk railways. 
 These roads give a facility for the disposal of firewood for 
 
FORESTS ON THE DNIEPER. 189 
 
 use of the railways themselves, and for the sale of building 
 materials in the districts possessing little wood in the 
 governments of Tchernigov, Kiev, and Podolia. 
 
 1 The southern group of forests of the Kiev government 
 is at a considerable distance from the northern, and 
 consists of the forest districts of Svenigorod, Tchiguirin, 
 and Tcherkazy, This group of forests, in regard to wood 
 trade, is similar to the estates of Novornigorod and Krilov 
 forest districts in the government of Kherson, and 
 Krementchug, government of Poltava. All the estates of 
 these forest districts are not far from one another, and 
 make, as it were, one whole area, at a considerable 
 distance as well from Kherson as from Kiev and Poltava, 
 where the principal administrations over the forests are 
 situated. 
 
 4 This group of forests being near the parts of the 
 governments of Kiev, Kherson, Ekatherinoslav, and 
 Poltava, possessing little wood, competes successfully with 
 the floated wood, with the exception only of those estates 
 (principally near Krementchug) which are very near the 
 Dnieper, almost on the shore. 
 
 ' In this group of forests the great dealers cannot 
 concentrate in their own hands the forest materials prepared 
 by the small dealers, but must compete with them. This 
 circumstance is influenced principally by the great 
 demand for forest materials by the local consumers, small 
 and great, particularly sugar refiners. The Balta- 
 Krementchug railway will exercise a great influence on 
 prices, as it will afford a possibility of taking these 
 materials to the government of Kherson, between 
 Elizabethgrad, Olvicopol, Bobrinetz, and Voznessensk, 
 where at present there is great want of forest materials in 
 consequence of the difficulty of conveyance. Such expec- 
 tation of forest trade in these places has occasioned already 
 in 1867 great sales from crown estates : for 25,000 pine 
 trees 177,000 roubles was paid. Such prices did not exist 
 before. 
 
 ' Under these circumstances, the forests of the Kiev 
 
190 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 government, being on the boundary of the forest belt of the 
 Dnieper basin, promise a considerable increase of revenue 
 from forests. The following data may give an idea of the 
 importance of the wood trade on the crown estates of this 
 government : 
 
 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 
 
 Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. Roubles. 
 
 Sold, .... 39,288 29,727 35,800 59,720 86,662 
 
 Sold at a reduced tax, - 918 960 860 1,301 3,156 
 
 Given gratis, - - - 4,532 3,544 6,774 8,677 20,116 
 
 'The northern group of forests of the Kiev govern- 
 ment comprise the following 
 
 Kiev, 1st District, - 
 2nd, - - 
 Radonisk, 1st, 
 
 2nd, - 
 
 3rd, 
 
 The southern group 
 
 Tchigivirin District, 15,632 1 158 656 13,812 : 
 
 Tcherkaszy, - - 28,204 160 68 539 : 
 
 2nd, - 10,425 13 11 114 
 
 Svenigorod, - - 16,704 558 30 
 
 ' Besides these forest districts there is also the 
 Berdicher, which by its position, and conditions of sales, I 
 forms part of the Jitomir forest district governments of 
 Volhinia, and is not a separate forest district of the 
 government of Kiev,' 
 
 Forest 
 area. 
 
 On Belonging 
 Lease, to Foresters. 
 
 Appurten- 
 ances. 
 
 Waste. 
 
 Desatins. 
 
 Des. 
 
 Des. 
 
 Des. 
 
 Des. 
 
 35,656 
 
 275 
 
 66 
 
 150 
 
 1,629 
 
 21,094 
 
 60 
 
 84 
 
 233 
 
 397 
 
 18,154 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 214 
 
 1,202 
 
 27,512 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 324 
 
 23,400 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 8,019 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 FOREST EXPLOITATION. 
 
 IN the account given of forests and forest management in 
 the valley of the Dnieper, allusion is made to certain 
 forests being organised in contradistinction to others 
 which are not so ; and I have stated that in bringing 
 under consideration the forestry of Lithuania I was 
 influenced by the circumstance that this would supply an 
 opportunity of bringing under notice the forest manage- 
 ment of Russia, as seen in the administration of forests 
 comprised in the Imperial domains. 
 
 The state forests of Russia proper, exclusive oi appanages, 
 or forests included in lands set apart for the maintenance 
 or pleasure of members of the reigning family, are under 
 the admin isteration of the Minister of Imperial domains. 
 In each government is an inspector of forests, with num- 
 erous subordinates, who are intrusted with the management 
 of the forests. These occupy a good social position ; all 
 the superior subordinates of the inspector are educated 
 men who have passed with credit through the professional 
 instruction and training prescribed, and supplied at the 
 schools of forestry. The forty-two governments are grouped 
 according to their geographical position in eight forest 
 divisions, and there is published annually a report entitled 
 Otchet po Laesnomu Upravleniou Ministerstva Gocydarstven- 
 neech Eemustchestva in which, under five chapters, are 
 supplied : 
 
 1. Statements relative to the extent and contents of the 
 forests under the administration. 
 
 2. Statements relative to the organisation for the man- 
 agement of these forests. 
 
 3. Statistics and economics of these forests and of quit- 
 rent places connected with them. 
 
192 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 4. Statements of means employed for obtaining revenue 
 from them, &c. 
 
 5. Financial accounts. 
 
 The laws and regulations relative to the conservation 
 and exploitation of the state forests have been codified, 
 and published under the title Ystav Laesnoi ; and at 
 irregular intervals of one, two, three, or more years there 
 are issued alterations and additions to the code, or revi- 
 sions of the code, stating what laws or regulations have 
 been confirmed, abrogated, or altered. In Lithuania, as 
 elsewhere throughout Russia with the exception of the 
 northern forest zone, in which the demand for timber for 
 exportation in the extreme north, and the demand for 
 wood in large quantities for mining operations, and per- 
 haps the government of Tula, where there is a like 
 demand for manufactories of metal wares, has given special 
 characters to forest exploitation the principal demand 
 for forest produce is to supply what is required within 
 the district, and in accessible districts within the empire, 
 for building purposes, carpentry, and fuel. In meeting this 
 demand the government comes into competition with 
 private proprietors of forests. These are under great in- 
 ducements to sell expeditiously all that their forests pro- 
 duce ; but the state can afford to delay felling more than 
 is necessary to meet existing requirements beyond what 
 can be so met ; and by acting on this principle the sub- 
 sequent well-being of the community, in so far as this is 
 involved in the conservation of the forests, can be secured 
 without interference with private property. It is exten- 
 sively held by students of forest science, that it is only in 
 forests belonging to the state that the full benefit of forest 
 possessions can be secured to a country. The lifetime of 
 a man is not yet equal to the life of a tree; and in many cases 
 it is only by allowing a tree to attain its maturity that 
 the best results can be obtained. A man may be willing 
 to plant and to incur trouble and expense in the main- 
 tenance and conservation of a wood in view of the 
 prospective good which may be reaped from this by his 
 
i FOREST EXPLOITATION. 193 
 
 children or even his children's children ; but he may 
 feel less enthusiastic if the benefit is only to be reaped by 
 his great-grand-children ; and any one of a hundred things 
 may occur before these be born or come of age, to render 
 it expedient in connection with personal interests to fell 
 and sell, and not replant. But a nation never dies ; accord- 
 ing to many all forests, but beyond question all state forests, 
 are the property of the nation in its entirety past, present, 
 and to come, of which each passing generation has the 
 usufruct, like the holder of an entailed estate, but is bound 
 in justice tc pass it on in like good condition as that in 
 which they found it, or with compensating advantages for 
 what in view of national interests may be destroyed by them ; 
 and as the state never dies, the state can therefore afford to 
 delay felling till the full benefit of the possession has been 
 obtained. Many of the students of forest science hold, and 
 1 hold with them, that it may be all very well to encourage 
 private planting, and to do so in every way compatible with 
 the common good ; and that probably only good will result 
 from such private enterprise ; but that in order to ensure a 
 continuous supply of forest produce of national growth it is 
 necessary to have extensive state forests under wise 
 administration and scientific management : and in 
 accordance with this is the administration and manage- 
 ment of forests here, and throughout the central govern- 
 ments of Russia. 
 
 The general impression produced on my mind by all I 
 have learned is that the exploitation is on what is known 
 in France as La Methode a Tire et Aire a rough division 
 of the forests into sections to be successfully exploited in 
 successive periods with the occasional practice of Jardinage 
 or felling of trees selected as suitable for some purpose 
 designed, when this is deemed expedient. But all this is done 
 with a general tendency to introduce, or at least prepare 
 for exploitation, according to what is known in Poland as 
 the scientific method of exploitation ; that known in 
 Germany as Die FachwerTte Method and in France as La 
 Methode des Compartiments, in regard to which details have 
 
 
194 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 been given in a preceding chapter, relative to forest exploi- 
 tation in Poland. And the policy seems to me to be to 
 entrust the work to educated foresters with general instruc- 
 tions, but with great freedom of action, so as to secure the 
 application to the details of the principles involved, 
 leaving them free in the determination of the application 
 of these, as the medical practitioner is left in determining 
 the application of the principles of his profession, to be 
 made in the case of any and every patient under his care. 
 Of the views entertained in Russia in regard to the 
 different methods of exploitation, which have engaged the 
 attention of students of forest science, I have given in 
 Forests and Forestry of Northern Russia and Lands Beyond 
 (pp. 101-108), a translation of a statement of these by M. 
 Werekha, in a Notice sur les Forets et leur Products, fyc.> 
 prepared by a special commission charged with the 
 collection of products of the forests, and of rural industry, 
 for the International Exhibition at Vienna in 1863. 
 
 The following is an account of the transport and pre- 
 paration of timber on the rivers Dnieper and Berezina, 
 published in the Transactions of the Scottish Arboricultural 
 Society as an abridgement of an article on the subject in 
 the Timber Trades Journal : 
 
 ' The business is done here on no small scale ; the 
 amount of wood yearly floated down on these two rivers is 
 immense. From the moment, in the early spring, when 
 the ice melts and the rivers rise some ten to sixteen feet 
 above their usual level, we see the rafts coming down in 
 succeeding masses 
 
 ' Like all business in this part of Russia, the wood 
 trade is in the hands of the Jews. Owners of estates and 
 forests sell part of their wood to them, and they know 
 how to make the best of everything that comes into their 
 hands. Winter begins here generally in November. In 
 September, when the peasants have to pay their taxes, 
 contracts are made with them, when generally those who 
 are living together in small villages agree, and bind them- 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 195 
 
 selves, against an advance, to cut and drive a certain 
 quantity of wood down to the banks of the rivers. These 
 advances are sometimes a third or one-half of the amount 
 they can expect to earn during the course of the winter, 
 but when the agreement is signed by the elected 
 members of the court of the village, or the Starosta and 
 the Uradnisk, as they are called here, there is hardly any 
 risk of loss. 
 
 ' In November the peasants come to the woods, each 
 with one or two, sometimes three, of their small pony-like 
 horses, in the last case called troskas, collecting together 
 often as many as 200 to 300 horses from one village. A 
 sort of abode for the winter is then erected in the woods, 
 built of small poles, earth, and straw, which reminds one 
 more than anything of the huts of the Esquimaux and 
 the Laplanders. The building is made in the following 
 manner: earth is thrown up so as to form a round flat 
 cake, 1 foot high, and 12 to 15 feet in diameter. On this 
 platform poles are placed in the shape of a sugar-loaf. On 
 the poles, at the top of which is a little hole for the 
 smoke to escape, is laid straw, and on the straw earth and 
 sand ; and in the side of this extraordinary Russian mud- 
 house there is an opening made for ingress and egress. 
 When ready, 12 to 15 men make it their home for the 
 winter. Furs, rags, and little boxes for provisions are 
 placed all around, and the fire, composed of large logs, 
 with the large saucepan, in the middle. When the work 
 of the day is over, the workmen seat themselves each on 
 his place round the flaming fire, on which the soup, com- 
 posed of meat, cabbage, and onions, boils ; this is the time 
 to see the Russian peasant, and to hear his monotonous 
 chant, reminding one of the inhabitants of some wild 
 country. As for him, he has no delicate nerves, and his 
 smelling organs seem to enjoy the smoky air as it 
 becomes heavier and thicker ; he puts his rags round him, 
 stretches himself out on the sandy ground, and, unmindful 
 of storm or cold, sleeps the sleep of the innocent till the 
 morning light, which wakes him up and reminds him it 
 
196 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 is time to put the primitive harness, generally made of 
 rags and rope, on his poor half-starved horses, and go to 
 his day's work again. 
 
 ' The catting and driving is done in this way. Every 
 peasant has his axe ; he fells his tree, clears off all knots 
 and branches, lays it on his sledge, and drives it to the 
 river. Thus millions of trees are brought down these two 
 rivers in the course of the winter. 
 
 ' The kind of wood grown here is a sort of redwood fir, 
 sometimes also whitewood. The fir tree grows very fast. 
 A fir tree which requires 120 years and more to ripen in 
 the north of Europe matures here in 80 years. It is, 
 however, coarse, sometimes sappy, and contains a mass of 
 resin and other matters, which makes the smallest knot 
 of a bright red colour. To see the trees standing in the 
 forest is a fine sight when they are straight, and grown 
 high without branches ; but cut them down and the charm 
 is gone. Masses of timber, quantities of firewood, chiefly 
 birch, elm, alder, beech, and other kinds of wood, are 
 forwarded down the river during the entire spring and 
 summer ; most of it to the Black Sea, but a small part of 
 it is taken up by river to the Baltic, Most of the logs 
 are formed into large rafts. A hole is made in the end 
 of each log, arid they are tied together with bands of 
 willow. This is a clumsy and an expensive way of con- 
 structing rafts, besides wasting two to three feet of each 
 log. Two or three rafts are then tied together with 
 willow bands, a little wooden hut is erected, sometimes 
 hardly larger than a dog kennel, on which is a tiny pole 
 with a bit of red or blue cloth as a flag. The three or 
 four men who are in charge of this raft make it their 
 home for the six or seven weeks (sometimes more) that 
 they are on their way to the Black Sea. 
 
 ' Another way of transporting different kinds of wood 
 down the rivers is in large lighters, sometimes called 
 Berliner, sometimes Barkar. The former are very 
 strongly built, but the latter are of enormous planks 60 to 
 80 feet long, large enough to load 200 to 300 standards, 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 197 
 
 and only built for the one voyage down to the Black Sea, 
 where they are taken to pieces and sold. I had an oppor- 
 tunity of seeing both of these kinds of lighters built last 
 winter. It was a queer sight to see three such Berliners 
 building, each large enough to hold about 120 standards. 
 There can be no doubt that in like manner the men-of- 
 war were built some hundreds of years ago, when many 
 battles were fought here between the Russians and the 
 wild tribes from the east and south of Russia. The 
 boards used were 5 to 6 inches thick, 15 to 20 inches 
 wide, 50 to 60 feet long, hand-sawn out of one block of 
 the finest trees found in the woods. Thousands of the 
 most beautiful oaks were cut down and made into light- 
 ers, each being equal in value to that of a nice sized 
 schooner. Still more wonderful was the building of the 
 barque, which is a sort of Noah's Ark as to size. How 
 they got this enormous structure to hold together and to 
 keep tight is not easy to understand, more especially as it 
 was built to pass the cataracts between Kremenchuek 
 and Kherson. Most of the timber is being sent down to 
 Kherson, Nikolaiev, and Odessa; a small part of it is 
 sold on the way at Kiev and some other places. In 
 Kherson are large sawmills, where many of the logs are 
 transformed into deals and boards; others are shipped 
 from Nikolaiev and Odessa in the form of square timber. 
 
 ' There are some sawmills in this part of Russia also, 
 but they are as old-fashioned as everything else, where 
 some thousands of logs yearly are sawn into large boards, 
 mostly all of one size, and sold at so much a piece at 
 Kiev. 
 
 ' In this part of Russia there exists a decided feeling 
 against foreigners ; and with the dim idea they have of 
 right and wrong, they consider it their duty to persecute 
 strangers as much as lies in their power. 
 
 ' In the end of 1882 a wood- exporting firm in Finland 
 made an agreement with a Count v. M., in St. Peters 
 burg, who was the owner of a large estate with extensive 
 forests in this neighbourhood, to take out the value of the 
 
198 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 woods for joint account. The forests contained about a 
 million of trees, ripe for cutting, and these were to be 
 made into money in as short a time as possible. Plans 
 were made ; a sawmill with six frames, and a planing-mill 
 were to be built, and 80,000 trees were ordered to be 
 felled the first year. The trees were felled, the sawmill 
 was built, workmen were collected from Sweden, Finland, 
 and Riga. Last summer the sawmill was so far ready 
 that sawing began, when the firm in Finland unexpect- 
 edly fell into difficulties. Money was not sent to pay the 
 workmen. Some time after, the firm in Finland became 
 bankrupt, and the owner left for America. The Count v. 
 M. stopped payment in the real sense of the word, and 
 there the poor workmen were left with their wives and 
 children in utter want of money, in an exceedingly 
 dangerous climate, where fever and illness came more 
 regularly than the daily bread, without means to buy 
 medicine, and without a medical man to attend them. 
 Death visited them through typhus, and they had to bury 
 their dead themselves. 
 
 ' Te detail the intrigues, the unfulfilled promises, and 
 the mean behaviour of the Russians against these poor 
 people, would be of no use. Suffice it to say, that by 
 their common efforts they got over the first part of the 
 winter, arid through the help of the Swedish Ambassador, 
 and the Finnish authorities in St. Petersburg, they have 
 been sent home to their respective countries. The busi- 
 ness is entirely wound up, and the very fine sawmill, with 
 its first-rate machinery and every new improvement, is 
 waiting for a new owner, who may have sufficient means 
 to make himself independent of Russian intrigues, and be 
 able to continue a business which began hopefully a little 
 more than a year ago.' 
 
 Kherson, the capital of the government of that name, 
 was founded in 1.778, and soon became a port for vessels 
 from all countries of Europe. It is 57 miles from the 
 Black Sea, and 92 E.N.E. from Odessa, on the right bank 
 
FOREST EXPLOITATION. 199 
 
 of the Limari, an immense embouchure of the Dnieper, 
 which is here four miles broad, where, when as is frequently 
 the case, its numerous shoals are covered with water, but 
 when the shoals are exposed, the breadth of the river 
 itself is not more than one verst, or two-thirds of a mile. 
 
 It is an emporium for the equipment and armament 
 of the fleet of the Black Sea, timber being brought by the 
 Dnieper both for its own supply and that of Nicolaiev and 
 Odessa. There is a fine basin cut out of the limestone 
 rock. During the spring flood of the river vessels built 
 here can be transported to the Black Sea upon ' camels,' 
 as they are called, and much of the produce of the 
 interior is brought here, and taken to Odessa in lighters. 
 
 The St. Petersburg Vedomosti gives particulars of the 
 reclamation of a vast track lying between the rivers 
 Dnieper, Pripet, Beresina, and Ptitshja, known as the 
 Polessje region, which has been hitherto useless and in 
 great part impassable. The works began in the year 1874, 
 and by the end of last year a canal system of about 1,695 
 versts (1,130 miles) had been completed, which had 
 already drained 1,141,000 desatins (over 5000 square 
 miles.) Nearly one-sixth of this vast track, which had 
 previously been an impenetrable morass, has been changed 
 into meadow land. An area of over 1,250 square miles of 
 forest, which was totally useless, being traversed by a 
 network of swamps, has been thoroughly drained, the 
 lines of swamp being cleared, deepened, and converted 
 into drainage canals, which, unfortunately, can have only 
 a very slight fall. Another large piece of forest, over 750 
 square miles in extent, hitherto practically inaccessible, 
 has been opened up by canals and made available for 
 useful purposes ; and the remainder, amounting to about 
 740,000 desatins (over 2,800 square miles) has been 
 drained and brought into a condition fit for cultivation or 
 pasturage. The work is said to have been executed at an 
 annual expenditure of 2b'5,000 roubles, or a little less than 
 40,000. 
 
