funds have been formed, however, from the revenues obtained, and they
are employed for the common needs of the various parishes. (See
p. I 291.)
D) The Forests belonging to Towns embrace altogether 34 947 hectares.
They are to be subjected to well-ordered management in accordance with
plans drawn up by the Crown Lands Board, which aim at the continued
survival of, and at the securing of the greatest returns from, the woods in
question. Even before such regulations were issued in 1903, forest-bailiffs
had been appointed for the forests which belonged to certain towns and
which were found to be well cared for.
As a general verdict concerning the condition of the public forests it
has, not without reason, been pointed out that, in consequence, as a rule,
of a too conservative administration, the supply of timber has become
greater than a rational economic system required. This has led, during
the last few years, to gradually increasing cutting, while, at the same time,
efforts have been made, as far as the supply of labour and other conditions
have rendered it possible, by means of thinning and clearing operations,
to utilize the less valuable forest-products which were formerly allowed
to decay in the forest. The first condition for profitable forest economy is
that a paying market can be found for such second-rate timber. The
increased output of the woodpulp works and the growth of the net of railways,
among various other causes has, during the last few years, led
to a partial change in this respect, in the more northerly parts of the
country especially. In addition to this, over considerable areas in the
districts in question, in the neighbourhood of the rafting streams and
railways necessary care can nowadays be given to the growing timber.
The red line on the accompanying map shows, approximately, the extent
of the districts where timber for pulpworks and' charcoal-burning, or for
one of these purposes, is in demand. In the tracts west and north of this
line, therefore, there do not at present exist the conditions necessary for
good forest economy, as the only timber from these tracts which can be
sold is still that of larger dimensions, for the sawmills industry. For
this reason, timber-cutting en masse remains for the present a compulsory
method of lumbering, from which, east and south of the limits
marked on the map, it is possible to revert to such forms of forest economy
as make it possible to pay more, attention to the care and
re-growth of the timber. In this connection, however, it should she
mentioned that the above-mentioned conditions for profitable forest
economy can also lead to the cutting-down of timber on too large a scale.
Such excessive lumbering, whereby the supply- of timber is diminished,
can, in certain cases be justified, should the supply in any forest be abnormally
large, or should it consist of over-mature, degenerated or too
densely growing timber, in which case forestry demands the felling of
timber on a large scale during a suitable transition period. But in many
cases this cutting of timber on a large scale is not done for the motives
mentioned, even though it may be carried out in connection with proper
care of the forest-land and the remaining trees. I f the two latter conditions
do not exist, such excessive cutting of timber can be described as
nothing short of forest devastation.
Private Forests.
As was shown above, by far the greater part of the forests of Sweden,,
together with irreclaimable land amounting to about 22 million hectares,
or about half the area of Sweden, belongs to private owners, and private
forest-economy thereby becomes a question of the very greatest importance-
for the country. The way in which the private forests have been managed
has not generally conduced to the preservation of the timber. For the
Lans of Norrbotten and Yasterbotten, and the upper parts of Dalarne-
(the parish of Sarna), as well as for the island of Gottland, the proprietory
rights of the owners of private forests have been limited by special
laws, in consequence of which the supply of timber has been well preserved
in the Lappland districts and in the parish of Sarna, though less-
so in the Lan of Yasterbotten and in Gottland.
A survey of the condition of the private forests in the other parts of
Sweden gives the following result.
With respect to the condition of the forests south of the Lans of Norrbotten>
and Vasterbotten the three following regions can be distinguished:
a) Central and Southern Norrland and Dalame, as regards the timber export
of Sweden, are of greater importance than the entire remaining part of'
the country. Excessive felling of large-sized timber is considered to be general,
and the same may be said of timber of smaller dimensions in districts possessing’
good communications, especially in the littoral districts. A considerable-
number of large forest owners, however, take great care of the woods.
b) The, Bergslags district embraces a belt of country from, and inclusive of,.
Varmland to, and inclusive of, Stockholm Lan, or that part of the country
where mining operations are chiefly carried-on. The woods show great powers;
of recuperation but are, as a rule, thinned to excess, an evil that has increased
since the saw-mill industry became more general. The re-growth of the forests-
after felling for charcoal-burning purposes is good, and the woods belonging
to the iron-works are, as a rule, carefully looked after.
The forests of the country south of the belt above mentioned no longer
support any great industries. Among the timber-exports, which, in proportion
to the supplies of timber, is very considerable, there is a relatively large
percentage of small-sized wood, such as pit-props, spars etc. The greater number
of the woods belonging to farms, especially the smaller ones, often resemble
badly cared-for pasture-land, where birch, aspen, alder, and other deciduous
trees form a large proportion of the thin woods. In order to increase-
the pasture-land, the woods are usually kept thin, the same need for grazing
land also helping to counteract any inclination to afforest naked land. Large-
forest owners, however, in many places take exemplary care of their forests.
Although the economy of the private forests of the country must be
considered as having improved since the coming into force of the forests