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 messengers, 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 suspected 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 warders 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, receiving but little pay, must necessarily lose or waste, in the culture 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 subforesters. 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 contemplation of the possibility of all the Crown forests of the kingdom being disposed of by sale, financial considerations 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: —
In forests In at large. mine forests.
Foresters' annual salary, 525 roubles. 600 roubles. Assistant or clerk, - 90,, 100,,
' The total expense of the forest management was —
In 1865, - 119, 143 roubles. 1861, 120,022
Or on an average, 120,640 roubles a year.