200 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Of the dexterity of the Lithuanians in what I may call 
 woodcraft is thus incidentally alluded to by Mr Anderson 
 in his account of Seven Months' Residence in Jtussian 
 Poland in 1863, which has been already cited : 
 
 ' The birch tree is, to the Polish peasant, the most 
 useful tree of the forest. His furniture, cart, plough in 
 fact, all his agricultural and garden tools are made of 
 this wood. It seems hard and strong enough for all 
 purposes, and serves even for the teeth of his harrow, and 
 for the lower part of his spade, as well as for its handle. 
 He constructs, also, out of the same material, long forks, 
 with which he contrives to throw up to a great height the 
 sheaves of corn gathered into their barns. In this work 
 two men stand with their backs to the place where the 
 sheaves are to be stored ; they then stick both their forks 
 into the same sheaf, and, upon one of them giving a 
 grunt, up it goes, flying over their heads, to its destina- 
 tion.' And again : 
 
 ' Considerable ingenuity is sometimes displayed by the 
 peasants in the execution of their work. 1 once saw a 
 man, who had invented a kind of turning-lathe, in order 
 that he might rapidly finish the nave of a cart-wheel 
 upon which he was engaged. He had fixed the piece of 
 wood on which he was at work upon two iron pivots. 
 He then twisted a rope twice round the piece of wood ; 
 attached one end of the rope to a strong birch sapling 
 which he had fastened in the ceiling ; and, in a loop at 
 the other end, he put his foot. He then set in motion 
 the wood, upon which he was at work ; and the spring, 
 given by the sapling, acted as a lathe. He had in his 
 hand a stick, with a strong crescent-shaped piece of iron 
 fixed to it; and with this he worked away, just as if he 
 had the best turning-lathe and chisel in the world.' 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 THE JEWISH POPULATION. 
 
 THE black sheep, the bete noir, of the Lithuanian patriot, 
 and of the enthusiastic forest conservator in Lithuania, is 
 the Jew. I hold in high estimation the nation ' to whom 
 pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, 
 and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and 
 and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and of whom 
 as concerning the flesh, Christ came.' I have met with 
 noble men and women among them. Even amongst 
 those of them who do not consider that Jesus of Nazareth 
 was the anointed King, whose coming was, and is still, 
 expected by the people, there are men, arid at least one 
 large community, manifesting a spirit such as when seen 
 amongst Christians is held in high esteem by the more 
 devout : but all are not such ; and of them, equally with 
 the British and the Anglo-Americans, there are worship- 
 pers of the Mighty Dollar ; of them, as of the other 
 nations named, it may be said they are like the prophet's 
 figs the good are very good, but the bad are very bad.* 
 
 * In the beginning of 1840, at St. Petersburg, I made the acquaintance of 
 Pastor Boerling, a clergyman of the Lutheran church, and himself a descendant of 
 Israel, who stated to me, amongst other things, that he was stationed as a missionary 
 for many years at Schloss, a town in Poland, which is inhabited chiefly by Jews. When 
 he first went there he saw no opening for usefulness ; and after a little time he began 
 to fear that he had run unsent. But the eholera s>oon broke out in the place, and al! 
 the medical men fled ; he then concluded that he had been sent thither of God for a 
 previous residence in several towns of Asia, while the cholera prevailed in these places, 
 had made him acquainted with the most approved methods of treating the sufferers, 
 and now the people implored his aid. He cheerfully attended the sick, and soon gained 
 their affcci.u>ns. From that time their houses were open to him, and he was invited to 
 all their entertainments and feasts. 
 
 On one occasion he was present at a marriage feast, when, according to custom, all 
 the guests presented gifts to the newly married pair. He had just received from 
 London a few copies of a 12mo edition of the Hebrew Old and New Testament bound 
 together, and he presented them with one of these. It was gratefully received, and at 
 the close of the feast, when the bridegroom held up the different presents, and 
 announced the names of the giver of each, exhibiting the Bible last, he said, ' But see 
 what our friend the missionary has given us the Scriptures ! This I value more 
 highly than silver or gold ! 
 
202 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 In passing through Lithuania, they seem to swarm so as 
 to suggest the illustration of locusts eating up every green 
 thing. No one seems to have a good word for them ; while 
 every one seems to have something to tell against them. 
 On learning a little more of facts than can be gathered 
 only from finding the platform of a railway station 
 
 The young man took the Bible regularly to the synagogue when he went to worship. 
 The Reader, observing this, demanded of him how he dared to bring the Christian book 
 into the synagogue. He replied, that he had read it through, and found nothing 
 ungodly in it ; and that he must and would read it. Many of the other Jews then 
 applied foi copies, with which they were supplied ; and the desire for instruction 
 hecame so great that the inhabitants of the town requested the missionary to organise 
 a school for the instruction of the young. He complied with their request, organising 
 one for the instruction of boys under his own superintendence, and another for girts 
 under the superintendence of his wife 
 
 He met with opposition from quarters whence he had least reason to expect it, but 
 the great body of the Jews encouraged him ; and after some time a Jew of considerable 
 learning and influence came to him and said, ' One or other of us must leave this town. 
 If you don't go, I go ; for if things go on thus, my children also will be taught to 
 read, and to read the books of the Christians.' 
 
 He also mentioned that he was appointed at one time to labour in Upper Silesia. 
 He went thither, and on approaching one town, the first he entered, he was informed 
 that all the inhabitants were Jews, but that he would have no opportunity of prosecu- 
 ting missionary labour there, for they were all rich and wanted nothing. On entering 
 the town he was soon convinced of the correctness of the information he had received ; 
 but as a few Christian Jews resided there he resolved to spend a few days in intercourse 
 with them. It was then Friday, and on the following day he went to the synagogue. Sevei al 
 of the Jews assembled there, observing him to be a stranger, welcomed him with the 
 usual salutation of, ' Peace be with you !' When, however, they observed that during 
 the prayer which was offered he stood devoutly and still, instead of looking about as 
 did others, they whispered aloud, ' He is not a Jew but a missionary, for all the 
 missionaries pray so.' 
 
 What were the consequences ? In the course of the day many of the Jews visited his 
 apartment for conversation concerning Christianity ; and they spent the time not in 
 disputation as at other places, but in calm and dispassionate comparison of the Old 
 Testament prophecies, with the history of Jesus of Nazareth recorded in the Gospels ! 
 In the evening six Jews, whose heads were silvered with age, waited upon him, and 
 almost abdured him to tell them what had convinced him of the truth of Christianity ; 
 and they too spent their visit in a calm and apparently dispassionate examination of 
 the attestations of the Messiah. 
 
 He assured me that ten times the number of missionaries now labouring in Poland 
 and Silesia might find full scope for their energies in cultivating that extensive and 
 hopeful field. The opinion prevails that the Jews present a hopeless field for missionary 
 culture, but there are many things leading us to a contrary conclusion. 
 
 God hath not cast off his people, if, with the Apostle, we believe that God is no 
 respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteous- 
 ness is accepted with him ; and if we search amongst the Jewish people, we may find 
 luany like their fathers, who bowed not the knee to Baal ; many like the godly Jews of 
 former days men like Simeon, 'just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.' 
 
 I felt much interested in a description given to me by Pastor Boerling, of one of his 
 acquaintances, an aged Rabbi, who, like Anna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, 
 of the tribe of Aser, departed not from the temple, ' but served God with fastings and 
 pravers night and day.' Regularly at the hour of midnight was that aged patriarch to 
 be found in the synagogue making confession and supplication unto God. He was 
 accidentally overheard on one occasion by Mr Boerling, and he repeated to me the 
 prayer, which a retentive memory enabled him to recall. While I listened to it, I 
 thought I saw before me Daniel when he set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by 
 prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes. The spirit was the 
 
THE JEWISH POPULATION. 203 
 
 thronged with Jews in their gabardines ready to turn an 
 honest penny by exchanging the foreign money of travel- 
 lers for the coin of the realm, and trying thus while 
 serving the traveller to make their plack a bawbee as 
 many a Scotsman does by honest trading, the stranger 
 may find reason to conclude that there is nothing surpri- 
 
 same, the expressions similiar to those which characterised the prayer presented by 
 that prophet, and recorded in the 9th chapter of the book which bears his name : 
 
 'O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that 
 love him, and to them that keep his commandments ; we have sinned and have committed 
 iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy pre- 
 cepts and from thy judgments ; neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the 
 prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, OUT princes, and our fathers, and to 
 all the people of the land. . . O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to 
 our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. . . O my God, 
 incline thine ear, and hear ; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city 
 which is called by thy name : for we do not present our supplications before thee for 
 our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear ; O Lord, forgive ; O Lord, 
 hearken and do ; deftr not, for thine own sake, O my God ; for thy city and thy people 
 are called by thy name.' 
 
 This Rabbi led an abstemious life. On one occasion, when offered a little wine he 
 declined. In a short but thrilling reply (to which I cannot do justice in a translation), 
 he stated his reasons for acting thus: 'I read,' said he, 'that wine makes glad the 
 heart of man ; and 1 can I be joyful while the city of the Lord is trampled under foot ? 
 Can I be joyful while the name of Jehovah is blasphemed? Can I be joyful while the 
 people of God, having turned their back upon the Lord, are weltering in sin ? ' Is 
 not this the spirit expressed by the Psalmist,' If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my 
 right hand forget her cunning. If T do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave unto 
 the roof of my mouth : if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.' 
 
 On another occasion he slipped away from a marriage feast at which he had been 
 present. He was soon missed ; and one and another of the guests exclaimed at once, 
 'Where is the Rabbi V' A search was made, but nowhere could he be found. At 
 length some one inquired, 'Have you been to the synagogue?' The parents of the 
 bridegroom and bride caught at the suggestion they hastened thither, and there they 
 found him in the dark, engaged in prayer. They entreated him to rejoin the party and to 
 bless the youthful couple with his presence. He replied, ' No, I cannot. You are joyful as 
 is befitting the occasion of your meeting, but my heart is sad sad ; sad, when I think 
 of the condition of my people.' They still urged him ; when, to meet their wishes, he 
 consented to rejoin the party on the condition that all music should be laid aside. A 
 marriage party without music was an incident almost unknown amongst the Jews ; but 
 such was the attachment of his flock to the Rabbi, that the concession was made at 
 once. And on his rejoining the party, marked attention was given to several addresses 
 which he delivered, in the course of the evening, on the sins to which they and their 
 nation were addicted. 
 
 Religion is the same in all, however different may be its manifestations in different 
 circumstances ; and I was informed that similar manifestations of its influence were not 
 uncommon amongst the more humble of the Rabbies. 
 
 There was at that time a very prevalent expectation that the Messiah would appear 
 in the course of that year. The expectation was founded on calculations made by many 
 of the Taltnudists, from data drawn from prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures ; 
 and I was told of one learned Talmudist, who had declared that if the Messiah did not 
 appear in the course of that year, they were shut up to the conclusion that he must 
 have already come ; and if so, that Jesus of Nazareth must have been he. I have had 
 no opportunity of learning the effects of the disappointment which followed this 
 expectation. 
 
 Amongst the more learned of the Jews in those regions, I have reason to believe 
 there were many who were not satisfied with Judaism. I made the acquaintance of one 
 
204 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 sing in the fact that they are everywhere spoken against ; 
 but that those who have suffered from what they are 
 pleased to call their extortionate dealings, like the 
 innocent fleeced lambs in Britain who sow not neither do 
 they spin, but borrow from the Jews, have only them- 
 selves to blame for the calamities which have come upon 
 
 such, Dr Levaison, a learned Rabbi, who was profoundly versed in the Talmud, but 
 found in it no satisfaction. While enquiring after the truth at one of the universities 
 of Germany, he became acquainted with a distinguished professor, whose theological 
 sentiments have secured for him a soubriquet importing that he is a personification of 
 Pagan philosophy He gradually imbibed his sentiments, and in proportion as he did 
 so he had to give up his Talmudical views, but he still felt that more was necessary 
 to enable him satisfactorily to account for all the phenomena with which he was 
 acquainted. In this state of mind he met with a priest of the Greek church, who was 
 in the suite of a Russian ambassador at one of the German courts. He, carefully 
 distinguishing betwixt ceremonies devised by man and truths revealed by God, directed 
 his attention to the doctrines generally received as evangelical, and convinced him of 
 the truth of Christianity. Not having met with evangelical Christians amongst Pro- 
 testants, he came to St. Petersburg in the hope of there hearing more perfectly the 
 principles of the religion he had embraced. 
 
 I endeavoured to ascertain the prevalent opinions of the Jews in regard to the nature 
 and character of the Messiah, and found that of the Talmudists, almost all expected 
 him to be only a man ; among the Cabbalists, m&ny expected that he would he divine ; 
 but by many of the Jews it was expected that there would be two Messiahs, one who 
 has probably appeared already, in whom was to be, and has been, fulfilled the predic- 
 tions contained in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah ; and another who is to reign for ever. The 
 former, as might have been expected, lived unknown ; but there is more than one 
 individual known to Jewish history whose life is supposed to fulfil what was foretold. 
 None, however, excepting Christian Jews, appear to consider that Jesus of Nazareth 
 was he. This is not wonderful, as few have access to the New Testament ; and there is 
 amongst them a distorted history of his life, which is calculated to hold him up to the 
 ridicule, contempt, and execration of the nation. With regard to that Messiah, I found 
 it believed that his death would be as a sacrifice for the sins of his people, and not 
 merely an effect brought about, directly or indirectly, by the wickedness of the nation. 
 
 There is a very interesting body of Jews living in the Crimea, known by the name of 
 Karites or Caraites, and sometimes called Tartar Jews, in consequence of their speaking 
 the Tartar language. These men long ago rejected the Talmud, and for several genera- 
 tions have continued to regulate their sentiments and conduct by the Scriptures of the 
 Old Testament alone. I often heard of them while in Russia, and invariably on 
 inquiry received a favourable report of their conduct and behaviour. Many of them 
 appear to be spiritually -minded men ; but they were hated by other Jews, among whom 
 there was a trite saying expressive of their hatred and contempt, to this effect ' If a 
 Christian be drowning, take a Karite and make his body a bridge by which to save 
 him.' But I have never heard of their rendering railing for railing. The designation 
 "jnerally given by them to the other Jews, when speaking of their theological difference 
 is, ' Our brethren of the Talmud.' They had amongst them copies of the New Testa- 
 m'ent, which they considered a record of the life and doctrines of a godly Jew and his 
 disciples, and they manifested to Christians no objection dispassionately to discuss 
 the question of his Messiahship. 
 
 From observation, and from intercourse with Christian Jews who have laboured 
 amongst their brethren, I am persuaded that the conversion of the Jews to Christianity 
 has been greatly hindered by the following circumstances : 
 
 1. Both Jews and Gentiles have fostered the notion that a Jew must necessarily 
 forego his nationality on embracing Christianity . It may be true that they who are like 
 Abraham are the children of Abraham ; but he who is a .ineal descendent of that 
 patriarch never can cease to be such on abandoning ' vain conversations received by 
 tradition from the fathers.' The Apostle of the Gentiles, in common with other 
 Apostles, and, I may add, in common with their Master, was a Christian Jew. 
 
 2 Jews have seldom an opportunity of witnessing the effects of Christianity in 
 

 
 
 THE JEWISH POPULATION. 205 i 
 
 them. The landholding community complain that the 
 lands are passing away from them to the Jews. They 
 are, because the former have preferred borrowing money 
 from the Jews to enable them to live in a certain style, 
 to curtailing their display, and thus reducing their 
 expenditure, or to labour working with their own hands 
 
 ' converting the soul.' They consequently form their opinion of Christianity from the 
 conduct of men who are only nominally Christian. If they have never seen what they 
 consider the beauty of holiness in Christians, and if all that they do see, and hear, 
 tends to confirm their belief that Christians are utterly devoid of true religion, their 
 prejudices against Christianity must become very strong. We accordingly find them 
 frequently employing the term Christian as synonymous with blackguard. They need, 
 therefore, ' living epistles ' to teach them, ' without the word,' that the Gospel ' is the 
 power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.' 
 
 3. From what they see and know of the ecclesiastical creeds and ceremonies of 
 Christians, the}' consider them as polytheists and idolaters, tritheists, and worshippers 
 of saints, with dressed up representations of the virgin, and representations of God, 
 which they consider blasphemous, as well as grotesque, and where such are not made 
 use of, with conceptions of God scarcely less grotesque, while they have been taught to 
 hold that God is a spirit, whom no man hath seen or can see. 
 
 4. Their usual criterion of learning is acquaintance with the Talmud. To this 
 Christians attach no importance, and know little or nothing about it, and they are con- 
 sequently despised. As in the days of our Lord so now, they make the commandment 
 of God of none effect by their tradition. To the Jews it was commanded ' When ye 
 reap the harvest of your land, ye shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field ; thou 
 shalt leave them for the poor of thy people.' Upon this command, there are raised such 
 questions as these : How much must be left, if the fie'd be four square ? How much, 
 if it be triangular? How much, and in what form, if it be semicircular ? How much, 
 in what form, and where, if it be circular? 
 
 In listening to a. Jew expatiating on such subjects, one is forcibly reminded of the 
 saying of our Lord, ' Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye pay tithe 
 of mint, and anise, and cummin, and ye neglect the weightier matters of the law, 
 judgement, mercy, and faith.' Such questions are discussed in the Talmud, and 
 the first desire of an ambitious youth amongst the Jews is to study the Talmud. An 
 acquaintance with several of the sciences is necessary to success; and in general the 
 student devotes himself to the study of these with the closest application, that he may 
 afterwards overcome the difficulties to be encountered in his subsequent progress. 
 
 They appear to have a passion for such pursuits ; even boys at school challenge each 
 other to a trial of skill in expounding the Talmud. In such cases they go to the Rabbi, 
 and inform him of their design ; he then appoints them a passage, and they seat them- 
 selves at the extremities of the room, or in different apartments, to perform their 
 task. In a given time they each produce a written exposition of the passage 
 prescribed. These are submitted to the Rabbi, and the contest is determined by his 
 decision on their respective merits. 
 
 It occasionally happens, when the children of wealthy Jews marry, that the father 
 of the bridegroom challenges the father of the bride to support the newly married pair 
 and their family for twenty years, or some other terra of years, on condition of his 
 doing the same. If the challenge be accepted, contracts are executed, and the young 
 man generally devotes himself with close application to the study of the Talmud. If 
 his success be considerable, his friends boast of his achievements, and congratulate 
 themselves sa3'ing, ' Aye, he'll be a Rabbi yet !' 
 
 To attain this dignity it is necessary in some provinces to go through a protracted 
 course of severe study. It is rarely the case that this can be completed before the 
 student has reached his thirtieth year. If it be accomplished at an earlier age, the 
 hair of the student, prematurely grey, generally testifies to his mental effort. 
 
 II does not appear to be avarice, or ambition, or the desire of usefulness, which alone 
 prompts to the laborious and self-de lying life of a student of the Talmud. Combined 
 with one or more of these motives, is the hope of having made some attainment 
 whereof they may glory before God. ' They have a zeal of God, but not according to 
 
206 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 the thing which is good ; in which case they themselves 
 might have had to give to him that needeth. And the peas- 
 antry complain that they are impoverished, they know 
 not how, while their Jewish neighbours have enough and 
 to spare. It is so in part, if not entirely, through their 
 wasting their earnings upon intoxicating drinks which, 
 like many of Anglo-Saxon descent living amongst 
 people easily tempted to indulge in such stimulants, the 
 Jews who have invested their capital in suitable 
 premises are willing, and more than willing, to sell to 
 them; but which they need not buy or consume unless 
 they choose. Others, influenced by patriotism, or by 
 philanthrophy, or by loss coming upon them indirectly 
 from the evil, may have some right to complain ; but the 
 immediate victims have none they are reaping the 
 rewards of their own doings. 
 
 Of the extent to which the fathers and mothers, wives 
 and children, and brothers and sisters, of drunken 
 peasants have occasion to complain of the drink traffic, 
 and of the drink traffic carried on by the Jews in Russia, 
 some idea may be formed from facts stated by Madame 
 Novikoff in an article in the Nineteenth Century, of 
 September 1832, based on statements in a valuable work 
 entitled L' Empire des Tzar, et les Russes, by M. Anatole 
 Leroy-Beaulieu. 
 
