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INTERNATIONAL FORESTeV EXHIBITION.
WORKS ON FOREST SCIENCE.
By the rev. J. C. BROWN, LL.D.
0
Edes-burgh : OLIVER & BOYD.
LoNDO.x: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., and W. RIDER & SON.
Montreal: DAWSON, BROTHERS.
I.— Introduction to the Study of Modern Forest
Economy. Price 5s.
In this there are brought under consideration the exten-
sive destruction of forests which has taken place in Europe
and elsewhere, with notices of disastrous consequences
which have followed — diminished supply of timber and
firewood, droughts, floods, landslips, and sand-drifts — and
notices of the appliances of Modern Forest Science success-
fully to counteract these evils by conservation, planting, and
improved exploitation, under scientific administration and
management.
Extract from Preface. — 'At a meeting held on the 2Sth of March
last year (1883), presided over by the ]\larquis of Lothian, while the
assemblage was representative of all interests — scientific, practical, and
professional — it was resolved : — "That it is expedient in the interests
of forestry, and to promote a movement for the establishment of a
National School of Forestry in Scotland, as well as with a view of
furthering and stimulating a greater improvement in the scientific
management of woods in Scotland and the sister countries which has
manifested itself during recent years, that there should be held in Edin-
burgh, during 1884, and at such season of the year as may be arranged,
an International Exhibition of forest products and other objects of
interest connected with forestry." It was then moved, seconded, and
agreed : — "That this meeting pledges itself to give its hearty co-opera-
tion and patronage to the promotion of an International Forestry Exhibi-
tion in Edinburgh in 1884 ; and those present resolve to give their best
efforts and endeavours to render the Exhibition a success, and of such
importance and general interest as to make it worthy of the name of
International.''
' It is in accordance with this resolution, and in discharge of obligations
which it imposed, that this volume has been prepared.'
II.— The Forests of England ; and the Management of
them in Bye-gone Times. Price 6s.
AncieDt forests, chases, parks, warrens, and woods, are
described ; details are given of destructive treatment to
which they have been subjected, and of legislation and
literature relating to them previous to the present
century.
Extract from Preface. — ' Contrast with this [the paucity of works
in English on Forest Science], the richness of Continental languages in
literature on such subjects. I have had sent to me lately Ofversight of
Svenska Sko^jsUteraturen, Bibliograjiska Studieren of Axel Cnattingius, a
list of many books and papers on Forest Science published in Sweden ;
I have also had sent to me a work by Don Jose Jordana y Morera,
Ingenero de Montes, under the title of Apuntes Bihliographico Forestale,
a catalogue raisonne of 1126 printed books, MSS., &c., in Spanish, on
subjects connected with Forest Science.
' I am at present preparing for the press a report on measures adopted
in France, Germany, Hungarj^ and elsewhere, to arrest and utilise drift-
sand bj' planting them with grasses and trees ; and in Der Europaeische
Flug-sand nnd Seine Cultur, von Josef Wessely General Domaenen-
Inspecktor, nnd Forst-Academie- Direktor, published in Viejina in 1873,
I find a list of upwards of 100 books and papers on that one department
of the subject, of which 30, in Hungarian, Latin, and German, were
published in Hungary alone.
' According to the statement of one gentleman, to whom application
was made by a representative of the Government at the Cape, for infor-
mation in regard to what suitable works on Forest Economy could be
procured from Germany, the works on Forst-Wissenchafr, Forest Science,
and Forst- Wirthchaft, Forest Economy, in the German language may be
reckoned by cartloads. From what I know of the abundance of works
in German, on subjects connected with Forestry, I am not surprised
that such a report should have been given. And with the works iu
German may be reckoned the works in French.
