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 associations 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
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 substance 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 governments 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 designations 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 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/
IT is not from anything peculiar to the forest management 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 opportunity of bringing under consideration the forest administration of the Imperial domains. To show this administration 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.