 From the sixteenth century onwards efforts have been 
 made by patriotic Russians to restrain the indulgence of 
 the people in intoxicating drink. It is within my personal 
 knowledge that not a little was done by the Emperor 
 Nicholas. More was done in more propitious circum- 
 stances by his successor, the emancipator of the serfs. 
 From a tabulated statement in the Novoie Vremia it 
 
 knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish 
 their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God,' 
 said Paul of his brethren in his day, and so may seem to devout Christians, and many 
 of the Jews in the present. The zeal of God is there, and in this it makes itself seen. 
 
 It seems, then, to be most desirable that some, at least, of those who devote them- 
 selves to labour amongst the Jews, should be prepared to cope with the most learned in 
 the discussion of the most subtile of Talmudical speculations, otherwise contempt for 
 the intellectual attainments of the missionary may prevent an attentive consideration 
 being given to the doctrines which he teaches in the name of Jesus. 
 
THE JEWISH POPULATION. 207 
 
 appears that from 1863 to 1881 the number of drink 
 shops was reduced by degrees from 257,531 to 146,000. 
 A spontaneous movement, with details of which I was 
 furnished at the time, led to the destruction by the 
 peasants of many kabaks, or drinking shops, in view of their 
 emancipation, for enjoying the full benefit of which they 
 maintained drunkenness must cease. Previously the Baron 
 had to support the aged serf ruined by drink, now it would fall 
 upon his family and neighbours to do so ; and a clear head 
 and a firm hand they said would be needed to enable 
 them to make the most of their anticipated freedom. 
 Thus they reasoned, and upon these views they acted 
 somewhat riotously. Madame Novikoff writes : 
 
 'After the death of the late Emperor the movement 
 against drunkenness suddenly reappeared even stronger 
 than before. In the outburst of sorrow caused by that 
 ' Parricide ' (as it was sometimes called by the lower 
 classesj, many village communes determined, as a sign of 
 their grief, to close the drinking-shops. In three places 
 in the government of Pskov a resolution to this effect 
 was signed by 227 heads of families, and it was decided 
 to close compulsorily all the public-houses, which have 
 been taking 50,000 roubles a year from the population. 
 In the government of Penza, where the governor has 
 energetically striven to close these shops, the villagers 
 declared in favour of abolishing them for ever. Three 
 villages in the government of Vilna, moved chiefly by 
 religious motives, did the same thing. General sympathy 
 greeted that movement, for, as a rule, the smaller the 
 number of drinking-shops the greater is the prosperity of 
 the place. According to an interesting monograph of 
 MM. Bektieff and KhvostofT on the economical position 
 of Yeletz in the Ural, an examination of nineteen com- 
 munes showed that, as a rule, the number of ruined 
 homes corresponded to the number of public-houses 
 in a commune. They mentioned two places as examples. 
 The village of Jarnova possessed 203 homesteads and 
 three public-houses. The soil was good ; the holdings 
 
208 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 of each peasant averaged 4| desatins per head. They 
 paid two roubles per desatin. After the public- houses 
 had been open for some time, 13 per cent, of these 
 peasants were entirely ruined, 25 others had no horse, 
 and 53 had not even a cow. As the possession of at 
 least one horse and one cow is the minimum of 
 prosperity, 78, or 38 per cent., of the peasants of Jarnova 
 had not even attained that minimum. Contrasted with 
 this sad spectacle of poverty was the state of the smaller 
 village of Petrovskoye, which fortunately was without 
 any public-houses. Of its 55 homesteads only one was 
 entirely ruined, and only 4 were without a cow. Yet 
 the peasants only owned 2 desatins of land, and paid 
 for it 3 roubles 73 kopecs. Thus, although they had 
 to pay more per desatin, and only owned half the quantity 
 of land held by those of Javnovo, only 7 per cent, are 
 below the minimum of prosperity, as against 38 per 
 cent, in Jarnovo. 
 
 ' The same contrast, MM. Bektiff and Khvostoff report 
 is to be found in all the other villages they examined. 
 The wine-shops (kabaki] are now regarded as the village 
 cancers, and some of my friends in Russia would be 
 enthuastic supporters of the United Kingdom Alliance. 
 Mr. KatkofFs Moscow Gazette publishes almost daily long 
 columns in favour of very drastic measures against too 
 great facilities for the sale of wine. Mr. AkaskofFs Huss 
 is just as emphatic on the subject. But it is only natural 
 for such enlightened and cultivated patriots as those two 
 to take such a course. Let me mention two others, who 
 although they have risen from the lower classes, may 
 nevertheless play an energetic part in the direction of 
 this question. I mean Mr. Tichomiroff and his uncle 
 Mr. Labsine. At present they are at the head of their 
 large manufactory at Bogorodsk, near Moscow. They 
 employ a great number of workmen, but they will never 
 engage a single man who is not a total abstainer. Extra 
 tea is willingly provided, and the wages are rather higher 
 than usual, but still the results economically and morally 
 
THE JEWISH POPULATION. 209 
 
 are most excellent. Both Tichomiroff and Labsine are 
 men of very deep religious feeling, devoted to their 
 country, genuine enthusiasts. The former has taken an 
 active part in the Commission of Experts, and his speech 
 impressed his audience with his simple and fervid 
 eloquence. His invectives against the drink-shops were 
 exceedingly vigorous, and really made him a very 
 valuable ally in the temperance reformation. 
 
 ' It was very fortunate that neither the Government 
 nor ^the experts shared the extraordinary theories held 
 about the usefulness of drink-shops ; on the contrary, the 
 prevailing* opinion is positively opposed to them. The 
 initiative, as is generally the case in Russia, has been 
 taken byj.the Government. One of the first acts of the 
 new reign was the appointment of a committee at the 
 Ministry of Finance to decide what steps should be taken 
 to prevent the abuse of spirituous liquors. 
 
 ' This committee, after eleven sittings in August and 
 September, drew up a scheme of temperance reform 
 which, in accordance with the excellent rule adopted by 
 the Emperor, was submitted to a special commission of 
 experts, selected from the Zercstvos of the empire for 
 their special acquaintance with the subject to be discussed. 
 
 ' There were thirty-two members of this commission, to 
 whom two were subsequently added by vote of the 
 commission under the title of special experts. The session 
 of this temperance reform parliament was opened by 
 General IgnatiefYon the 24th of September at the Minis- 
 try of Finance. In his address, after explaining the 
 desire of the Government that the representatives of the 
 Zemstvos should be consulted before any legislation was 
 undertaken, he referred to the question of intemperance 
 as follows : " The sale of spirits in Russia, under the 
 existing conditions, tended rather to the abuse of liquor 
 and to the ruin of the people than to the satisfaction of 
 any of the needs of the latter. The Government is 
 
210 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 resolved to take efficacious measures to put an end to this 
 sad state of things, and it hopes that you will aid it in 
 discovering the method of doing this without injuring the 
 revenue." 
 
 ' The first resolution of our experts, which was carried 
 with only five dissentients, was in favour of giving to 
 the communes the right to open communal public-houses. 
 
 c The second point decided by the commission was in 
 favour of a reduction of the number of public-houses. 
 It was resolved that the Zemstvos and municipal councils 
 should have the right to decide the number, the size, 
 and the type of public-houses in their locality; the right 
 to issue licenses for commissions to be reserved to a 
 special licensing board, composed of justices of the peace, 
 members of the delegates of the Zemstvos, marshals 
 of the noblesse ; and the normal proportion of public- 
 houses to population to be 1 to 1000, which is equivalent 
 to closing about two-thirds of the existing places of sale. 
 The Zemstvos are to have the right of increasing or 
 decreasing this proportion by 25 per cent. They are also 
 to have the right to close them altogether, or open more 
 than the normal number with the assent of the Minister 
 of Finance and the approval of the provincial assembly. 
 * They decided in favour of confining the sale of spirits 
 in the rural communes to two descriptions of shops. The 
 first are those with the right of sale for drinking on the 
 premises, as you say in England, which answers to your 
 ordinary public-house. The license is only to be given 
 to them on condition that they also provide tea and 
 food for their customers. 
 
 ' The second description of shops are those for the sale 
 of liquor in corked bottles for consumption at home. 
 Hotels and railway buffets are to be left as they are. 
 Restaurants where drink is sold are to be limited in 
 number by the municipal councils. 
 
THE JEWISH POPULATION. 211 
 
 ' Every three years lists of localities where public-houses 
 can be established are to be drawn up by the Zemstvos, 
 with the assistance of the excise officers. A proposal to 
 permit the local commissary of the police to assist in 
 drawing up these lists was defeated after a very animated 
 dispute. 
 
 ' Another important decision was that which interdicted 
 any member of the Zemstvos or municipal councils to 
 hold a license for the sale of drink, and the owners of the 
 houses where drink is sold are not to be permitted to vote 
 in the settlement of any questions relating to the drink- 
 shops. They are only allowed to have a consultative 
 voice a very necessary stipulation* 
 
 ' It was also decided to forbid the opening of any 
 drink-shop within less than 40 to 100 sagenes (from 90 
 to 230 yards) from any church, school, or other public 
 building in towns, or within less than 100 to 200 sage'nes 
 wi villages. 
 
 ' Communes and individual proprietors are to be allowed 
 to forbid the opening of drink -shops upon their own 
 land. 
 
 ' One of the decisions at which the experts arrived, with 
 only one dissentient, referred to the sale of drink by Jews. 
 Well, we do not like the Jews, that is a fact ; and the dis- 
 like is reciprocal. But the reason we do not like them is 
 not because of their speculative monotheism, but because 
 of their practical heathenism. To us they are what the 
 relics of the Amorites and Canaanites were to the Hebrews 
 in old times a debased and demoralised element which 
 is alien to our national life, and a source of indescribable 
 evils to our people. It is not to the Jew as a rejector of 
 Christianity that we object ; it is to the Jew as a bitter 
 enemy of Christian emancipation, the vampire of our rural 
 communes, the tempter of our youth, and the centre of the 
 demoralising, corrupting agencies which impair our civil- 
 isation. Ask anybody who has lived, if only for a day or 
 two, near our custom-houses, and you will learn that all 
 the smugglers, all the receivers of stolen goods, all the 
 
212 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 keepers of brandy-shops, are the degenerate descendants 
 of the great Semitic race. If the Jews but obeyed the ten 
 commandments of their Lawgiver, there would be but 
 little objection to them in Russia. But as even Moses 
 found his Jews more than he could manage when his back 
 was turned, it is perhaps not surprising that Russians 
 have much difficulty in managing a people in whose ears 
 the thunders of Sinai have long since grown faint. 
 
 'The Pall Mall Gazette recently, in a fit of noble 
 indignation, delivered a very long lecture on the cruelties 
 of Jew-baiting in Russia. It might have had some 
 weight if the writer had not been as inaccurate as he was 
 prejudiced. For instance, Russians were solemnly 
 upbraided for confining the chosen people to " the most 
 ignoble occupations." No doubt. But considering the 
 number of Jewish journalists in Russia, the editor of the 
 Pall Mall Gazette does not seem to think much of the 
 dignity of his profession. But Jews are not only 
 journalists with us ; they also follow the equally " ignoble" 
 occupations of professors, teachers, authors, lawyers, 
 barristers, doctors, bankers, merchants, to say nothing of 
 those who occupy positions in the Government service ! 
 
 ' An intelligent diplomatist, who has lived a long time 
 in Russia, said to me the other day, when we were 
 discussing this question, " The forbearance of the Russians 
 is wonderful. No one can imagine how much they have 
 suffered at the hands of these Jews. It is strange that 
 these outbreaks have never occurred before." But it is 
 by no means only Russians who find it difficult to love 
 the Jews. 
 
 ' There is one " ignoble occupation," however, to which 
 the Jews are very much devoted. The Jewish papers 
 declare that no fewer than one hundred thousand Jewish 
 families will be ruined if the Jews are not permitted to 
 keep open these infamous drink-shops which are the 
 
THE JEWISH POPULATION. 
 
 213 
 
 curse of the Russians communes. How many hundred 
 thousand honest Russian families, I wonder, have these 
 Jewish brandy-sellers ruined? 
 
 'That our objection is solely to the anti-national Jews, 
 not to Jews who become Russians in all but their origin, 
 is proved by the decision of the commission in favour 
 of allowing the Karaite Jews, or " Karaimes," as they are 
 called, and call themselves, in Russia, to sell drink as 
 freely as any other of thir Russian fellow-subjects. It 
 is only the Talmudist Jews who are forbidden that 
 privilege.'* 
 
 This is considered a fair statement, of what is alleged 
 against the Jews in extenuation of the bad feeling of the 
 peasants towards them. With regard to the bad feeling of 
 holders of landed property it appears that many of them, 
 in borrowing money, find it convenient to do so from Jews, 
 mortgaging estates in security for the loan ; and if they do 
 not repay the loan the mortgage is foreclosed ; and Jews 
 become the purchasers. Many do so ; and the stranger may 
 be ready to ask, And why not ? 
 
 * A correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette, who boasts an intimate knowledge of 
 Hungary, says : ' Throughout the whole of Hungary hardly a public-house or village 
 inn can be found which is not owned by a Jew. The Hungarian lower classes, like the 
 English, are unfortunately addicted to drinking ; and it is by skilfully taking advantage 
 of this vice that the Jews make their fortunes, and at the same time raise such ill- 
 feeling ajainst themselves. This is how the matter works. A peasant enters a public- 
 house in the evening intending to spend the few kreutzers he may have in his pocket 
 on drink As soon as these are spent he will very likely get up to go I have been a 
 witness to this scene more than once myself but this does not suit the landlord's 
 purpose, who will say to him " Stay a little longer and I will chalk up what jou drink 
 down." The peasant already, perhaps, a little excited cannot resist the temptation, 
 and before he has left that evening the commencement of a long score is already made. 
 The next time he finds it so pleasant and simple to drink without paying that he allows 
 his score still further to be increased. This goes on till the peasant is in debt for a 
 considerable sum. Then the Jew turns round, his former civility changes into menaces. 
 Finally he consents to allow the matter to stand over, on the peasant giving security on 
 his land for principal and interest of the debt. A fresh score is run up, the interest is 
 not paid, and at last the Jew seizes the peasant's land ; for in Hungary, it must be 
 remembered, every peasant owns a piece of land. In this manner all the peasant hold- 
 ings are gradually but surely passing into the hands of the Jews. In the village of 
 Cziffer, for instance, and several more places could be quoted, more than one-third ot 
 the lands formerly belonging to the peasants is now owned by the Jew landlords. Any 
 one who knows the deep love the Hungarian peasant has for his land can readily imagine 
 the strong feeling of hatred he will cherish towards the class who have robbed him of it 
 by such means. And it is to this cause, more than any other, that the present disturb- 
 ances against the Jews are to be traced.' The Gazette's comment upon this is that if 
 this were the ouly ground for Jew-baiting the anti-Semites might more intelligently 
 direct their energies to making tavern scores in Eastern Europe irrecoverable by law. 
 This is the case in England at present. J. C. B. 
 
214 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 ' The complaint of the patriotic advocate for the 
 conservation and economic exploitation of forests again 
 is that the Jewish proprietor does not choose to maintain 
 the estates in the condidition in which he buys them ; 
 and does not choose to do anything to develope the 
 agricultural capabilities of the land ; nor does he choose 
 to adopt the most advanced method of forest exploitation, 
 but clears off the timber by felling a Hanc etoc, and leaving 
 the land to recover itself as best it may, while consequent 
 droughts, and, it may be inundations, devastate the 
 district and the lower lying lands. All this may be 
 saddening ; but with existing ideas in regard to the rights 
 of property, who can say him nay ? ' 
 
 My purpose is to report facts. It does not come within 
 the scope of my scheme to correct abuses in the lands 
 upon which I report ; but I may state here, as I have 
 stated elsewhere, with a view to the discussion of what 
 may, or might, be done to prevent the occurrence of like 
 evils in other lands, that it is a principle accepted by many 
 students of forest science, that the continued existence of 
 forests in certain circumstances is so essential to the well- 
 being of the nation inhabiting the land, that they should be 
 considered national property, held beneficially in trust 
 by the holders, and by the generation of which they are a 
 part, for the nation in its entirety, of past, present, and 
 future existence, each generation successively having the 
 usufruct, but nothing more, being bound to hand them, 
 down to those who come after them in like good condition 
 as they receive them, or with compensating advantages in 
 one form or another for any destruction of them which 
 maybe deemed expedient; and that the exploitation of 
 all forests should be subjectable to legislation with due 
 regard to the rights of private proprietors. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 GAME. 
 
 Of the game found in Lithuania, Mr Anderson, already 
 cited, gives the following account: 
 
 'The noblemen and landed gentry of Russian Poland 
 are very fond of hunting and shooting ; but their mode of 
 following these sports differs very much from that which 
 prevails in England. For some time past, indeed, shooting 
 has almost entirely ceased, in consequence of the public 
 prohibition of the Government to carry or use a gun. To 
 some favoured few, a licence to do so has been granted ; 
 the licence being sealed on the stock of the gun or rifle. 
 But the commanders of the district towns generally advise 
 the possessors of such a licence not to avail themselves of 
 it ; for the sound of fire-arms cannot fail to attract the 
 Cossacks and Russian soldiery : and, as many of them are 
 unable to read, the life of the poor sportsman, if he fell 
 into their clutches, would not be worth five minutes' 
 purchase. In consequence of this state of things, I only 
 fired a gun upon one occasion, whilst I was in the country 
 under circumstances which I shall notice hereafter. 
 
 ' The chief birds of game are the capercailzie, black cock, 
 and wood hen a bird very like the grouse, only smaller, 
 and of a much lighter colour. It is called in German, 
 haselhuhn. This bird lives in the woods, and is very seldom 
 found, like our grouse, in the open. Of the common brown 
 partridges and this year was very favourable to them 
 we saw, frequently, large and numerous covies. The red- 
 legged partridge is never found. The quail, woodcock, 
 and snipe are very plentiful ; and, on a summer's evening, 
 the landrail may be heard in full " crake, crake." There 
 are immense quantities of wild-fowl of all kinds. The 
 
216 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 bustard also abounds in the country, and is considered a 
 great dainty ; but its shyness makes it very difficult to 
 approach. I was fortunate enough to catch a good view 
 of the first I ever saw, for we came suddenly upon him as 
 we were driving one day, about the middle of April. 
 During the summer, I remarked several flocks of them 
 at a distance. 
 
 ' Besides the fox, the badger, and the hare, which this 
 country possesses in common with England, it has large 
 numbers of elks, buffaloes, bears and wolves. The elk is 
 rarely met with in the southern part ; but, in a large forest 
 near Grodno, there are several. During our stay at Wier- 
 cieliszki, part of the wood was on fire, and the flames 
 disturbed some of its wild inhabitants. Word was brought 
 to Count Bisping that two elks had passed across his farm, 
 upon which he immediately mounted his horse and set off 
 in pursuit, with some big black hounds. He failed to 
 overtake the elks, but plainly marked their track. They 
 had gone through a piece of standing rye ; and, in the wet 
 soil, he pointed out to me the same evening, the clear 
 impression of their large cloven feet. The buffalo, or 
 bison, is not frequently seen. I was told that there was a 
 herd of them, about a thousand head, some forty or fifty 
 miles from Grodno, and they are very strictly preserved. 
 They are much larger than the American or African 
 buffalo. The law forbidding the slaughter of one of these 
 animals is as strict as that which prohibits the murder of 
 a man. 
 