' In Hermann Schmidt's Fach Katalogue, published iu Prague last
year (1876), there were given the titles, &c., of German works in Forst v.nd
Jagd-Literatur, published from 1870 to 1875 inclusive, to the 31st of
October of the latter year, amounting in all to 650, exclusive of others
given in an appendix, containing a selection of the works published
prior to 1870. They are classified thus : — General Forest Economy, 93 ;
Forest Botany, 60 ; Forest History and Statistics, 50 ; Forest Legislation
and Game Laws, oG ; Forest Mathematics, 25 ; Forest Tables and
Measurements, &c., l48 ; Forest Technologj', 6 ; Forest Zoology, 19;
Peat and Bog Treatment, 14 ; Forest Calendars, 6 ; Forest and Game
Periodicals, 27 ; Forest Union and Year Books, 13 ; Game, 91 ; Forest
and Game in Bohemian, 44. In all, 652. Upwards of a hundred new
works had been published annually. Amongst the works mentioned is
a volume entitled Die Literatur der letzten sieben Jahre (1862-1872) aus
dem Gesammtgebiet e der Land-und Forst-wirUischaft mil Einschlusi der
landw. Gewebe)' u. der Jagd, in deutscher, franzosischer u eivjlisher
^prache Herausj. v. d. Buchandl, v. Gerold and Co., in Wein, 1873, a
valuable catalogue filling 278 pages in large octavo.
* This volume is published as a small contribution to the literature of
Britain, on subjects pertaining to Fore&t Science.
' It is after due consideration that the form given to the work— that
of a compilation of what has been stated in works previously published
— has been adopted.
III.— Forestry of Norway. Price 5s.
There are described in successive chapters the general
features of the country. Details are given of the geo-
graphical distribution of forest trees, followed by discussions
of conditions by which this has been determined — heat,
moisture, soil, and exposure. The effects of glacial action
on the contour of the country are noticed, with accounts
of existinor orlaciers aijd snow-fields. And information is
supplied in regard to forest exploitation and the transport
of timber, in regard to the export timber trade, to public
instruction in sylviculture, and to forest administration^
and to ship-building and shipping.
Extract from Preface. — ' In the spring of 1877, while measures
were being taken for the formation of an Arboretum in Edinburgh, I
issued a pamplet entitled The Schools of Forastry in Europe : a Plea
for the Creation of a School of Forestry in connection icith the Arboretum
in Edinburgh. After it was made known that arrangements were being
carried out for the formation of an International Exhibition of forest
products, and other objects of interest connected with forestry, in Edin-
burt^h with a view to promoting the movement for the establishment
of a National School of Forestry in Scotland, and with a view of
furthering and stimulating a greater improvement in the scientific
management of woods in Scotland, and the sister countries, which has
manifested itself during recent years, the council of the Ea&t Lothian
Naturalists' Club resolved on having a course of lectures or popular
readings on some subject connected with forestry, which might enable
the members and others better to profit by visits to the projected Exhibi-
tion, and which should be open to the public at a moderate charge. The
conducting of these was devolved upon me, who happened to be vice-
president of the club. The following treatise was compiled from
information then in my possession, or within my reach, and it constituted
the basis of these lectures.'
IV.— Finland : its Forests and Forest Management.
Price 6s 6d.
In this volume is supplied information in regard to
the lakes and rivers of Finland, known as The Land of a
Thousand Lakes, and as The Last-horn Daughter of the
Sea : m regard to its physica I geography, including notices
of the contour of the country, its geological formations
and indications of glacial action, its flora, fauna, and
climate ; and in regard to its forest economy, embracing a
discussion of the advantag^es and disadvantas^es of
Svedjande, the Sartage of France, and the Koomaree of
India; and details of the development of Modern Forest
Economy in Finland, with notices of its School of Fores-
try, of its forests and forest trees, of the disposal of its
forest products, and of its legislation and literature in
forestry are given.
Extract from Preface. — ' I happened to spend the summer of 1S79
in St. Petersburg, ministering ia the British and AmericSn Chapel in
that city, while the pastor sought relaxation for a few months at home.
I was for j'ears the minister of the congregation worshipping there, and
I had subsequently repeatedly spent the summer among them in similar
circumstances. I was at the time studying the Forestry of Europe ;
and I availed myself of opportunities afforded by m^y journey thither
through Norway, Sweden, and Finland, by my stay in Russia, and by
my return through Germany and France, to collect information bearing
upon the enquiries in which I was engaged. On my return to Scotland
I contributed to the Journal of Forestry a series of papers which were
afterwards reprinted under the title Glances at the Forests of Northern
Europe. In the preface to this pamphlet I stated that in Denmark
may be studied the remains of forests in pre-historic times ; in Norway,
luxuriant forests managed by each proprietor as seemeth good in his own
ej^es ; in Sweden, sustained systematic endeavours to regulate the
management of forests in accordance with the latest deliverances of
modern science ; in Finland, Sartage disappearing before the most
advanced forest economy of the day ; and in Russia, Jardinage in the
north, merging into more scientific management in Central Russia, and
Rehoisenient in the south. This volume is a study of information which
I then collected, together with information which I previously possessed,
or have subsequently obtained, in regard to the Forests and Forestry of
Finland.'
