Thick as the column of Alexander at St. Petersburg, lofty as the tower of a church, are the majestic old ancestral pines and firs in the forests of Volhym'nia, Polesia, and even White Russia, from wliose marshes arise as perfect samples of those trees as are to be found anywhere. The axe of Riga has for centuries been busy in those districts, rooting up the miglitiest trees for the navies of Holland and England, planting them again in the salt waves of the sea, replacing their green branches by variegated flags and streamers, their leaping squirrels by climbing sailors, their silent leisure by bustling toil, and their long stationary repose by incessant locomotion. The timber merchants of Riga send skilful tree-climbers into these forests. These tree-climbers, who are of course people of some knowledge and experience, measure the circumference and the height of the tree, judge of the internal quality of its wood by certain outward signs, and climbing from top to bottom among its branches, examine it in every part. If they find the tree well suited for a mast, or for any other purjDose for which it is required, they mark it for felling, but this felling takes place afterwards at their own risk. That is to say, if the wood, when brought to Riga, is not found to be of the quahty expected, they have to bear the loss. The tree-climbers are of course well paid for their difficult and responsible task ; the mere climbmg and marking of a large forest-tree costs from eight to ten silver rubles. These trees often spend two years on thenjourney from their native forests to the harbour of Riga.
There are " Braker" at Riga for the examination and classification of timber, as well as of hemp ; but there are many more classes of the former than of the latter. Though tallow is one of its articles of trade, Riga does not export so much of it as St. Petersburg and Odessa. Most of these wares go to England. Of the 1300 or 1500 ships which pass annually in and out of the harbour of Riga^, about 600 are English ; and these carry away with them merchandise to the amount of 30,000,000 rubles banco, while the whole export of Riga amounts only to 50,000,000 rubles.
According to the calculations of Hupel and Tilhng, the number of ships which arrived annually at Riga at different times, was the follomng :
At the end of April the first swallows and the first ships generally arrive together at Riga, and May is the most busy month in the year. The two miles between Riga and the mouth of the Dvvina cannot be passed without pilots, as, althoug-h the river itself is broad enough, the navigable channel is very narrow, and though the frequent complaints of the inhabitants of Riga of the continual increase of the sand in their river, may, in some measure, be unfounded, yet the continual alterations in the position of the sandbanks are very troublesome.
Of all the various operations which the hemp and flax of Riga have to undergo, before we can wear them in the shape of fine white linen, by no means the least important is the packing them in the sliips. I know not whether the manner in which this is done here is peculiar to Riga, but certainly the operation nowhere presents itself so continually to the eyes of the traveller.
The operation is called here " Stauen," and the packing people " Stauer.^^ These Stauer, with their apprentices, masters, and journeymen, form a regular guild by themselves. The bales of flax and hemp are generally loosely flung together, in half or whole bales, in the " Striiscn,^ or river-ships, which convey them to Riga, as of course tlie sa^dng of room there is not so great an object as at sea. The packing for sea is as follows : The first bales are stuff'ed m tightly with the hands into the furthest corners of that part of tlie ship intended for stowing them ; but with the other bales, unassisted human strength would not be sufficient, to press together the whole elastic mass of threads. Tlie staiicr therefore take stnng iron screws, each of which is turned by four men, and by the liolp of those the bales are sciuee/cd into a third or fourtli of the space they originally