 ' The wolf is greatly on the increase, as the inhabitants 
 are denied the means, which they formerly possessed, of 
 killing them. One day, as we were drawing near a small 
 cover with some greyhounds, I observed a great number 
 of magpies and carrion crows, which, on our approach, 
 flew around, marking their displeasure at our intrusion by 
 cries and croaks. We brushed through the little wood : 
 and, at the lower end, saw, what I at first thought to be a, 
 dog trotting away. I galloped after him, when my com- 
 panion also saw him, and cried, wilka, wilka, (wolf, wolf,) 
 
GAME. 217 
 
 Our dogs, having sighted him, quickly caught him up ; 
 but were shy of making further acquaintance with him, 
 until ur<, r ed on by the cries of the huntsman, when they 
 soon rolled him over. The wolf had tried at first to gallop 
 off ; but, unfortunately for him, he had partaken too freely 
 of his breakfast, and could not escape from his swift and 
 strong pursuers. He was quickly despatched with the 
 butt end of the huntsman 's whip. We proceeded with 
 our trophy homewards, and, upon reaching a hamlet 
 belonging to the property of Wereiki, the peasants met 
 us, expressing the greatest delight at the death of their 
 enemy. They told the Count that hardly a night passed 
 in which the wolves did not rob them of sheep ; and that, 
 two nights before, they had made off with a cow. Two 
 old wolves with four young ones had been lately seen by 
 them; and, no doubt, the one we had just killed was one 
 of the litter. He appeared about eight months old ; more 
 than three parts grown, and very strong ; the bone of his 
 leg was very large. He was in colour a brown-grey and 
 black, with light tan legs, and greyish eyes. He ran with 
 his tail between his legs, just like a cowardly cur. In 
 winter, wolves assemble in large numbers, and, being 
 stimulated by hunger, are very formidable. But, as long 
 as they are alone, and not much pinched for food, they are 
 easily frightened. On one occasion, the wife of the Count's 
 farm director was returning in her carriage from a friend's 
 house, where she had been visiting, about five miles dis- 
 tant. One of her carriage horses was a mare, by the side 
 of which (as the custom is in Poland) was running a little 
 black foal. It was just becoming dark, when suddenly 
 they were startled by seeing what they at first thought 
 was a dog, running after the foal. But the coachman 
 soon made him out to be a large wolf. He gave the reins 
 to the lady ; and, jumping out of the carriage, picked up 
 a goodly supply of stones. He then called the foal, which 
 instantly ran up to him : for the foals, being always in the 
 stables with the other horses, become tame as dogs. The 
 coachman next turned round manfully upon his enemy, 
 
218 FORESTKY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 shouting at him, and pelting him with stones. The brute 
 forthwith acknowledged the superiority of his assailant, 
 and slunk away into the wood. The lady meanwhile was 
 not a little alarmed by the reconnoitre, and right glad to 
 reach home in safety. It was towards the end of August 
 that this incident occurred, and wolves are rarely found to 
 be so venturesome at this early period of the autumn. 
 As the winter advances, hunger compels them to more 
 daring deeds. 
 
 ' Traps of all kinds are employed to catch the wolf in 
 severe weather ; the steel snap-trap, the pitfall, and the 
 split tree like that in which the old bear is represented 
 as caught, in one of Kaulbach's illustrations of " Reineke 
 Fuehs." The last, it is said, is the best snare. Some- 
 times, but very rarely, a fox is caught in it instead of the 
 wolf; but the characteristic cunning of the fox generally 
 prompts him to avoid it. Strychnine also is frequently 
 used to destroy the wolf; and many become the victims 
 of this poison. But the peasants more frequently injure 
 their own property, by resorting to this process of destruc- 
 tion, for their dogs, being left to forage for themselves, 
 are attracted by the poisoned bait, and die in consequence. 
 
 1 The fox in Poland, as in Germany, is ingloriously 
 murdered. He certainly has the pleasure in Poland of 
 hearing the music of his pursuers, but his death by the 
 gun is accomplished in a way which would be indignantly 
 condemned by the English fox-hunter. As soon as the 
 hunters are posted in the wood, the dog-keeper lets loose 
 his pack of ten or twelve large clumsily-built hounds, of 
 black or tan colour. They trot away without any order, 
 and speak to every kind of game, hare, fox, or wolf. In 
 brushing about the wood, they often start other game 
 which, if it come in the way of the hunters, hardly ever 
 fails of being shot ; for these hunters are capital marks- 
 men. The wild boar also is frequently started from his 
 lurking-place on these occasions, and is always regarded 
 as game of the first order by Polish sportsmen. 
 
 1 There are two kinds of hare. The field or common 
 
GAME. 219 
 
 brown bare, and tbe wood hare, whicb is very like tbe 
 Scotch bare, as it changes its colour with the season. I 
 saw several of them quite white, when I first went to 
 Poland ; whereas, in summer, they are a brown-grey. 
 
 ' The huntsman came home one evening with a large 
 dog badger. It appeared that a hare, which he had been 
 chasing with his dogs, took refuge in a small opening in a 
 bank, which proved to be one of the entrances into the 
 badger's hiding-place. As the hare ran in at one end, the 
 startled badger sprang out at the other, almost into the 
 jaws of the dogs; and was soon despatched by them and 
 by the huntsman's whip. The poor hare also was after- 
 wards pulled out of her hiding-place, brought home in a 
 sack, and, after a few days, produced again to furnish 
 sport (as it was called) for a brace of young greyhounds. 
 But the confinement had so broken the spirits of poor 
 puss, that she became, as might be expected, an easy prey 
 to her pursuers. 
 
 ' The common dogs of this country are a wretched 
 mongrel race, and a most intolerable nuisance. They are 
 to be seen in the house of every peasant, and crowding 
 the streets of every village, yelping at the heels of every 
 traveller, and flying out upon him, whether in carriage or 
 on horseback or on foot, with great ferocity. 
 
 ' The greyhounds are of a strong build, and far heavier 
 than the thoroughbred animals seen at the coursing 
 meetings in England. Many of them have long feather 
 on their tails and legs ; and these are much superior to 
 the smoother sort, being quite as fleet, and endowed with 
 higher courage and greater powers of endurance. The 
 amusement of coursing is oftentimes greatly impeded by 
 the quantity of rough and sharp stones with which the 
 surface of the soil is covered. Indeed, I one day saw a 
 poor greyhound so mutilated by one of these stones that 
 it was found necessary to destroy him. 
 
 * The pointers are, as a class, very inferior dogs. One, 
 indeed, was to be regarded as an exception a coarse, 
 heavy animal in appearance, but with a most sensitive 
 
220 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 nose, and excellently trained by his master, the Count's 
 huntsman, who was a keen and sagacious lover of field sports. 
 
 ' We took this dog one day upon an expedition which 
 to me appeared very like a poaching enterprise. In 
 walking over some marshes at Wiercieliszki, we had seen 
 a great many snipe, some of which Count Bisping was 
 resolved to have. Accordingly, he had a net made of very 
 fine thread, about twenty yards in length and width. We 
 began work about eight o'clock in the morning, the 
 weather being very mild. The dog found the snipe well, 
 standing very staunch. The two men who had the 
 management of the net ran over the place at which he 
 pointed, covering both the dog and game. He took it 
 very calmly, and stayed until the game was captured. I 
 never saw birds lie so close. They would not get up, 
 even when the net was over them. Indeed, we lost 
 several at first, thinking that it was not possible for any 
 birds to be there, and not rise up in alarm ; and that the 
 dog must have pointed false. On lifting up the net, away 
 flew two or three birds from the very spot covered by the 
 net, proving the dog's staunchness and the folly of our 
 impatience. The whole arrangement, I must repeat, was 
 very like poaching ; bat in this country all is allowable. 
 No net, no snipe, appears to be the rule. 
 
 ' We were walking in the woods another day with this 
 same dog, in search of blackcock, though we were not 
 allowed to shoot them. The dog came to a good point ; 
 and, as we followed him up, away went a hen bird with 
 five young ones, all fine birds. We marked down one of 
 th'e young birds, and went after him ; and the dog was 
 soon seen again pointing beautifully. The bird had 
 crept into a small bush by which we were standing ; and, 
 on its rising, flew directly in the face of one of our party, 
 who hit at it almost involuntarily with his stick, and it 
 fell into the dog's mouth. I confess, I felt ashamed at 
 this mode of bagging game ; but I was told, that, at the 
 present time, the capture of game, by any means, is 
 accounted lawful. 
 
GAME. 221 
 
 ' Permission was once granted to us, through the kind- 
 ness of a Russian Director of the Government woods, to 
 have some shooting. Count Bisping's huntsman, who, I 
 have said, was a keen and experienced sportsman, had 
 been obliged, on account of the insurrection, to give up 
 his gun to this same Director ; and it was with no ordi- 
 nary satisfaction that be came to us one day, towards the 
 end of Apri), with a message from the Director, saying, 
 that, if the Count and I would like to have some wood- 
 cock shooting, we were to be at his house by five o'clock 
 the next evening The Count was unwilling at first to 
 embrace the offer, fearing lest he might thereby com- 
 promise the Director or himself ; and that the noise of 
 fire-arms in the forest might lead to collision with the 
 Russian soldiers. But, on further consideration, feeling 
 assured that the Director would not have sent such a 
 message without ample authority, he agreed to go. 
 Accordingly we started, at four o'clock, in an old post-cart 
 without springs, and a pair of horses ; and soon reached 
 the comfortable house of the Director, who was by birth 
 a German, and an intelligent and agreeable man. He 
 offered us coffee and cigarettes ; and showed us his 
 private room, hung round with various trophies of his 
 success in the chase : the antlered head of the elk, the 
 smaller head of the roe, the tusks of the wild boar, the 
 skins of the fox and bear. I also observed in a stand some 
 ver} 7 useful double-barrelled guns and rifles, in excellent 
 order. His equipment was after the style of German 
 sportsmen, who always carry a game-sack, like a railway 
 travelling-bag ; the powder-horn gracefully suspended 
 round the shoulder by a green cord (such as we use in 
 England for Venetian blinds) with large green tassels. 
 The shot-flask is carried in the pouch. The gun has a 
 beautifully-ornamented sling (generally worked in worsted 
 by some fair hand), with which they carry it hung round 
 the neck ; and it is, in my opinion, very much in the way. 
 
 'After all preparations had been duly made, we 
 mounted our waggons, having for our advanced guard 
 
222 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 a Cossack fully armed, and another equipped in like 
 manner in our rear. The presence of these men of course 
 removed any misgiving which might have been felt as to 
 the authority under which we ventured forth ; and off we 
 went at the usual galloping pace observed by travellers in 
 this country. Our course lay through a large wood, with 
 no very definite roadway ; and, as there had been lately 
 some heavy rain, the ground was little better than a con- 
 tinuous bog. The horses sank up to their bellies three or 
 four times, and how they ever came out again is still a 
 mystery to me. And yet more wonderful does it appear 
 that our rope tackle bore without breaking, the violent 
 jerks and strains which it had to undergo. After about 
 azi hour spent in this hazardous journeying, we reached 
 an open space in the middle of the forest, where we 
 alighted and loaded our guns. Whilst we were thus 
 engaged, a large hawk came and settled on a high tree 
 close by. One of our party, a young man, whose eye was 
 as quick and piercing as that of the hawk, speedily 
 brought him down. At this moment I heard a curious 
 noise, like hammering, which seemed gradually to come 
 nearer; and, upon asking what it was, learnt that it 
 proceeded from the large wooden bells fixed on the necks 
 of cattle which feed in the wood, and some of which I saw 
 a few minutes afterwards. The sound of their bells is 
 disagreeably monotonous. 
 
 ' The woodcock begins to fly about half-past six o'clock, 
 and flies for about an hour; so we had not much time to 
 lose. The huntsman soon posted us at our various 
 stations ; and, during the few minutes we remained thus 
 waiting, I heard distinctly the crane whistling, and the 
 capercailzie crowing. But very soon a whirring, chatter- 
 ing sound announced the approach of the first woodcock. 
 Its slow flight seemed to offer an easy shot ; but the 
 dusky light balked our aim ; and the first three or four 
 shots, on the part of the huntsman and myself, were 
 failures. We were afterwards more successful ; and three 
 birds fell to my share. I saw several others, but at too 
 great a distance to reach. 
 
GAME. 223 
 
 ' It was the beginning of the breeding season when we 
 went upon this expedition ; and, according to our English 
 notions, the pursuit of any game at such a time was 
 unlawful ; but it is not so regarded in this country. 
 
 ' We returned home to Wiercieliszki by a smoother and 
 more agreeable road. The Director joined us at supper, 
 and proved himself, by his amusing stories, to be not less 
 welcome a companion than he had been a kind and 
 zealous sportsman. 
 
 ' The crane is a bird often to be seen in this country. 
 They gather together in flocks, amounting to many 
 hundreds ; delighting chiefly in marshy ground, over 
 which they stalk gently with light and graceful step, 
 neither experiencing, nor appearing to fear, any molesta- 
 tion. 
 
 ' The stork also cannot fail, from its novelty, to attract 
 the notice of the English traveller. The first stork's nest 
 I ever saw was at Marienburg, on my way from Berlin to 
 Konigsberg ; and, at that season of the year, it was, of 
 course, untenanted. But the stork is held in great 
 reverence by the people among whom it takes up its 
 abode. Much pains are likewise taken to preserve the 
 stork's nest, and encourage the parent birds to return to 
 the spot which they have once selected for hatching and 
 rearing their young. The storks are often very lazy in 
 constructing their nests; and the people consequently 
 help them, by putting up an old harrow, or something of 
 the kind, on the roof of a barn, or the top of some unused 
 chimney, or the branches of a solitary tree. Over this 
 they spread a foundation of hay or straw, and then pile 
 upon it some twigs, or loose sticks, placed across each 
 other, after a rough fashion, to about the height of two 
 feet. This place the storks accept for their nest j and, 
 upon their arrival, will sit for hours, as if resting them- 
 selves after the fatigue of a long journey. They will then 
 set about the task of putting the nest into something like 
 order ; and, in about a fortnight, if the weather be warm, 
 will begin the work of incubation. The parent birds 
 
224 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 never both leave the nest at the same time ; and the 
 male takes his turn on the eggs as well as the female. 
 They may be seen for hours, with their long bills projec- 
 ting over the edge of the nest, patiently performing this 
 duty. Nobody ever thinks of disturbing them, there or 
 elsewhere. They may be seen sometimes, three or four 
 in number, striding quietly after the husbandman, as he 
 works away with his bullocks and plough, and securing 
 for themselves a meal from the worms, which the up- 
 turned furrows expose to their view. 
 
 ' It is curious to observe the process by which the 
 storks feed their young. Each parent bird goes away in 
 turn ; and, upon its return, stands, for a few seconds, 
 balancing itself upon the edge of the nest ; then, throwing 
 back its head with a quick action, it ejects from its crop 
 into the nest some portion of worm or frog which it has 
 picked up ; and the young instantly seize upon the same 
 and devour it with avidity. This action of throwing the 
 head back and ejecting the treasured food is repeated, 
 until all the contents of the bird's crop are exhausted. 
 About the middle of September, the storks assemble in 
 large flocks, like the swallows in England, and prepare for 
 their migratory flight to warmer latitudes. 
 
 ' I have elsewhere described the manner in which the 
 Poles sometimes spear fish at night time, by the aid of 
 fire-light, which they kindle in a grate fixed at the head 
 of their boat, and need not therefore do more in this place 
 than allude to it as one of the modes to which they resort 
 for capturing fish. 
 
 ' In England I used to be very fond of fly-fishing, and 
 had brought with me a nice light rod, in the hope of 
 meeting, in the streams of this country, with trout and 
 grayling as abundant as those which I had found in some 
 of the affluents of the Rhine. But the hope was not to 
 be fulfilled. As for trout, I was informed that it is found 
 only in one stream in Lithuania. I sometimes caught a 
 few fish like grayling, but smaller and coarser, and of a 
 muddy taste. Indeed, the constant muddiness of almost 
 
GAME. 225 
 
 \~<f^ ^ Jr rv* N 
 vC^^ -A c~ -O / /^* 
 all the streams in this country is alike destructive of the 
 
 delicacy of the fish, and of the pursuit of the fisherman. 
 
 ' The pike is the most common fish to be found here, 
 and grows to a very large size in the extensive lakes 
 which abound in the country. The chief revenue, in fact, 
 of some properties, arises from their fisheries, and from 
 the number of their wild fowl. Some of the lakes are 
 four or five miles in circumference, and surrounded in 
 some instances with hundreds of acres, upon which 
 neither man nor beast ever ventures to set foot. The 
 proprietor has to pay as large a tax for this area of marsh 
 and water as for his arable and pasture land, and not 
 without reason ; for the great demand for fish, in a 
 country peopled for the most part by Roman Catholics, 
 must make this kind of property very valuable. 
 
 * The carp is also found in these lakes, frequently of 
 large size. I saw one brought to table, which weighed 
 upwards of eighteen pounds ; and, being stewed with 
 Hungarian wine-sauce, was very palatable. 
 
 ' The tench is of a more delicate and agreeable flavour 
 than any fish in this country. I have frequently seen 
 them weighing from two to four pounds : and one even 
 reached the weight of eight pounds. 
 
 ' It is no unusual thing to meet with pike ranging from 
 twenty to twenty-five pounds' weight, and sometimes 
 more. The largest are generally captured in nets; but 
 the quantity of weeds, with which the lakes and streams 
 are covered in summer, makes net-fishing very difficult, if 
 not impracticable. The fish are caught therefore in the 
 greatest numbers as soon as the weeds die away, and are 
 preserved in stews or in ice-houses. 
 
 ' For my own part, net-fishing did not hold out much 
 attraction. I therefore persuaded my friend, the ingenious 
 carpenter at Wereiki, to fashion a dozen trimmers for me ; 
 and, having prepared some twine and hooks which I had 
 bought at Konigsberg, I frequently made successful use of 
 them. I caught also, in a large lake which I visited 
 at Massalani, by trolling, many pike, which varied 
 
 Q 
 
226 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 from one to eight pounds in weight. Upon one occasion, 
 in June, I had sailed slowly, by the aid of a gentle breeze, 
 from one side of the lake to the other, trolling as I went 
 along; and had just started upon my return, when the 
 bait was voraciously seized by a monster of a fish, that 
 came right up to the top of the water, and darted off 
 instantly with it. I let him have the line as quickly as 
 possible. But the wind sprang up at this moment, and 
 carried my boat off in one direction ; whilst the fish was 
 rushing madly away in another. I only had forty yards 
 of line upon the reel ; and, as soon as it had all run out, 
 it of course snapped, and away went the only trolling 
 gorge-hook that I possessed, with twenty yards of line. 
 
 ' Thus abruptly and disastrously ended, as I thought, all 
 my trolling speculations. But, upon returning to Mas- 
 salani, a fortnight afterwards, the boatman brought me 
 my hook and line, extracted from the fish, which be had 
 found lying dead upon the water, a few days after my 
 former visit. The fish, he told me, weighed more than 
 twenty pounds. Behold ! the old fable of the ring of Poly- 
 crates over again stripped, indeed, of much of its miracu- 
 lous character ; for a sharp gorge-hook was much more 
 likely to lead to the discovery of the fish that swallowed 
 it, than a precious jewel ; and the narrow circuit of a 
 small inland lake a far more favourable place for such 
 discovery than the waves of the open sea that washed the 
 shores of Samos. Nevertheless, the incident could hardly 
 fail to remind me, as it did, of the story, which has been 
 told with such inimitable simplicity by Herodotus, and 
 sung in inmortal verse by Schiller.' 
 
PART III. 
 
 THE UKRAINE OR LITTLE RUSSIA. 
 
 To the district embracing the governments of Tchernigov 
 and Kiev, with those of Poltava and Kharkov, are given 
 the designations Little Russia, and the Ukraine. 
 
 The name Ukraine is said to signify frontier, a name 
 not inappropriate to the country, which lies on the borders 
 of European Turkey, Poland, Russia, and Little Tartary. 
 It was acquired by Russia at different periods from 
 Poland, a large portion having been seized by Catherine 
 II. in 1793. 
 
 Of the Ukraine M. Marny writes: 'In the Ukraine 
 the black earth, called by the Russians stepnoi-ezernozem, 
 which constitutes the soil of a part of South Russia, gives 
 rise to forests of a special nature, of which the principal 
 constituents are oaks, limes, and elms. These trees 
 grow with uncommon vigour, and are associated with an 
 immense number of large pear trees of a magnificent 
 aspect. Nevertheless, this beautiful forest mantle is 
 desolated under the pernicious action of drought, which 
 causes the destruction of thousands of trees, more 
 especially of hazels, ashes, and elms ; only the spruce with 
 deep roots escape its devastating influence.' 
 