Translation of Extracts from Letters from Dr A. Blomqvist, Director
of the Finnish National School of Forestry at Evois : — ' On my return
from Salmos three weeks ago I had the great pleasure to receive your
volume on the Forests and Forest Management in Finland, I return
you grateful thanks for the gift, and no less for publishing a description
of the forestal condition of our country. It is with sentiments of true
gratitude I learn that you had previously taken part in a work so
important to our country as the preparation of a new edition of the New
Testament in Finnish. Your descriptions of our natural scenery are
most excellent and interesting. Personally I feel most interest in your
accounts of Koomaree. I value it much, and not less so your concurrent
final conclusion in regard to the effects of the exercise of it in Finland.'
Translation of Statement by M. De La Grye, in the Eevue cles
Eaux et Fdrets of January 18S4 : — 'In an address delivered some weeks
since at a banquet of exhibitors in the French section at Amsterdam,
M. Herisson, Minister of Commerce, expressed an intention to publish
a series of small books designed to make known to French merchants
foreign lands in a commercial point of view. If the Minister of Commerce
wishes to show to our merchants the resources possessed by Finland, he
need not go far to seek information which may be useful to them, they
will be found in a small volume which has just been published by Mr
John Croumbie Brown.
' Mr Brown is one of those English ministers, who, travelling over the
world in all directions [some at their own cost], seeking to spread the
Word of the Lord in the form of Bibles translated into all languages,
know how to utilise the leisure left to them at times while prosecuting
this mission. Some occupy themselves with physical science, others with
archaeology, some with philology, many with commerce ; Mr Brown has
made a special study of sylviculture. He has already published on this
subject many works, from amongst which we may cite these : Hydrology
of South Africa ; The Forests of England ; The Schools of Forestry in
Europe ; BSboisemefit in France ; Pine Plantations on Sand Wastes in
France.
'His last book on Finland is the fruit of many journeys made in that
country, which he visited for the first time in 1833, but whither he has
returned frequently since that time. Mr Brown gives narratives of his
voyages on the lakes which abound in Finland, and his excursions in the
immense forests, the exjjloitation of which constitutes the principal
industry of the country. The School of Forestry at Evois has furnished
to him much precise information in regard to the organisation of the
service, and the legislation and the statistics of forests, which, added
to what he had procured by his own observation, has enabled him to '
make a very complete study of this country, poetically designated The
Land of a Thousand Lakes, and which might also justly be called The
Kingdom of the Forest, for there this reigns sovereign.'
v.— Forest Lands and Forestry of Northern Russia.
Price 6s 6d.
Details are given of a trip from St. Petersburg to
the forests around Petrozavodsk on Lake Onega, in
the government of Olonetz ; a description of the forests
6
on that government by Mr Judrae, a forest official of
high position, and of the forests of Archangel by Mr
Hepworth Dixon, of Lapland, of the land of the Samoides
and of Nova Zenibla ; of the exploitation of the forests
by Jardinage, and of the evils of such exploitation ; and
of the export timber trade, and disposal of forest products.
In connection with discussions of the phj^sical geography
of the region information is supplied in regard to the
contour and general appearance of the country ; its flora,
its forests, and the palaeontological botany of the regions
beyond, as viewed by Professor Heer and Count Saporta ;
its fauna, with notices of game, and with copious lists of
coleoptera and lepidoptera, by Forst-Meister Gunther, of
Petrozavodsk.
Extract from Preface. — 'In the spring of 1877 I published a
brochure entitled The Schools of Forestry in Europe: a Fhajor the Crea-
tion of a School of Forestry in connection with the Arboretum in Edin-
burgh, in which with details of the arrangements made for instruction in
Forest Science in Schools of Forestry in Prussia, Saxony, Hanover,
Hesse, Darmstadt, Wurteraburg, Bavaria, Austria, Poland, Russia,
Finland, Sweden, France. Italy, and in Spain, and details of arrange-
ments existing in Edinburgh for instruction in most of the subjects in-
cluded amongst preliminary studies, I submitted for consideration the
opinion, "that with the acquisition of this Arboretum, and with the ex-
istinsr arrangements for study in the University of Edinburgh, and in
the Watt Institution and School of Arts, there are required only faciL-
ties for the study of what is known on the Continent as Forest Science
to enable these Institutions conjointly, or any one of them, with the
help of the othei-, to take a place amongst the most completely equipped
Schools of Forestry in Europe, and to undertake the training of foresters
for the discharge of such duties as are now required of them in India, in
our Colonies, and at home."
