'Holovin Waste, Ojatsk Forest Circuit. — Surface 371 desatins, 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 contents of each, shown separately, but as in an administrative 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.
' 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 management 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 government of Smolensk. The greatest similarity is between the districts of Mojaisk and Volokamsk of the government of Moscow, and the Gjatsk district of the government of Smolensk. The difference between them, in a commercial point of view, consists in this — that in the
Gjatsk district the local demand for material is much less than in that of Mojaisk and Volokamsk; and with regard to floatage 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,
,, Mtzensk,
, Karatchev,
, Brian sk,
, Tronbteheosk,
Sevsk,
Dmitrovsk,
Kromin,
Liven,
Jeletz,
Bolchov,
Malo-Archangelsk,
forest surface
' According to approximate information, by which the local forest administration are guided, there are of private forests: —