 In Little Russia, and in the old Polish country to the 
 south and the west, we find the villages of the north built 
 of timber logs, and laid out as graphically portrayed in 
 the quotation I have given from Hepworth Dixon's Free 
 Jtussia, in Forest Lands and Forestry of Northern Russia 
 (pp. 53-55), in illustration of forest scenes in the government 
 of Archangel, have given place to villages of a different 
 
228 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 character. We find the difference thus indicated 
 by that writer : ' Instead of the grimy logs, you 
 have a predominant mixture of green and white; 
 instead of the former blocks you have scattered cottages 
 in the midst of trees. The cabins are built of earth and 
 reeds ; the roofs thatched with straw, and the walls of the 
 homestead are washed with lime. A fence of mats and 
 thorns runs round the group. If every house appears to 
 be small, it stands in a common yard, and one of its own. 
 The village has no streets. Two, and only two, openings 
 appear in the outer fence ; one north, one south, and in 
 finding your way from one opening of the fence to another, 
 you pass through a mass of lanes between reeds and pines, 
 beset by savage dogs. Each new comer would seem to 
 have pitched his tent where he pleased, taking care to 
 cover his hut and yard by the common yard. 
 
 'A village built without a plan, in which every house is 
 surrounded by a garden, covers an immense extent of 
 ground. Some of the Kozack villages are as widely 
 spread as towns. Of course there is a church, with its 
 glow of colour, and of poetic charm. 
 
 ' From Kiev, on the Dnieper, to Kalatch, on the Don, 
 you find the villages all of this type. The points of 
 difference [between these and those further to the north] 
 lie in the house and in the garden ; and must spring from 
 difference of education, if not of race. The Great 
 Russians are of a timid, soft, and fluent type. They like 
 to huddle in a crowd, to club their means, to live under a 
 common roof, and stand or fall by the family tree. The 
 Little Russ [or inhabitants of Little Russia], are of a 
 quick, adventurous, and hardy type, who like to stand 
 apart, each for himself, with scope and range enough for 
 the play of all his powers. A Great Russian carries his 
 bride to his father's shed ; a Little Russian carries her to 
 a cabin of his own/ 
 
 Conterminous with the government of Voronetz, on the 
 south-west, is the government of Kharkov, in which the 
 
THE UKRAINE OR LITTLE RUSSIA. 229 
 
 area of forests is 620,000 desatins, of which 308,883 
 desatins belong to the crown, equivalent to 12'9 desatins 
 of forests, or 6 '5 desatins of crown forests, to the square 
 verst ; and to 0'42 desatins of forests, or 0*2 desatins of 
 crown forests, to each inhabitant. The annual fellings in 
 the crown forests yield 37'8 cubic feet, and the revenue is 
 148'8 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 The government of Poltava lies immediately to the 
 west of the government of Kharkov. In this government 
 the area of forests is 310,000 desatins, of which 39,142 
 desatins belong to the crown, equivalent to 7 desatins of 
 forests, or 08 desatins of crown forests, to the square 
 verst; and 0'2 desatins of forests, or 0'02 desatins of 
 crown forests, to each inhabitant. The annual fellings in 
 the crown forests yield 105'1 cubic feet, and the revenue 
 is 228 2 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 In the government of Tchernigov, which lies to the 
 north of Poltava, there are 928,000 desatins of forests, of 
 which 261,697 desatins belong to the crown, equivalent 
 to 20' 1 desatins of forests, or 5*6 desatins of crown 
 forests per square verst ; and to 0'6 of forests, or 02 
 desatins of crown forest per inhabitant. The annual 
 fellings in the crown forests yield 21 cubic feet, and the 
 revenue is 30*1 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 In the government of Kiev, which lies to the west of 
 the government of Poltava, the area of forests is 1,555,000 
 desatins, of which 272,739 desatins belong to the crown, 
 equivalent to 26'2 desatins of forests, and 6'1 desatins of 
 crown forests, per square verst ; and to 0'6 desatins of 
 forests, or 01 desatins of crown forests, per inhabitant. 
 The annual fellings in the crown forests yield 21*2 cubic 
 feet, and the revenue is 50'8 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 In the government of Tchernigov is the town of 
 Baturin, a beautifully situated and well-built town on the 
 banks of the Segma, named after its founder, Etienne 
 Batori, King of Poland. It was formerly the residence of 
 the Hetmen of the Ukraine. In 1703 it was the 
 
230 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 rendezvous of the famous rebel Mazeppa, by whose over- 
 throw it suffered greatly, until, with the surrounding 
 villages, containing, with the town, a population of 20,000 
 souls, it was given by the Empress Elizabeth to the last 
 pet ward of the Ukraine, Count Cyril RazumofTsky, who 
 rebuilt it, and in whose family it still continues. 
 
 Of Kiev Mr Dixon writes : ' The first towns of Russia 
 are Kiev and Novgorod the Great ; her capitals and holy 
 places long before she built herself a Kremlin on the 
 Moskva, and a Winter Palace on the Neva. Kiev and 
 Novgorod are still her pious and poetic cities: one the 
 tower of her religious faith, the other, of her Imperial 
 power. From Vichgorod at Kiev springs the dome which 
 celebrates her conversion to the Church of Christ. In the 
 Kremlin stands the bronze group which typifies her 
 empire of a thousand years. Kiev, the oldest of Russian 
 sees, is not in Russia proper, and many historians treat it 
 as a Polish town. The people are Ruthenians, and for 
 hundreds of years the city belonged to the Polish crown. 
 The plain in front of it is the Ukraine steppe ; the lands 
 of Hetman and Zaparogue; of stirring legends and 
 nations song. The manners are Polish, and the people 
 Poles. Yet here lies the cradle of that church which has 
 shaped into its own likeness every quality of Russian 
 political and domestic life. 
 
 'The city consists of three parts, of three several towns 
 Podd, Vichgorod, Pechersk ; a business town, an imperial 
 town, and a sacred town. All these quarters are crowded 
 with offices, shops, and convents ; yet Podd is the 
 merchant quarter, Vichgorod the government quarter, and 
 Pechersk the pilgrim quarter. These towns overhang the 
 Dnieper, on a range of broken cliffs ; contain about 70,000 
 souls ; and hold, in the several places of interment, all 
 that was mortal of the Pagan Duke, who became her 
 foremost saint. 
 
 ' Kiev is a city of legends and events ; the preaching of 
 St. Andrew, the piety of St. Olga, the conversion of St. 
 
THE UKRAINE OR LITTLE RUSSIA. 231 
 
 Vladimer; the Mongolian assault, the Polish conquest, 
 the recovery by Peter the Great. The provinces around 
 Kiev resemble it, and rival it in historic fame. The country 
 of Mazeppa and Gonta, the Ukraine teems with story, 
 tales of the raid, the flight, the night attack, the revolted 
 town. Every village has its legend, every town its epic, 
 of love and war. The land is aglow with personal life. 
 Yon chapel marks the spot where a Grand Duke was 
 killed, this mound is the tomb of a Tartar horde, that 
 field is the site of a battle with the Poles. The men are 
 brighter and livelier, the houses are better built, and the 
 fields are better trimmed, than in the north and east. 
 The music is quicker, the brandy is stronger, the beer is 
 warmer, the hatred is keener, than you find elsewhere. 
 These provinces are Gogol's country, and the scenery is 
 that of his story called " Dead Souls." 
 
 ' Like all the southern cities Kiev fell into the power of 
 Batu Khan, the Mongol chief, and groaned for ages under 
 the yoke of Asiatic begs. These begs were idol worship- 
 pers, and under their savage and idolatrous rule the 
 children of Vladimer had to pass through heavy trials j 
 but Kiev can boast that in the worst of times she kept in 
 her humble churches, and her underground caves, the 
 sacred embers of her faith alive. 
 
 ' Below the tops of two high hills, three miles from that 
 Vichgorod in which Vladimer built his harem, and raised 
 the statue of his Pagan god, some Christian hermits, 
 Anton, Feodosie, and their fellows, dug for themselves in 
 the loose red rock a series of corridors and caves, in 
 which they lived and died, examples of lowly virtue and 
 Christian life. The Russian word for cave is "peck," 
 and the site of these caves was called Peckersk. Above 
 the cells in which these hermits dwelt two convents 
 gradually arose, and took the names of Anton and 
 Feodosie, now become the patron saints of Kiev, and the 
 reputed fathers of all men living in Russia a monastic life. 
 
 ' A green dip between the old town, now trimmed and 
 planted, parts the first convent - -that of Anton from the 
 
232 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 cityj; a second dip divides the convent of Feodosie from 
 that of his fellow-saint. These convents, nobly planned, 
 and strongly built, take rank among the finest piles in 
 Eastern Europe. Domes and pinnacles of gold surmount 
 each edifice ; and every wall is pictured with legends from 
 the lives of saints. The ground is holy; more than a 
 hundred hermits lie in the catacombs, and crowds of holy 
 men lie mouldering in every niche of the holy wall. 
 Mouldering ! I crave their pardons. Holy men can 
 never rust and rot ! The purity of the flesh in death 
 is evidence of the purity of the flesh in life ; and 
 saints are just as incorruptible of body as of soul ! In 
 Anton's convent you are shown the skull of St. Vladimer ; 
 that is to say, a velvet pall in which his skull is said to 
 be wrapped and swathed. You are told that the flesh is 
 pure, the skin uncracked, and the odour sweet. A line 
 of dead bodies fills the underground passages and lanes 
 each body in a niche of the rock ; and all these martyrs 
 of the faith are said to be like Vladimer also fresh and 
 sweet ! . . . Fifty thousand pilgrims, chiefly Ruth- 
 enians, from the populous provinces of Podolia, Kiev, and 
 Volhinia, come in summer to these shrines. 
 
 ' When Kiev received her freedom from the Tartar begs 
 she found herself by the chance of war a city of Polonia, 
 not of Muscovy ; a m'ember of the western, not of the 
 eastern, section of her race. Kiev had never been Russ, 
 as Moscow was Russ ; a rude barbaric town, with crowds 
 of traders and rustics, ruled by a Tartarised court ; and 
 now that her lot was cast with the more liberal and 
 enlightened west, she grew into a yet more Oriental 
 Prague. For many reigns she lay open to the arts of 
 Germany and France; and when she returned to Russia, 
 in the time of Peter the Great, she was not alone the 
 noblest jewel in his crown, but a point of union, nowhere 
 else to be found, for all the Sclavonic nations in the 
 world. 
 
 ' As an inland city, Kiev has the finest site in Russia. 
 Standing on a range of bluffs, she overlooks a splendid 
 
THE UKRAINE OR LITTLE RUSSIA. 233 
 
 length of steppe, a broad and navigable stream. She is 
 the port and capital of the Ukraine, and the Malo- 
 Russians, whether settled on the Don, the Ural, or the 
 Dnieper, look to her for orders of the day. She touches 
 Poland with her right hand, Russia with her left; she 
 flanks Galicia and Moldavia, and keeps her front towards 
 the Bulgarians, the Montenegrins, and the Serbs. In her 
 races and religon she is much in little ; an epitome of all 
 the Sclavonic tribes. One-third of her population is 
 Muscovite, one-third Russian, and one-third Polack ; 
 while in faith she is Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and 
 United Greek. If any city in Europe offers herself to 
 Pansclavonic dreamers as their natural capital, it is Kiev.' 
 
 In M. Polytaiefs account of forests on the Dnieper, 
 embodied in a preceding chapter, is given [ante pp. 
 187-190] information in regard to the forests of the 
 government. 
 
 One of my correspondents, writing to me some years 
 since, stated that shortly before he had had a conversation 
 with a German land steward, from the neighbourhood of 
 Kiev, who had the charge of a number of estates in that 
 locality, and that in reference to the injury and loss to a 
 country resulting from the clearing away of forests, he 
 said the climate in that district had changed much for 
 the worse, and that he attributed the recurring famines 
 from which the people suffered, and the bad harvests of 
 which they complained, in a great measure to aridity of 
 soil and climate, consequent on the extensive cutting 
 down of the woods. Of the Russian landholders, he said 
 they were so improvident, and so reckless of the morrow, 
 that it was difficult to induce them to plant trees which will 
 not attain their full growth till some 170 years hence. 
 And he alleged that there was no hope of the evil being 
 counteracted, excepting in so far as necessary measures 
 might be undertaken and carried out by the government. 
 
 Pinkerton epitomising a journey made by him from 
 
234 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA.. 
 
 Odessa to Orel, writes : ' The appearance of the country 
 from Odessa to Nicholaief is flat and woodless. Near 
 Elizabethgrad several ravines produce some little variety 
 on the surface, but few trees of any kind are to be seen ; 
 and this bald uninteresting scene continues as far as Kiev, 
 though with rather more undulations on the surface of the 
 country as we approach the banks of the Dnieper. Those 
 about Kiev may be styled hills ; and are formed by the 
 torrents that flow into the above-mentioned river, creating 
 in their course a number of ravines. After crossing the 
 Dnieper at Kiev, the country continues level the whole way 
 to Orel, except here and there a few gently rising slopes ; 
 but there is extremely little wood, though the scenery is 
 not quite so barren as that south of the Dnieper. Here 
 there is little variety of prospect, therefore, to amuse the 
 traveller excepting the common appearances of a regular 
 Russian winter, the blue expanse of heaven above, with 
 the woodless snow-clad earth beneath, and the clear pale 
 powerless lunar-like rays of the sun shed over it; spotted 
 with hamlets and villages, often at many miles distance 
 from each other, and nearly concealed from view by 
 winters revengeful robe ; now and then a chain of sledges 
 traverses the scene, and at the twilight seems to be 
 moving in the air, so singularly does the united line of 
 snow and sky deceive the eye of the beholder ; or perhaps 
 the sound of a fellow-travellers bell is heard tinkling, as 
 he draws near. This precaution is adopted to prevent 
 accidents in the night, as the movement of the sledge 
 upon the snow, like that of a ship upon the sea, gives no 
 indication of its approach.' 
 
 Such is the monotonous scenery which presents itself to 
 the traveller in Russia everywhere during winter, But the 
 intensity of the cold, and its invigorating effects upon animal 
 life, seems to make every living creature to move with greater 
 celerity ; and in general 1 have observed the Russians 
 give greater demonstrations of joy at the commencement 
 of winter than at the opening of spring. 
 
PART IV. 
 
 TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 
 
 IN M. Polytaief s account of forests on the Dnieper, it is 
 stated that from the government of Volhinia the forest 
 produce is sent to Riga and Prussia, with which there is 
 river communication. 
 
 Lithuania is situated on the water shed between the 
 valleys of the Black Sea and the Baltic ; the Ukraine is 
 situated entirely on the former ; Poland almost entirely 
 on the latter. While much of the timber yielded by these 
 countries is conveyed by the Dnieper to the south of 
 Russia, and much of what is produced by Lithuania and 
 Poland is conveyed to Central Europe by rail, much also 
 is exported from Dantzig, Konigsberg, Memel, and Riga. 
 From Poland much of the timber is conveyed by the 
 Vistula to Dantzig. 
 
 Of later exports of timber from this port I have no 
 information. But from a report made to the Commissioner 
 of Crown Lands in Quebec by Mr William Quinn, 
 Supervisor of Cutters, compiled from notes collected by 
 him on a mission to Europe, we learn that 
 
236 
 
 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
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FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
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UMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 
 
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 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
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 TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 241 
 
 Mr Quino had letters of introduction to Her Majesty's 
 Consul General in Dantzig, and to the several mercantile 
 houses engaged in the trade. He reports 
 
 ' All those parties seemed earnestly inclined to afford 
 n. e all the information possible relative to the trade of 
 this port. They are straightforward, open, and candid 
 men, and did not appear to have anything to conceal of a 
 general character with respect to the business. They all 
 complain that the standing timber is fast disappearing, 
 that it is rising in price at each and every succeeding sale, 
 and that the distance they have to haul is constantly 
 increasing. Mr Grade, of the firm of Messrs Albrecht & 
 Co., said timber not requiring to be hauled more than 12 
 to 15 English miles is considered handy to the river. To 
 have to haul 6 to 8 German miles (30 to 40 English) is by no 
 means unusual. Afterwards it has to be driven a great 
 distance by a tortuous, tedious, and expensive route. A 
 great proportion of the lumber brought to this market is 
 made a long way to the south and south-east of Warsaw, 
 and much of it is brought from Galicia, in Austrian 
 Poland. The general custom of selling the standing 
 timber is as follows : A certain limit or circuit is sold, 
 which is supposed to contain a specified number of trees, 
 suitable to be made into timber, for a slump sum or for so 
 much per tree. The number of trees is generally over- 
 rated, but such is the competition among purchasers that 
 they submit to this. The purchaser is bound to take off 
 the quantity within a given time, if to be found ; but in 
 no case is any deduction made. He is not allowed to 
 take more than the number stipulated for, should they 
 even be there, without paying additionally for them. 
 Every tree which is cut down counts, whether rotten or 
 otherwise. I went with Mr Albrecht and looked over 
 all the lumber in the river, down to the harbour. There 
 was but little remaining after the spring shipments, and 
 none of the new timber had then arrived. It was 
 expected in a few days. The timber is separated into 
 three classes 1st, 2nd, 3rd. Mr Albrecht told rne that to 
 
 R 
 
242 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 get any considerable quantity of first quality is very 
 difficult and expensive, and scarcely any of it is to be had 
 without having to be hauled 30 or 40 English miles. The 
 value of first quality redwood here at present is 55s. per 
 load, free on board ; 2nd, 45s. ; 3rd class about 41s. per 
 load. The freights just then were very low, not more 
 than 15s. per load to the east coast of England. Large 
 quantities of redwood are now being sawn up by the 
 different establishments here into deck plank for the 
 English and French Governments. The prices paid by 
 the French Government are for 1st quality 21s. sterling 
 for 40 feet long, 3 inches thick, and 9 inches broad ; and 
 two-thirds that amount for 2nd quality. There must not 
 be any pith in those planks, and they must show heart- 
 wood the whole length, of at least 7 inches wide. 1 find 
 that the production of last winter does not exceed that of 
 the previous year. A considerable quantity of redwood is 
 also being prepared here, intended for the defences at 
 Southampton, England. The pieces are all to be 35 feet 
 long, 12 inches square, and to show a certain amount of 
 heartwood on all sides. The price to be paid is 65s. per 
 load, free on board a price with which the sellers seem 
 well satisfied. The timber purchased from the Prussian 
 Government in almost all cases is cut down and squared 
 at their expense. A portion of the timber is also got out 
 round the full length of the trees. It is then sold by 
 public auction the square timber by the foot, the round 
 timber by the piece. The latter timber is brought down 
 without being squared, and part of it shipped as spars. 
 The remainder is sawn and manufactured into different 
 descriptions of scantling.' 
 
 In Britain we hear as much or more of Dantzic wheat 
 as of Dantzic timber. The wheat is not produced in 
 the vicinity of Dantzic, but is brought thither from a 
 great distance some of it from the south of Russia, and 
 the transport barges make a demand upon the product of 
 the forests in Lithuania and Poland, which is by no 
 
FOREST EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 243 
 
 means inconsiderable. In Fullarton's Gazetteer I find it 
 stated : 
 
 ' Dantzic has long been regarded as one of the principal 
 granaries of Europe. It was at one time the only port 
 from which shipments were made to foreign countries of 
 the wheat sent down by the Vistula ; and although of late 
 years exportation has also taken place to a considerable 
 extent from Elbing, Riga, and Memel, yet Dantzic still 
 enjoys the greater portion of this trade, exporting 
 occasionally 500,000 quarters of wheat in the year, besides 
 flour, rye, barley, meal, oats, arid pease. There are two modes 
 of conveying wheat to Dantzic by the Vistula. That which 
 grows near the lower parts of the river comprehending 
 Polish Prussia, and part of the province of Plock, and of 
 Masovia, in the kingdom of Poland which is generally 
 of an inferior quality, is conveyed in covered boats, with 
 shifting-boards that protect the cargo from the rain but 
 not from, pilfering. These vessels are long, and draw about 
 15 inches water, and bring about 150 quarters. They are 
 not, however, so well calculated for the upper parts of the 
 river. From Cracow, where the Vistula first becomes 
 navigable, to below the junction of the Bug with that 
 stream, the wheat is mostly conveyed to Dantzic in open 
 flats. These are constructed on the banks, in seasons of 
 leisure, on spots far from the ordinary reach of the water, 
 but which, when the rains of autumn, or the melted snow 
 of the Carpathian mountains in the spring, fill and overflow 
 the river, are easily floated. Barges of this description 
 are about 75 feet long, and 20 feet broad, with a depth of 
 2J feet. They are made of fir, rudely put together, and 
 fastened with wooden trenails ; the corners are dovetailed 
 and secured with slight iron clamps, the only iron employed 
 in the construction. A large tree the length of the vessel 
 runs along the bottom, to which the timbers are secured. 
 This roughly cut keelson rises 9 or 10 inches from the 
 floor, and hurdles are laid on it which extend to the sides. 
 They are covered with mats made of rye straw, and serve 
 the purpose of dunnage ; leaving below a space in which 
 
244 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 the water that leaks through the sides and bottom is 
 received. The bulk is kept from the sides and ends of 
 the barge by a similar plan. The water which these 
 ill-constructed and imperfectly caulked vessels receive is 
 dipped out at the end and sides of the bulk of wheat. 
 Vessels of this description draw from 10 to 12 inches of 
 water, and yet they frequently get aground in descending 
 the river. The cargoes usually consist of from 180 to 200 
 quarters of wheat. The grain is thrown on the mats, piled 
 as high as the gunwale, and left uncovered, exposed to 
 all the inclemencies of the weather, and to the pilfering 
 of the crew. During the passage, the barge is carried 
 along by the force of the stream, oars being merely used 
 at the head and stern, to steer clear of the sand-banks, 
 which are numerous and shifting, and to direct the vessel 
 in passing under the several bridges. These vessels are 
 conducted by six or seven men. A small boat precedes with 
 a man in it, who is employed in sounding, in order to avoid 
 the shifting shoals. This mode of navigating is necessarily 
 very slow ; and during the progress of it which lasts 
 several weeks, and even months the rain, if any falls, soon 
 causes the wheat to grow, and the vessel assumes the 
 appearance of a floating meadow. The shooting of the 
 fibres soon forms a thick mat, and prevents the rain from 
 penetrating more than an inch or two. The main bulk is 
 protected by this kind of covering, and when that is thrown 
 aside, is found in tolerable condition. The vessels are 
 broken up at Dantzic and usually sell for about two-thirds 
 of their original cost. The men who conduct them return 
 on foot. When the cargo arrives at Dantzic or at Elbing, 
 all but the grown surface is thrown on the land, spread 
 abroad, exposed to the sun and air, and frequently turned 
 over till any slight moisture that it may have imbibed, is 
 dried. If a shower of rain falls, as well as during the 
 night, the heaps of wheat on the shore are thrown together, 
 in the form of the steep roof of a house, that the rain may 
 run off, and are covered with a linen cloth. It is thus 
 frequently a long time after the wheat has reached Dantzic 
 
TIMBER EXPOKtS BY THE BALTIC. 245 
 
 before it is fit to be placed in the warehouses. The 
 warehouses are very well adapted for storing corn. They 
 consist, generally, of 7 stories, 3 of which are in the roof. 
 The floors are about 9 feet asunder. Each of them is 
 divided by perpendicular partitions, the whole length, 
 about 4 feet high, by which different parcels are kept distinct 
 from each other. Thus the floors have two divisions, each 
 of them capable of storing from 150 to 200 quarters, arid 
 leaving j-ufficient space for turning or screening it. There 
 are abundance of windows in each floor, which are always 
 thrown open in dry weather to ventilate the corn. It is 
 usually turned over three times a- week. The men who 
 perform the operation, throw it with their shovels as high 
 as they can, and thus the grains are separated from each 
 other, and exposed to the drying influence of the air. 
 The whole of the corn warehouses now left for many were 
 burned during the siege of 1814 are capable of storing 
 500,000 quarters of wheat, supposing the parcels to be 
 large enough to fill each of the two divisions of the floors, 
 with a separate heap ; but as. of late years, it has come 
 down from Poland in smaller parcels than formerly, and 
 of more various qualities, which must of necessity be kept 
 distinct, the present stock of about 280,000 quarters is 
 found to occupy nearly the whole of those warehouses 
 which are in repair, or are advantageously situated for 
 loading the ships. Ships are loaded by gangs of porters 
 with great despatch, who will complete a cargo of 500 
 quarters in about three or four hours. [Jacob's Report in 
 1826.] Jn 1845, the exports of wheat were 34,106 lasts. 
 In the beginning of last century rye was the grain chiefty 
 exported from Dantzic. In the preceding century its annual 
 average export of rye amounted to 95,000 lasts. The 
 grain warehouses, and those for linen and hemp, are 
 situated, as already noticed, upon an island, formed by the 
 river Mottlau on one side, and another branch on the other. 
 There are three bridges on each side of the island, which are 
 drawn up at night, excepting the two at the end of the 
 main street across the centre of the island, communicating 
 
246 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 between the Altstadt and the Vorstadt. To guard these 
 warehouses, there are from 20 to 30 dogs let loose at 11 
 o'clock every night. To keep the dogs within these 
 districts, and to protect passengers from harm, at the end 
 of each street leading to the main one there are high gates ; 
 no light is allowed, nor any person permitted to live on 
 this island. 
 
 ' Among the chief exports from Dantzic are masts, 
 corkwood, hemp, flax, potash, honey, wax, tallow, iron, 
 steel, copper, lead, saltpetre, tar, amber, skins, furs, wool, 
 and salt ; but corn and timber have always been, and still 
 are, the staple exports. In 1788, the following estimate 
 was made of its commerce : About 60,000 lasts of corn 
 from Poland were annually exported, amounting, at 18 
 ducats per last, to about 2,080,000 ducats. The wood, 
 masts, potash, hemp, flax, hides, linens, skins, honey, tallow, 
 wax, and tobacco, from Poland and the Ukraine, were 
 valued at nearly the same sum ; making an annual capital 
 of 6,000,000 thalers vested in commerce. The profit upon 
 this sum amounted to about 1,200,000 thalers, from which, 
 deducting 150,000 for taxes, custom-house dues, and 
 interest of money, there remained 900,000 thalers as annual 
 profit. In 1839, the total exports and imports were valued 
 at 13,236,118 thalers, or about 2,200,000. The restrictive 
 duties imposed by Russia have directed much of the 
 produce of the Ukraine and Poland into other channels.' 
 
 From Konigsberg and Memel, Prussian ports east of 
 Dantzig, the timber exports consist largely of the produce 
 of Lithuania. 
 
 At Konigsberg Mr Quinn obtained much information 
 from Mr Hertsel, the British Consul, who had previously 
 resided some time at Memel, and was there engaged 
 in the timber trade. Mr Quinn reports : 
 
 ' He seems to be well acquainted with the affairs of the 
 country, as connected with the lumber trade. He 
 informed me that about one-third of the forest lands 
 which supply this place and Memel belong to the Russian 
 
TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 247 
 
 Government, and about two-thirds to Polish and 
 Russian nobles, and that almost the whole of said supply 
 conies off Russian territory, scarcely any off Prussian. 
 There is scarcely any possibility of arriving at the cost of 
 bringing it to market, the business being altogether in the 
 hands of the Jews, who hitherto had an understanding 
 with the proprietors that the serfs on the estates should 
 be employed in making and bringing it forward, and, 
 consequently, the exporters at these ports neither know 
 or care about the cost of production, not being interested 
 in the same. What effect the emancipation of the serfs 
 will have on the trade remains yet to be developed. The 
 great timber-producing districts are comprised within an 
 area of about 27,000 English square miles a great 
 portion of which has been cut over and over again, besides, 
 there is a population within this circuit of from 1,600,000 
 to 2,000,000, and it is considered one of the best agricul- 
 tural provinces in the Russian empire. From these facts 
 I infer that there is a limit to the timber even in this 
 province. The standing timber is gradually becoming 
 scarce and dear. The distance to haul is increasing, and 
 it is thought that the emancipation of the serfs will have 
 the effect of changing the nature of the trade altogether. 
 In the first place, it is to be expected that much more of 
 the land will be brought under cultivation, and, in the 
 next, the men will not continue to work for the same 
 small pittance they have hitherto been in the habit of 
 receiving. In fact, they seem not to be inclined to work 
 at all. In proof of this assertion I can state that large 
 numbers of Germans, from the province of Pomerania, at 
 the time I was there, were moving to Russia to supply 
 the labour heretofore performed by that class. This 
 change in the condition of the serfs must raise the price 
 of labour, and a corresponding rise in the price of timber, 
 or a diminution in the quantity, must necessarily be the 
 result. Mr Hertsel further informed me that the country 
 is now undergoing such changes that it is hard to say 
 what ultimate effect such changes may produce. One 
 
248 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 thing, however, is certain, that, so far, the effect has been 
 a large diminution in all the products of the country.' 
 
 Mr Quinn subsequently visited Mem el with every 
 provision for obtaining information upon which reliance 
 might be placed. The corroborative information which 
 he there obtained amounts, he says in his report, 
 to the following : 
 
 ' Memel is supplied with lumber from Russia and 
 Poland by the river Nieme, The lumber has such a long 
 distance to be driven that it only reaches the market in 
 September and October, which market is at a place called 
 Russ, about 30 English miles from Memel, situate on the 
 bay which lies between that city and Konigsberg. At 
 Russ the wood is purchased by Mernel merchants, and 
 brought down at their risk and expense in large rafts of 
 1500 to 2000 pieces of square and round timber. When 
 the timber arrives at Memel it is assorted according to 
 quality and the views of the owners. There is a 
 government system of classification, but it is riot 
 compulsory. The different kinds of timber brought to 
 this place are : 
 
 Fir Redwood, square. 
 ,, ,, round. 
 
 ,, White wood, round. 
 
 Oak, square. 
 
 Wainscot Logs. 
 
 Staves. 
 
 ' And in about the following quantities : 
 
 Square Redwood, 12 to 18 inches square, 
 
 20 to 60 feet long ; very few pieces 
 
 of the latter length or size ; general 
 
 average about 30 x 13, 150.000 to 200,000 pcs. an'ly. 
 
 Round do., 150,000 
 
 Whitewood, round, 20,000 ,, 
 
 Square Oak, 10,000 
 
 Wainscot Logs, 4,000 
 
 Staves, about 15,000 shocks of 60 pcs. ea. 
 
 ' The square redwood is classified as under : 
 
 Crown Timber, value at that time, 70s. stg. per load. 
 
 Best Middling, ,, 66s. ,, 
 
 2nd ,, 54s. 
 
TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 249 
 
 'The round wood, both red and white, is cut here by 
 steam and wind-mills into 3 x 11, 3 x 9, 4 x 11, 4 x 9, 2J 
 x 7, and boards 1 to 1J inches thick by 8 to 11 inches in 
 breadth, and all generally of long lengths. They are 
 classified as follows 
 
 Redwood, Crown, was then worth 12 per St. Petersburg std. 
 ,, second quality, , 7 
 
 third 
 Whitewood, Crown, 
 
 second quality, 
 third 
 
 ' The latter deals compete with our spruce in the English 
 market ; but according to my opinion they are not as 
 good, or equal in any respect. I was told by the gentle- 
 men in the trade that a few years ago this whitewood 
 was attacked by an insect, which has almost killed every 
 tree. I have seen a considerable quantity of this kind of 
 lumber in the log, and found it all to be perforated to the 
 heart by grab- worm. 
 
 'Square oak, 12 to 14 inches square, and 20 to 50 feet 
 long, general average, not more than 35 feet cubic, and 
 classified as under 
 
 Crown, was worth at that time 100s, per load. 
 
 Second quality, ,, 90s. ,, 
 
 ' Wainscot logs, in lengths of 9 feet and upwards. This 
 timber is sawn from pretty large trees, must be free from 
 heart, and shaped thus, -To . ) and must be at least 
 
 To 
 
 10 inches deep from the curve to the corner of the large 
 flat surface. 
 
 Crown. The value at that time was 5s. 6d. per foot. 
 Second quality, ,, ,, 3s. 6d. 
 
 ' Staves are ofthe following dimensions 
 
250 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Pipe, 6 feet long, 6x3 inches, ^ 
 
 Brandy 5 
 
 Hogshead, 4 feet long, 6x3 inches, j All reduced to 
 
 Barrel, 3 ,, f 6x6x3 
 
 Heading, long, 2i ft. long, 6 x 3 in.. | 
 
 short, IJ 
 And were then worth, Crown, 140 per 1,200 pieces. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, 1st brack, 115 ,, 
 
 Three pieces long heading counts one. 
 Four ,, short 
 
 * The provinces which supply Memel are Kovno, 
 Augustoo, Bialystock, Vitepsk, Minsk, Wilna, and 
 Volbinia this latter province furnishing or yielding 
 two-thirds of the whole. As far as I can understand, 
 the timber trade is gradually declining here, and although 
 the lumber is becoming scarce, that is not the only 
 reason given for the cause of the trade languishing. The 
 late season at which the timber arrives necessitates the 
 holding over large quantities during winter, which is 
 embarrassing in a monetary point of view. Nevertheless, 
 at that time in Memel, as well as in the other ports in 
 the Baltic, the people were as busy as possible sawing and 
 preparing timber for the French Government, and 
 complained that they were not able to get it fast enough. 
 
 'The following were the prices of lumber, free on board, 
 at Memel in March 1861 
 
 Crown Fir Timber, 12 in. ( 25 feet average, at 70s. Od. per load. 
 
 11 68s. Od. 
 
 First Midlg, 
 Second 
 Inferior ,, 
 
 26 64s. Od. 
 
 62s. 6d. 
 
 27 54s. Od. 
 
 ...52s. 6d. 
 
 25 45s. 6d. 
 
 Oak Timber. Crown, 100s. Od., Second quality, 90s. Od. per 50 run'g ft. 
 
 Wainscot Logs Crown, 5s. 6d., 3s. 6d. per run'g foot. 
 
 Deals, 3 x 10^-1 Iths and 3x9 inch, averaging 17 to 18 feet. 
 Red, Crown, 12 ; Seconds, 7 ; Thirds, 6 6s. Od. ) per 750 run'g. ft. 
 White, 7 66s. 55s. Od. \ 3x lO^-llths in. 
 
 Staves. Crown Pipe, 150, 1st Brack, .. 125 Os, Od. per 1,200 pieces. 
 
 Memel, a Prussian port, is situated not far from the 
 
TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 251 
 
 frontier, where it is conterminous with the Russian 
 province of Courland. 
 
 At about the same distance along the coast, within this 
 province is Liban, destined it may be to be ere long, 
 through the increase and extension of railways in Russia, 
 the one great Russian commercial port on the Baltic. 
 
 Meanwhile Riga, at the head of the sheltered 
 gulf to which it gives its name, and situated at the 
 mouth of the river Dwina, in Polish Dzwina, is the great 
 Russian port for the export of timber from the territory 
 traversed by that river, chiefly Lithuania. This river must 
 not be confounded with the Dwina in the northern govern- 
 ment of Archangel. 
 
 One of my correspondents connected with the timber 
 trade in Riga wrote to me in answer to enquiries I had 
 addressed to him * As to the forests of the Baltic pro- 
 vinces, strictly speaking they are nearly all cut down, at 
 least the larger sized trees are, and those now obtained 
 have in many cases to be transported a distance of some 
 20 or 30 versts (14 or 20 miles), on axle or sledge. In 
 general the latter mode of conveyance is preferred, as it is 
 the cheaper of the two. From this you will perceive that 
 a good deal depends on the kind of winter we have, as 
 good sledge roads are desirable for the transport of timber 
 to the edge of the water, by which it is floated down in 
 spring at the breaking up of the ice. This department of 
 the trade, I may mention, is almost entirely in the hands 
 of the Israelites.' He goes on to say ' To give you some 
 idea of the extent of the timber trade in this place I may 
 mention that there are annually exported about 
 2J,000,000 of railway sleepers, and about 300,000 logs of 
 square timber, which are hewn in the forests, all the 
 chips and branches of which remain there to rot, and 
 make manure for the nexfc forest that grows in their place. 
 There is no attempt made to clean out such refuse, in fact 
 there is no fostering care whatever employed in such 
 things, it is entirely left to nature. Anything can be 
 made, such as squared timber, railway sleepers, &c., and it 
 
-'52 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 is a very rare thing indeed to replace any of the forests 
 that have been so wrought out, by planting young trees 
 in their stead ; nature is allowed to do that herself, and 
 of course will accomplish it in a series of years. There 
 are still a few forests in these provinces held by the 
 crown, the first cost of which is so high that at present 
 prices it almost precludes merchants from working them 
 to advantage. 
 
 ' The most of the timber exported from Riga at the 
 present time comes from the provinces of Smolensk arid 
 Vitepsk, along the banks of the river Dwina and its 
 tributaries, but owing to the great distances at which 
 some of the woods are situated from water communication 
 with the river there is a good deal of extra expense 
 incurred for the transport, and this is increasing yearly, con- 
 sequently the price of timber is getting much higher to 
 work out this one problem. In addition to the above 
 exports there is another large demand which must make a 
 big hole in the woods yearly, viz. : There are 1 J,000,000 of 
 fir logs, averaging 24 feet in length, rafted down from the 
 above-mentioned provinces annually, and cut up into 3 
 inch planks and boards, and exported to England, France, 
 Belgium, Holland, and Germany. Notwithstanding these 
 great quantities, I am told the increasing demands can be 
 met for a great many years to come, subject to an 
 increase in price owing to the extra transport by water 
 communication, which is indispensable to the trade. 
 
 * As to the titles of official reports or documents issued 
 by the Government there is no one here can enlighten 
 me on the subject, all saying they never heard of any 
 such things. 
 
 There are no wholesale joinery establishments here at 
 present, but formerly there was one in connection with a 
 large saw-mill which was burned down about 18 months 
 ago ; and that part was not rebuilt, as it was considered by 
 the proprietors to be a bad speculation.' 
 
 1 was supplied with a copy of a report by Mr A. 
 
TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 253 
 
 Kauffman, which had appeared in the Rijscomy Cbaesdy 
 Laesochozaaev, and of which the following is the substance. 
 It is headed: To what extent is the Export Wood Trade 
 from Higa in the future warranted hy {he Present Condition 
 and Management of the Forests in the West Dwina 
 Districts. 
 
 'The writer of this report thinks it necessary in order 
 properly to treat the question of the future supply of 
 wood for export trade, not to confine himself strictly to 
 the consideration of the present supply of the west 
 Dwina district sent to the port of Riga, but to embrace 
 the principal sources of supply on the Baltic and Black 
 Sea, to which wood is conveyed to, and exported iron), 
 the ports of Memel, Dantzig, and Stettin in short, to 
 consider the whole export supply of the west and south- 
 west country of the Dwina. Jn order to this, it is 
 necessary at the same time to remember and to state the 
 different branches of the home trade which derive their 
 supply from these sources, these are the Kherson port 
 arid the Crimea; the arsenals and waggon factories of 
 St Petersburg and Riga; and railway materials for their own 
 and the southern net- work of railways. And over and 
 above this there has to be considered the wood that is used 
 by the inhabitants of these districts for building purposes, 
 together with the enormous quantity used as fuel/ 
 
 There is given a tabulated statement of the quantity 
 and description of materials sent to the ports of Riga, 
 Memel, and Dantzig, on the average of the past three 
 years, and the overland exports for one season ; and with 
 this there is given the number of trees (arranged 
 according to their respective ages) that were cut down 
 in one winter to supply this quantity. 
 
 The following is a summary of exports : 
 
 (1.) TREES OF MATURE GROWTH. 
 
 No. of trees. Cubic feet. 
 
 Pine and fir wood from 140 to 250 years old,... 1,250,450 = 50,018,000 
 Oak 120 260 and over. 373,600 = 30,548,000 
 
254 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 (2.) TREES OF MIDDLE GROWTH. 
 
 No. of Trees. Cubic feet 
 
 Pine and fir wood, from 100 to 140 yrs. old & over 1,439,800 - 43,194,000 
 Oak, ,, 120 ,, 160 ,, 503,200 = 20,128,000 
 
 (3.) YOUNG TREES. 
 
 Pine and fir, from 40 to 100 years old and over, 1,650,000 = 24,750,000 
 Oak 60 ,,120 700,000 = 11,900,000 
 
 (4.) UNDERGROUND. 
 
 Pine and fir, from 15 to 40 years old 2,550,000 = 15,300,000 
 
 Oak, 25,, 60 900,000= 9,050,000 
 
 Total, 9,373,050 = 194,898,000 
 
 There are then given the details and description of the 
 wood used for home trade, and the respective quantities 
 sent to such places as St Petersburg, Odessa, NicolaiefT, 
 &c., in one year, the summary of which is given as 
 follows : 
 
 HOME CONSUMPTION. 
 
 TREES OF MATURE AGE. 
 
 No. of trees. Cubic feet. 
 
 Pine and fir, from 140 to 170 years old, 579,000 = 20,265,000 
 
 Oak, 160 300 13,500 = 9,940,500 
 
 TREES OF MIDDLE GROWTH. 
 
 Pine and fir, from 100 to 140 years old, 559,000 = 16,810,000 
 
 Oak, 120 ,, 160 58,000 = 2,352,000 
 
 YOUNG TREES. 
 
 Pine and fir, from 40 to 100 years old, 677,000 = 10.155,000 
 
 Oak, ,, 60 120 , 400,000 = 6,800,000 
 
 UNDERGROWTH. 
 
 Pine and fir, from 15 to 40 years old, 1,056,000 = 6,396.000 
 
 Oak, 25 26 ,, 1,000,000=10,000,000 
 
 Total, 4,353,300 = 82,718,800 
 
 Having given these statistics, the writer goes on to 
 show how grave the consequences of the present system 
 of indiscriminate and wholesale destruction of the forests 
 must inevitably prove, and urges that immediate 
 measures should be taken to prevent further devastation. 
 He states it emphatically as his opinion that if the whole of 
 the trees in these districts, of the first and second 
 growths which form the staple of the export trade 
 
TIMBER EXPORTS BY THE BALTIC. 255 
 
 were to be divided by the number exported in one year 
 it would be seen that the export supply would not 
 possibly be sustained for a period of ten years. Taking a 
 retrospective view, he states that in the year 1859 the 
 exports of wood amounted to the value of 4,500,000 
 roubles, in ten years from which time it had increased to 
 15,000,000 roubles, and it has gradually gone on increasing 
 during the past five years thanks to the abolition of the 
 duty till it had in the preceding year reached the enormous 
 sum of 32,000,000 roubles. Calculations are then entered 
 into to prove that if the present system of the management 
 of fortsts be persisted in, the utter annihilation of all the 
 forests of the west and south-west country of the Dwina 
 within the period of fifty years is inevitable. The rest 
 of the report is taken up in an endeavour to prove to the 
 owners of these large estates, &c., that their interests will 
 in no way suffer by Government supervision interfering 
 with the management of their forests, but that this will 
 rather be the means of adding to the value of their property 
 by increasing the price of wood, &c. 
 
 In an article in Le Marchandde Bois on the lumber trade 
 of Riga, it is stated : ' Of the ports of the Baltic 
 provinces, Riga exports more lumber and timber than all 
 the others, consequently a statement of the amount of the 
 trade done at Riga will give some idea of the extent of 
 the lumber trade of Russia in Europe. The details of 
 the exports of Riga for a series of years, from 1871 to 
 1882, are taken from a recent official document issued 
 from the bureau of commerce. The timber and lumber 
 reaches Riga by the Dwina and its tributaries, and 
 comes from the provinces of Livonia, Esthonia, Courland, 
 Mohilev, and Minsk, in Lithuania. Notwithstanding the 
 extensive devastation of the forests, carried on with no 
 assurance of their renewal, the vast forests which formerly 
 covered these provinces yet contain large reserves of 
 timber of the best quality, but their continued depletion, 
 with no provisions made for their future restoration, 
 
FORESTRY 
 
 256 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 should give rise to serious apprehension. The transport of 
 the wood from the forests to the rivers, which is made by 
 log waggons during the snows and frosts of the winter 
 season, is attended with increased difficulties and cost 
 when the winters are usually rainy, which is quite 
 common ; and the transport by water is also difficult 
 on account of the shallowness of the waters and the 
 strength of the currents ; and in addition to this it is 
 peculiarly difficult to safely run the rafts which are con- 
 structed to suit the special navigation of the streams. 
 The large timbers are bound together and form the raft 
 proper. On these are then placed laths, staves, clapboard, 
 &c. It is said the manufactured stuffs brought to market 
 in this way are limited in quantity. This is to be 
 regretted, as persons who are acquainted with, the interior 
 of Russia state that it would be much to the interest of 
 the proprietors if they would prepare on their places in 
 the interior the greater portion of the flooring, laths, 
 deals, scantling, &c., as it is well known that large 
 quantities of timber useful for these purposes are left to 
 rot. It is also stated that the debris left by the loggers 
 in the pine forests might be profitably distilled. But to 
 bring about such necessary improvements and progress, 
 the interior must have the benefit of better methods of 
 communication with the markets than by the inefficient 
 and tedious rafting system. 
 
 ' The rafts are formed on the ice before it begins to 
 break up, in order that advantage may be taken of the 
 first rising of the waters. When this occurs the rafts 
 usually arrive at Riga from eight to fifteen days thereafter. 
 
 ' During the period above mentioned, from 1871 to 1882, 
 there were exported from Riga 87,377,512 pieces of timber 
 and lumber, or an average of 7,281,456 pieces per annum. 
 The progress made in this trade since 1&71 is shown by 
 the fact that in that year only 4,542,155 pieces were 
 exported ; whereas, in 1882, 9,184,199 pieces were exported. 
 
 ' The total value, in silver, of the wood exported in that 
 time was 122,342,708 roubles ; a yearly average of 
 
TIMBER EXPORTS B 
 
 10,195,225 roubles. The value of^K'exports of 1882 
 placed at 12,911,072 dollars. A sm^r^rouble is worth 
 about two shillings at present. 
 
 'Of the leading articles exported during the twelve 
 years, there were in pieces, 3,651,095 staves and clapboards ; 
 30,382,566 sleepers ; 49,491,155 posts and flooring. With 
 the exception of 47,769 pieces shipped to Africa, the 
 whole amount was cleared for European ports. England 
 received 587 per cent, of the total exports ; Holland, 14*1 ; 
 Germany, lO'l ; France, 86 ; Belgium, '5 ; and Portugal, 2*2 
 per cent. The balance was taken by Denmark, Sweden, 
 Norway, Spain, and Italy. During the year 1882 the aver- 
 age freight charges, per St. Petersburg standard, to French 
 ports were as follows: Dunkirk, Boulogne, and Dieppe 
 9 dols. to 9'50 dols. ; to Havre, Honefleur, and Rome. 
 10-50 dols. to 11-50 dols. 
 
 ' On the whole, the timber and timber trade of Riga 
 for the past several years has made notable progress, and 
 the movement in 1882 was especially favourable. The 
 trade of France with this port, though not nearly so heavy 
 as that with Norway, is yet of no mean importance, as 
 the transactions for 1882 reached the sum of 835,000 
 dols., and it is susceptible of considerable expansion.' 
 
 Further to the east, on the Gulf of Kinland, are the 
 ports of Revel, Narva, and Cronstadt, from all of which 
 there is an export of forest produce, but this is not to 
 any great extent, if at all, derived from Lithuania. 
 
 The following memorandum supplied by Mr Quinn, in 
 regard to charges made at the time of his visit (1860), 
 for the transport of wood from ports which have been 
 named, and from Windau and Pillau may be useful for 
 purposes of comparision : 
 
 Cronstadt to London, deals 40s. Od. per std. 
 
 to Exmouth Bight, deals, ... ) 47s. 6d. 
 
 or to Shoreham, \ 47s. 6d. ,, 
 
 Narva Bay to London, deals and timber, 57s. 6d. ,, 
 
 to East Coast, deals, 55s. Od. 
 
258 
 
 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 Narva Bay to Grimsby, deals, 1 52s. 6d. per std. 
 
 Or square sleepers, V 17s. 6d. per load. 
 
 Or round ,, ) 19s. 6d. ,, 
 
 to West Hartlepool, square 
 
 sleepers, ) 15s. 6d. ,, 
 
 Deals, I 47s. 6d. per std. 
 
 Option desired of Grimsby ) 17s. 6d. per load. 
 Riga Town (Bolderaa) to London, square 
 
 sleepers or fir timber, 21s. Od. ,, 
 
 to W. Hartlepool or Tyne Dock, ) 17s. Od. ,, 
 
 Or square sleepers, \ 20s. Od. ,, 
 
 ,, (Belderan) to a dockyard in 
 
 Thames, timber, [ 21s. Od. 
 
 And masts, ) 24s. Od. 
 
 ,, to Portsmouth, timber, j 23s. Od. ,, 
 
 Masts f 26s. Od. 
 
 Libau to London, timber, deals, or 
 
 square sleepers, 19s. Od. ,, 
 
 Windau to London, Hull, or Grimsby, 
 
 timber or square sleepers, ... 17s. Od. ,, 
 
 Memel to London, staves 17 Os. Od. per millo 
 
 Or to Grimsby, 15 Os. Od, ,, 
 
 Or to Liverpool, 18 Os. Od. ,, 
 
 ,, or East Coast, timber 
 
 and square sleepers... 17s. Od. per load. 
 
 ,, Chester, timber, ) 20s. Od. ,, 
 
 Or to Dublin, sq. sleepers... V 20s. Od. ,, 
 
 Round sleepers, ) 22s. Od. 
 
 ,, Torquay, timber and deals, 18s. 6d. ,, 
 
 ,, English Channel, between Dover 
 
 and Southampton, 18s. 6d. ,, 
 
 ,, British Channel, timber or 
 
 square sleepers, 19s. Od. to 19s 6d. ,, 
 
 Wexford, 200 loads timber, 23s. Od. to 24s. Od. 
 
 ,, Table Bay, orAlgoaBay, deals, 7 15s. Od. 
 
 Or Dantzig to Newport or Car- 
 diff, sq. sleepers or tim.,) 19s. Od. to 23s. Od. ,, 
 
 Or round sleepers, at f 20s. Od. , , 
 
 Pillau to Combwich Pill, sq. sleepers... ) 21s. Od. 
 
 Or to Drogheda, \ 22s. Od. 
 
 Dantzig to London or East Coast, timber 
 
 or square sleepers, 16s. 6d. ., 
 
 Sunderland or a Coal Port, ) 
 
 oak timber, } 18s. Od. ,, 
 
 Or to Hull, ) 20s. Od. ,, 
 
 ,, Shoreham, ... j 18s. Od. 
 
 Or toMilford, timber [ 11s. Od. 
 
 Or to Bristol, ) 19s. Od. 
 
 Or to Truro, timber 19s. Od. ,, 
 
PART V. 
 
 BALTIC PROVINCES OF RUSSIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 FOREST LANDS. 
 
 A POPULAR name by which the Pinus silvestris is more 
 extensively known than it is by the name of Scotch fir, 
 is the Riga pine; but this latter designation is associated 
 with tall straight trunks, such as are fitted for being used 
 as masts and booms, while the former is associated with 
 what, compared with these, seem dwarfed shrub-like 
 trees unsuitable for such applications. 
 
 It is from the place of export that it has received that 
 designation. Most of the timber exported thence, as has 
 been mentioned, is brought thither from the provinces 
 of Smolensk and Vitepsk, but some of it is the produce 
 of the Baltic provinces of Russia. These are generally 
 described as being three in number. 
 
 Conterminous with the government of Kovno, in 
 Lithuania, situated between it and the Baltic, and the 
 Gulf of Riga, is Courland. To the east of this, separated 
 from it by the Dwina, lying between the north-western 
 boundary of Vitepsk and the Gulf of Riga, is Livonia; 
 and to the north of this, between this and the Gulf of 
 Finland, is Estonia. 
 
 Limited and compressed as Estonia or Est-land, the 
 land of the Ests, may now be, that tribe represents the 
 primitive people inhabiting the whole of this region 
 
260 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 previous to the settlement within its bounds of the 
 dominating German population. 
 
 Three, if not four, or more distinct tribes resident 
 here are represented by these Ests, while a fourth allied 
 family or tribe the Fins are found on the northern shores 
 of this arm of the Baltic, inhabiting still the whole land 
 between Russia and the Gulf of Bothnia, and giving 
 their name to that territory. The Ests, or a large portion of 
 them, and their territory constituted from the thirteenth to 
 the fifteenth century a federal state, acknowledging the 
 Roman Emperor and the Pope as its paramount lords and 
 supreme heads. And the people differ as manifestly 
 from the Lithuanian and Polish people of the adjacent 
 provinces as they do from the Russians, whose empire 
 extends over all. 
 
 Lithuania is frequently spoken of as a Polish colony, and 
 I have no reason to doubt the correctness of the supposition 
 that many of the more energetic Polish people penetrated 
 into the country, contiguous as it is to their own, and in 
 course of time became the dominant race. Something 
 similar has occurred here the dominant race is com- 
 posed of the descendants of German emigrants, who, 
 in turn, are being dominated by Russia. 
 
 Including the outlying islands, these provinces cover 
 an area of 1 ,754 German miles, and comprise a population 
 numbering about 1,850.000. 
 
 Courland is described as a flat country, interspersed with 
 sand hills, extensive heaths and marshes, and patches of 
 cultivated land, intersected by two ranges of hills running 
 east and west. About two-thirds of the surface are 
 covered with noble forests of pine and fir, interspersed 
 occasionally with groves of oak. Game is abundant ; and 
 deer, bears, wolves, lynxes, and martins, haunt the 
 forests. Agriculture and the rearing of cattle are the 
 leading branches of industry. 
 
 According to official returns, which I obtained some 
 years ago, in Oourland the total area of forests is 851,000 
 
FOREST LANDS. 261 
 
 desatins, the area of crown forests is 458,963 desatins, 
 giving for every square verst 35 '4 desatins of forests, and 
 19 desatins of crown forests giving 1*4 desatins of the 
 former, and '7 desatins of the latter, for every inhabitant 
 of the province. The annual fellings in the crown 
 forests yield 61 '8 cubic feet of wood, and 52 roubles 9 
 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 On crossing the Dwina, travelling eastward, we enter 
 Livonia, a province, the physical aspect of which is 
 different, and also the people, who manifest more of an 
 Estonian character, while their language is designated 
 Dorpat Estonian, in contradistinction to that spoken in 
 Estonia, which is designated Revel Estonian. 
 
 According to official returns which I obtained at the 
 same time with those already cited, the total area of 
 forests in Livonia is 1,896,000 desatins ; the area of crown 
 forests is 195,711 desatins ; giving for every square verst 
 47'4 desatins of the former, and 4'8 desatins of the latter, 
 and giving 1/9 desatins of the former, and 0*2 desatins of 
 the latter for every inhabitant of the province. The 
 annual fellings in the crown forests yield 30'7 cubic feet 
 of fuel ; and the revenue is 32 roubles 1 kopec per desatin. 
 
 By a boundary imperceptible to the passing stranger is 
 Livonia separated from Estonia, the province situated 
 further to the east, with Revel for its capital. 
 
 In Estonia the total area of forests is 450,000 desatins, 
 the area of crown forests is 4,556 desatins, giving for 
 every square verst of territory 26 4 desatins of forests and 
 0*2 desatins of crown forests, and giving 1*3 desatins of 
 the former and 01 desatins of the latter for every inhabi- 
 tant of the province. The annual fellings in the crown 
 forests yield 44 2 cubic feet, and the revenue is 20 roubles 
 6 kopecs per desatin. 
 
 Both in Courland and Estonia are extensive forests of the 
 lime tree, and these have given rise to much local 
 industry, but, as has been intimated, there are also forests 
 yielding both forest timber and firewood. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 FOREST ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 As has been stated, the administration of the management 
 of forests in Russia constitutes a special department of the 
 Ministry of Imperial domains. But there are in different 
 parts of the Empire forests which were formerly, and still 
 continue to be, under the supervision of special depart- 
 ments of the administration. Thus has it been with the 
 government forests in the Baltic Provinces. In a 
 codification of the then existing forest laws of the Empire, 
 issued in 1857, it was enjoined in regard to the fourth 
 division of the admiralty forests in the Baltic district : 
 
 * 336. The admiralty forests of the Baltic district 
 are supervised by a board of management, 
 similar to the boards of other districts. 
 
 337. The members of this board are determined by the 
 
 authorities. The requisite number of forest 
 officials and warders, for the improvement and 
 protection of the woods, are appointed by the 
 board of managers. 
 
 338. The Board is located in the town of Vytegra, as the 
 
 most suitable for its duties ; but the Ministry of 
 Imperial Domains may appoint any other town as 
 the seat of the board. 
 
 339. The principal duties of the board are : 
 
 1. Supervision of admiralty woods and forests, 
 
 which will be placed under its sole control and 
 management, in the governments of Olonetz, 
 Novgorod, and St Petersburg. 
 
 2. Preparation of leaved and other timber in the 
 
 government of Olonetz for the port of St 
 Petersburg. 
 
ADMINISTRATION. 263 
 
 3. The allotment of civil forests, as well out of 
 
 the district as out of the government forests, 
 for the ports of Revel and St Petersburg. 
 
 4. Preparation of timber (a) in Courland and the 
 
 island of Osel ; (6) on the Dwina, until the 
 appointment of the western board of manage- 
 ment; (c) along the Nieman river, from the 
 confluence of the same with the Windau 
 canal ; (d) from Finland, should such prepara- 
 tions be deemed desirable. 
 
 340. The following districts come under the exclusive 
 
 control of the Direction of the Baltic district : 
 
 1. All eastern and northern leaved and other 
 
 forests, from which timber can be conveyed to 
 St Petersburg, after the distribution of lands to 
 peasants, namely, lands producing less remun- 
 erative qualities of timber. 
 
 2. Several wooded districts of St Petersburg 
 government already apportioned to the Morin 
 department. 
 
 3. Forest districts and parks which have to be set 
 
 aside, on account of adaptability for timber 
 being floated down by flowing rivers in 
 Olonetz, Novgorod, and St Petersburg govern- 
 ments, after deduction of lands apportioned to 
 government peasants, and for building of 
 government and private barges, also for saw- 
 mills, and for Olonetz and St Petersburg 
 government foundries. 
 
 341. Out of the remaining portions of forests of this 
 
 district it is permitted to prepare timber for 
 building of ships, according to requirements, 
 but without exhausting the forests. The timber 
 requisite for government building purposes at 
 Revel is to be furnished as far as practicable from 
 government forests. 
 
 342. As regards management and improvement of forests, 
 
 the division of the same into forest districts, and 
 
264 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 the preparation of building timber, the board of 
 management will be guided in its action by 
 
 1. Rules existing for other Admiralty forest 
 
 districts. 
 
 2. Rules issued to the existing commission of 
 
 Pudosk town, and pre-sketched in code, &c., 
 of Department of goverment forests. 
 
 3. General forest laws. 
 
 The Department of admiralty forests is, however, 
 directed to issue, without loss of time, a codex for 
 the Baltic districts, with basis of rules existing for 
 northern districts of leaved forests.' 
 
 In Courland there are several forests belonging to the 
 government, and in the codification of the then existing 
 laws in regard to administration and management of forests, 
 the following were published as the laws and regulations 
 relating to these forests, specifications being given of the 
 chapter and section of the law on which each statement 
 was based : 
 
 ' Foundation of Board of Management of Government 
 Forests in the Government of Courland. 
 
 DIVISION I. GENERAL COMPOSITION OF BOARD. 
 
 ' 362. The local management of government forests of Cour- 
 land belongs to that of the Courland Palata Imperial 
 Domains, which manages these forests on strength of 
 rules 867 to 1,050, 1,534 to 1,589, 1,645 to 1,668 of 
 this codex. 
 
 363. In forest districts of Courland there exist, (1) 
 foresters, according to rules of forest corps, as 
 stated in section 70-71 ; (2) foresters and under 
 foresters, with warders and guardians. 
 
 Note. The foresters and foresters' assistants 
 presently existing are to be replaced, on their 
 leaving the service, by students of the forest corps 
 
FOREST ADMINISTRATION. 265 
 
 of the St Petersburg Institute, and these may 
 serve up to grade of Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
 364, All the governments constituting Courland are divided 
 
 into twenty-nine forestries. To each is attached 
 a forester, two under foresters, according to size of 
 district, and two or three warders on horseback. 
 The foresters are appointed by the forest depart- 
 ment of Imperial Domains on recommendation of 
 Palata ; the rest are appointed and dismissed on 
 option of Palata. 
 
 365. Forest warders are appointed to watch over the con- 
 
 servation and security of government forests ; and 
 these are elected from holders of government 
 dairies or farms situated within the limits of the 
 district. The number of these to be fixed by 
 Palata of government domains, subject to approval 
 of local governor, in proportion as lands are 
 planned and mapped out, and the situation 
 becomes permanent ; and in order not to render 
 the situation complicated, they are to be excluded 
 from register of proprietors, for the time being, and 
 to be subject to the foresters, whose fields and 
 meadows they are required to till and cultivate. 
 In this office are to be placed only the best, 
 sober, and best behaved peasants, who are 
 irremovable from their position, and can only lose 
 their situation through bad behaviour and faults, 
 in which case their place is to be filled by others, by 
 arrangement of the Palata with the occupant for 
 the time being, and on the approval of the local 
 governor of the government. 
 
 The forest warders pay in the government 
 taxes to the forester, and the money due to the 
 owner for the time being they pay to the latter by 
 inventory the so-called wakengeld which money, 
 on the separation of the forest warders from the 
 dairies, is not to be deducted from the inventory ; 
 and the foresters pay over, or send those monies 
 to where they belong. 
 
266 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 366. The exclusion of the forest warders from the lists of 
 
 proprietors for the time being is to be effected 
 at the close of the terms of rental, but should it 
 be necessary to relieve certain warders from their 
 duties towards the proprietors for the time being 
 before the term, then the Palata of Imperial domains 
 must, having solicited permission from the 
 governor, notify the forest department of Imperial 
 domains of the contemplated act, in order that the 
 minister of these domains may, in reference to the 
 government Palata, settle accounts with the 
 holder of the dairy or farm, and reduce the rental 
 in proportion. 
 
 Of Duties and Emoluments of Foresters and Under Foresters, 
 and other Forest Servants. 
 
 367. Foresters, under foresters, and warders on horseback, 
 
 have their houses situated on lands belonging to 
 the government forests. Each forester (apparently 
 superior officer) has 10 desatins of arable land 
 allowed him, and meadows that yield 100 loads 
 (or 30 poods) of hay. Under foresters are allowed 
 one- half the allowance of a forester. The horse 
 warders are allowed 3 desatins, and of hay 25 
 cart loads. Besides this, the foresters are allowed 
 5 per cent, of the gross income of their circuit, and in 
 case of their exerting themselves, they may receive 
 extra remuneration. 
 
 368. The Palata of Imperial domains is to assign a 
 
 sufficient quantity of timber for the building 
 and repair of foresters', under foresters', and 
 warders' houses. The requisite supplies of work- 
 men are furnished from the government farms, which 
 receive building timber and firewood from the 
 forest circuit. The interior or ornamental work of 
 their house is to be done by the foresters, &c., but 
 this alone at their own expense. The sum expended 
 
FOREST ADMINISTRATION. 267 
 
 is to be charged to the individual on the basis of a 
 twenty years' service, so that if a forester or under 
 forester, &c., leave the service, he will be charged 
 for the value of the house for as many years as he 
 has not served of the number of twenty years; 
 and the new comer is bound to pay his prede- 
 cessor, who has vacated by reason of death or 
 otherwise, for the remaining years up to the full 
 twenty years. For this reason the forester is 
 bound to give to the Palata of Imperial domains 
 an account of the sum expended in building his 
 house. 
 
 Note. The foresters, &c.. of the Baltic provinces, 
 are not subject to these rules, as houses, &c., are 
 furnished to them on other conditions. 
 
 369. The cultivation of the fields and hay fields of the 
 
 foresters and under foresters is the duty of the 
 forest warders, inasmuch as these warders seldom 
 cultivate more than one desatin for themselves, 
 but the work of ploughing, reaping, and har- 
 vesting cannot be executed by the warders alone. 
 Therefore the Palata of Imperial domains is 
 required to calculate, on the basis of the amount of 
 land and the number of forest warders, how much 
 land each forester and under forester has unculti- 
 vated, in order that the necessary workmen may 
 be sent from the government farms, which receive 
 assistance in timber and firewood. On the basis 
 of this calculation of ploughed land, hay-fields, 
 and corn lands, the Palata sues for and allots all 
 the work and working days between the govern- 
 ment farms in proportion to the number of 
 peasants' houses. 
 
 370. The warders on horseback mounted warders are 
 
 bound to till their own fields. 
 
 371. The Palata of Imperial domains is diligently to see 
 
 that foresters and under foresters do not exact too 
 many duties according to schedule from the 
 
268 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 forest warders, nor demand too much assist- 
 ance from government farms, in order that all the 
 labour may be done according to correct time. 
 
 372. The foresters and under foresters may send the 
 
 forest warders with their produce to market ; 
 but not with more than six quarters of grain during 
 the whole winter. 
 
 373. The forest warders are under the immediate arid 
 
 full control of the foresters and under foresters, 
 and are bound to guard the forests, and to ride 
 about them continually, and to execute their 
 superior's commands without fail ; and, as the 
 foresters and under foresters are responsible for 
 the neglect of the warders, they are at liberty 
 to inflict slight fines on the latter, and in case of 
 greater offences, to inflict corporal punishment, with 
 permission of the Palata of Imperial domains, 
 and in case of unfitness, to demand their expul- 
 sion from the service. 
 
 374. The Palata of Imperial domains requires the 
 
 government land surveyors in preparing the plans, 
 to suggest the most suitable track to be allotted to 
 the forest servants, warders, and inspectors ; these 
 plans are laid before the Palata, who again refers 
 them for sanction to the fourth department of Im- 
 perial domains. The proprietors for the time being 
 of the government farms, or their managers, are to 
 allow the forest inspectors as many workmen as 
 are allowed to other government peasants : 
 which allowance cannot be altered without the 
 sanction of the Palata. 
 
 375. The forest inspectors wear brass badges on their 
 
 coats that they may be recognised, and that no 
 opposition may be offered to them in the execution of 
 their duties/ 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY AT DIFFERENT SEASONS. 
 
 OF Revel and Estonia, and of life there, a pleasing picture 
 is given in a small volume published in 1844 under the 
 title of Letters from the Shores of the Baltic. 
 
 The quantity of forest land in this province is small 
 in comparison with what there is in the more western 
 provinces ; but it is not altogether devoid of forests, and 
 in general aspects at the different seasons of the year, a 
 description of this may be accepted as more or less 
 descriptive of the characteristics of all. The authoress of 
 that work thus writes of a day spent in the country 
 shortly after her arrival : 
 
 ' Summer's busy workshop has long been closed, and 
 Nature has shrouded herself deep within her monumental 
 garments, though, as if to cheer us on the long and dreary 
 winter pilgrimage before us, she charitably reveals a few 
 glimpses of her real features, shows us here a line of bold 
 grey rocks butting through the snow, and there a dashing 
 cascade, which the frost has not yet completely stiffened, 
 till our faith in her hidden beauties is only equalled by 
 our impatience to behold them. 
 
 ' There is something, however, very exhilarating in this 
 breathless, still, bright cold with a clean white expanse 
 a spotless world before you every tree fringed every 
 stream stopped freedom to range over every summer 
 impediment ; while the crystal snow, lighting up into a 
 delicate pink or pearly hue, or glistening with the 
 brightest prismatic colours beneath the clear, low sun, 
 and assuming a beautiful lilac or blue where our long 
 shadows intercept its rays, can no longer be stigmatised 
 
270 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 as a dead lifeless white. We walk every day, and no 
 sooner are the heavy double doors, which effectually seal 
 our house, heard to open, than half a dozen huge, deep- 
 mouthed cattle-hounds come bounding through the deep 
 snow to meet us, oversetting, with the first unwieldy caress, 
 some little one of our party, scarce so tall as themselves, 
 and even besetting the biggest with a battery of heavy 
 demonstrations, to which it is difficult to present a firm 
 front. Sometimes we take the beaten track of the road, 
 where peasants with rough carts, generally put together 
 with less iron than an English labourer would wear in his 
 shoes, pass on in files of nine or ten ; as often as not the 
 sheepish-looking driver, with his elf locks, superadding his 
 own weight to the already overladen little horse or where 
 a nimble-footed peasant woman, with high cap arid clean 
 sheepskin coat, plunges half-leg high into the deep snow 
 to give you room, and nodding, and showing her white 
 teeth, cheerily ejaculates Terre hommikust, or Good day. 
 Or we follow a track into the woods so narrow that we 
 walk in each other's steps like wild Indians, and the great 
 dogs sink up to their bodies in the snow whilst 
 endeavouring to pass us. This is the land of pines lofty, 
 erect battalions their bark as smooth as the mast of a 
 ship their branches regular as a ladder, varying scarce an 
 inch in girth in fifty feet of growth for miles interrupted 
 only by a leaning, never a crooked tree with an army of 
 sturdy Lilliputians clustering round their bases fifty 
 heads starting up where one yard of light is admitted. 
 What becomes of all the pruning, and trimming, and train- 
 ing the days of precious labour spent on our own woods? 
 Nature here does all this, and immeasurably better, for 
 her volunteers, who stand closer, grow faster, and soar 
 higher, than the carefully planted and transplanted children 
 of our soil. Here and there a bare jagged trunk, and a 
 carpet of fresh-hewn boughs beneath, show where some 
 peasant-urchin has indulged in sport which with us would 
 be amenable to the laws viz., mounted one of these 
 grenadiers of the forest, hewing off every successive bough 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 271 
 
 beneath him, till, perched at a giddy height aloft, he 
 clings to a tapering point which his hand may grasp. The 
 higher he goes the greater the feat, and the greater the 
 risk to his vagabond neck in descending the noble and 
 mutilated trunk. In perambulating these woods, the idea 
 would sometimes cross us that the wolves, the print of 
 whose footsteps, intercepted by the dotted track of the 
 hare and slenderly defined claws of numerous birds, are 
 seen in different directions, and even beneath the windows 
 of our house, might prowl by day as well as by night. 
 One day, when, fortunately perhaps, unescorted by the 
 huge dogs, we were mounting a hill to a neighbouring mill, 
 my companion suddenly halted, and lying her hand on 
 mine silently pointed to a moving object within fifty yards 
 of us. It was a great brute of a wolf stalking leisurely 
 along its high bristly back set up its head prowling 
 down who took no notice of us. but slowly pursued the 
 same path into the wood which he had quitted a few 
 minutes before. We must both plead guilty to blanched 
 cheeks, but beyond this to no signs of cowardice ; and, in 
 truth, the instances are so rare of their attacking human 
 beings, even the most defenceless children, that we had no 
 cause for fear. They war not on man, unless under ex- 
 cessive pressure of hunger, or when, as in the case of a 
 butcher, his clothes are impregnated with the smell of fresh 
 blood. This is so certain an attraction that peasants 
 carrying butchers' meat are followed by wolves, and often 
 obliged to compound for their own safety by flinging the 
 dangerous commodity amongst them ; or if in a sledge, tnree 
 or four of these ravenous animals will spring upon the bas- 
 ket of meat and tear it open before their eyes. Wherever 
 an animal falls, there, though to all appearance no cover 
 nor sign of a wolf be visible for miles round, several will be 
 found congregated in half an hour's time. Such is their 
 horrid thirst for blood, that a wounded wolf knows that 
 only by the stictest concealment can he escape being torn 
 in pieces by his companions. As for the dogs, it is heart- 
 rending to think of the numbers which pay for their 
 
272 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 fidelity with their lives. If a couple of wolves prowl 
 round a house, or fold, at night, a dozen dogs, with every 
 variety of tone, from the sharp yap of the shepherd's 
 terrier to the hoarse bay of the cattle-hound, will plunge 
 after them, and put them to flight. But if one, more 
 zealous, venture beyond his companions, the cunning 
 brutes face about, seize him, and before three minutes are 
 over there is nothing left of poor Carrier Pois, or sheep- 
 boy, a common name for these great mastiffs, but a few 
 tufts of bloody hair. The cattle defend themselves 
 valiantly, and the horses, and the mares especially who 
 have a foal at their side, put themselves in an attitude of 
 defence, and parry off the enemy with their fore-feet their 
 iron hoofs often taking great effect. But woe be to them 
 if the wolf, breaking through the shower of blows, spring 
 at the throat, or, stealing behind his prey, fasten on the 
 flank ! once down all is over, though there be but one 
 wolf. Sometimes, in a sudden wheel round, the wolf will 
 seize upon a cow's tail, on which he hangs with his jaws 
 of ten-horse power, while the poor animal drags him 
 round and round the field, and finally leaves the 
 unfortunate member in his grasp, too happy to escape 
 with a stump. At one time these animals increased so 
 frightfully in number that the Ritterschaft, or assembly 
 of knights, by which name the inter, lal senate of this 
 province is designated, appointed a reward of five roubles 
 for every pair of ears brought to the magistrate of the 
 district. This worked some change, and, in proportion as 
 the wolves have fallen off, the Ritterschaft has dropped its 
 price, though an opposite policy would perhaps have been 
 more politic, and now a pair of ears, generally secured 
 from the destruction of a nest of young ones, does not 
 fetch more than a silver rouble, or three roubles and a 
 half.* An old plan to attract them was to tie a pig in a 
 sack, squeaking of course, upon a cart, and drive him 
 rapidly through a wood or morass. Any cry of an animal 
 
 * Paper. Nevertheless a thousand wolves upon the average are killed in a year. 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 273 
 
 is a gathering sound for the wolf, but the voice of man, 
 made in his Creator's image, will hold him aloof. The 
 blast of a horn greatly annoys them, a fiddle makes them 
 fly, and the gi ogling of bells is. also a means of scaring 
 them, which, besides the expedience of proclaiming your 
 approach in dark nights on these noiseless sledge-roads, is 
 one reason why all winter equipages are fitted up with 
 bells/ 
 
 Nor is the breaking up of the winter in Estonia less 
 truly portrayed : ' The soft hand of spring imperceptibly 
 withdraws the bolts and bars of winter, while the earth, 
 like a drowsy child, 'twixt sleeping and waking, flings oft 
 one wrapper after another and opes its heavy lids in 
 showers of sweet rivulets. And the snow disappears, and 
 the brown earth peeps almost dry from beneath ; and you 
 wonder where all the mountains of moisture are gone. 
 But wait the rivers are still locked, and though a strong 
 current is pouring on their surface, yet, from the high 
 bridge, the green ice is still seen deep below, firm as a 
 rock and dogs go splashing over in the old track, and 
 peasants with their horses venture long after it seems 
 prudent. At length a sound like distant thunder, or the 
 crashing of a forest, meets your ear, and the words " Der 
 Eisgang, der Eisgang ! " pass from mouth to mouth, and 
 those who would witness this northern scene hurry out to 
 the old stone bridge, and are obliged to take a circuitous 
 route, for the waters have risen ankle deep and then 
 another crash, and you double your pace regardless of wet 
 feet, and are startled at the change which a few hours 
 have produced. On the one side, close besetting the bridge, 
 and high up the banks, lies a field of ice lifting the waters 
 before it and spreading them over the country ; while huge 
 masses flounder and swing against one another with loud 
 reports, and heave up their green transparent edges, full 
 six feet thick, with a majestic motion ; and all these press 
 heavily upon the bridge, which trembles at every stroke, 
 and stands like a living thing labouring and gasping for 
 
 T 
 
24 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA, 
 
 breath through the small apertures of the almost chocked 
 arches. On the other side the river is free of ice, and a 
 furious stream, as if all the imprisoned waters of Russia 
 were let loose, is dashing down, bearing with it some huge 
 leviathan of semi-transparent crystal, and curdling its 
 waters about it, till this again is stopped by another field 
 of ice lower down. 
 
 'The waters were rising every minute night was 
 approaching, and the beautiful old bridge gave us great 
 alarm, when a party of peasants, fresh from their supper 
 at the Hof, and cheered with brandy, arrived to relieve it. 
 Each was armed with a long pole with an iron point, and 
 flying down the piles and on to the ice itself, began 
 hacking at the sides of the foremost monster, till, 
 impelled by the current beneath, it could fit and grind 
 itself through the bridge and gallop down to thunder 
 against its comrades below. The men were utterly 
 fearless, giving a keen sense of adventure to their danger- 
 ous task which rivetted us to the spot ; some of the most 
 daring standing and leaning with their whole weight over 
 the bed of the torrent upon the very mass they were 
 hewing off, till the slow swing which preceded the final 
 plunge made them fly to the piles for safety. Some 
 fragments were doubly hard with imbedded stones and 
 pieces of timber, and no sooner was one enemy despatched 
 than another succeeded ; and although bodies of men 
 continued relieving each other all night, the bridge 
 sustained such damage as could not be repaired. All was 
 over in twelve hours, but meanwhile, " the waters pre- 
 vailed exceedingly upon the earth," and every hill and 
 building stood insulated. 
 
 ' Such was the picture of our life a fortnight ago, since 
 when a still more striking change, if possible, has come 
 over the face of things. The earth, which so lately 
 emerged from her winter garb, is now clad in the liveliest 
 livery ; while every tree and shrub have hastily changed 
 their dresses in Nature's vast green-room, and stand all 
 
APPEARANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 275 
 
 ready for the summer's short act. Nowhere is Nature's 
 hocus-pocus carried on so wonderfully nowhere her 
 scene-shifting so inconceivably rapid. You may literally 
 see her movements. I have watched the birdcherry at 
 my window. Two days ago, and it was still the same 
 dried up spectre, whose every form, during the long winter, 
 the vacant eye had studiously examined while the thoughts 
 were far distant yesterday, like the painter's Daphne, it 
 it was sprouting out at every finger, and to-day it has 
 shaken out its whole complement of leaves, and is throwing 
 a verdant twilight over my darkened room. The whole 
 air is full of the soft stirring sounds of the swollen buds 
 snapping and cracking into life, and impregnated with 
 the perfume of the fresh, oily leaves. The waters are full 
 and clear the skies blue and serene night and day are 
 fast blending into one continuous stream of soft light, and 
 this our new existence is one perpetual feast. Oh, winter ! 
 where is thy victory? The resurrection of spring speaks 
 volumes.' , 
 
 The same pencil has painted the passing away of 
 summer : ' The beauties of autumn, and the moral of its 
 yellow leaves, are seen and felt in all countries. Nowhere, 
 however, I am inclined to think, can the former be so 
 resplendent, or the latter so touching, as in the land where 
 I am still a sojourn er. In our temperate isle autumn 
 may be contemplated as the glorious passing away of the 
 well-matured the radiant death-bed of the ripe in years 
 while here the brilliant colours on earth and sky are 
 like the hectic cheek and kindling eye of some beautiful 
 being whose too hasty development has been but the 
 presage of a premature decay. Thus it is that the vast 
 plains and woods of Estonia are now displaying the most 
 gorgeous colours of their palette, ere the white brush of 
 winter sweep their beauties from sight, while the golden 
 and crimson wreaths of deciduous trees, peeping from 
 amongst the forests of sober pines, may be compared to 
 gay lichens sprinkling their hues over a cold grey rock, or 
 
276 
 
 FORESTRY IN LITHUANIA. 
 
 to a transient smile passing over the habitual brow of 
 care. 
 
 ' But all too hasty is the progress of this splendid 
 funeral march even now its pomp is hidden by gloomy 
 slanting rains, its last tones lost in the bowl of angry 
 blasts, which, as if impatient to assume their empire, are 
 rudely stripping off and trampling down every vestige of 
 summer's short-lived festival, while Nature, shorn of her 
 wealth, holds out here and there a streamer of bright 
 colours, like a bankrupt still eager to flaunt in the finery 
 of better days.' 
 
 FINLS. 
 
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