' This year has seen world-wide arrangements for an International
Exhibition of forest products and other objects of interest connected
with forestry in Edinburgh, " In the interests of forestry, and to pro-
mote a movement for the establishment of a School of Forestry in Scot-
land, as well as with a view of furthering and stimulating a greater im-
provement in the scientific management of woods in Scotland and the
sister countries which has manifested itself during recent years."
' The following is one of a series of volumes published with a view to
introduce into English forestal literature detailed information on some
of the points on which informatiou is supplied to students at Schools of
Forestry on the Continent ; and to make better known the breadth of
study which is embraced in what is known there as Forstwlssenscaft, or
Forest Science.'
VI.— French Forest Ordinance of 1669 ; with Historical
Sketch of Previous Treatment of Forests in France.
Price 4s.
The early history of forests in France is given, with de-
tails of devastations of these o^oins: on in the first half of
the seventeenth century ; with a translation of the Ordi-
nance of 1669, which is the basis of modern forest econo-
my ; and aotices of forest exploitation in Jardinage, in La
Methode a Tire et Aire, and in La Methode des Comparti-
ments.
Extract from Preface. — '"The Celebrated Forest Ordinance of
16G9 :" Such is the character and designation generally given at the
present day to the Ordinance in question. It is known, by reputation
at least, in every country on the Continent of Europe ; but, so far as is
known to me, it has never before been published in English dress. It
may possibly be considered antiquated ; but, on its first promulgation, it
was welcomed, far beyond the bounds of France, as bringing lite to the
dead ; and I know of no modern system of Forest Exploitation, based on
modern Forest Science, in which I cannot trace its influence. In the
most advanced of these — that for which we are indebted to Hartig and
Cotta of Saxony — I see a development of it like to the development of
the butterfly from what may be seen in the structure of the chrysalis ;
and thus am I encouraged to hope that it may prove suggestive of bene-
ficial arrangements, even where it does not detail what it may be deemed
desirable to adopt.
' In my translation I have followed an edition issued with Royal ap-
proval in 1753, with one verbal alteration to bring it into accordance
with certain older approved editions, and with another verbal alteration
to bring it into accordance with editions issued in 1G99, 1723, 173i, and
1747.'
Translation of notice by M. De La Grye for July 18S3 in the Revue
des Eaux et Forets : 'England, which with her immense possessions in
India, in Canada, and in the Cape of Good Hope, is beyond all question ^
a State rich in forests, has never up to the present time given to this
portion of her domains more than a very moderate share of her attention ;
but for some years past public opinion is becoming alarmed, in view of
the immense devastations which have been committed in them, and the
forest question coming forward spontaneously has become the subject of
numerous publications : amongst which, after the excellent monthly
collection, the Journal of Forestry and Estate Management, comes the
Translation of the Ordinance of 16(59, which has just been published by
Mr John Croumbie Brown. This translation of a monument of juris-
prudence, well known in France, but which has never before been repro-
duced in English, has furnished to Mr Brown an opportunity of giving a
historical sketch of French Forest Legislation, and an exposition of the
8
different methods of exploitation followed in our country. Dra-vm from
the best sources, and commented on with talent, these documents form
an elegant volume, which the author has made the more complete by
binding with it a summary of the treatise he has published on the
Forests of England.'
VII. -Pine Plantations on Sand Wastes in France.
Price 7s.
In this are detailed the appearances presented by the
Landes of the Gironde before and after culture, and the
Landes of La Sologne ; the legislation and literature of
France in regard to the planting of the Landes with trees ;
the characteristics of the sand wastes ; the natural his-
tory, culture, and exploitation of the maritime pine, and
of the Scots fir; and the diseases and injurious influences
to which the maritime pine is subject.
Extracts FROM Preface. — 'The preparation of this volume for the
press was undertaken in consequence of a statement in the Standard and
Mall, a Capetown paper, of the '22d July 1S76, to the effect^ that in the
estimates submitted to Parliament £1000 had been put down for the
Cape Flats, it was supposed with a view to its being employed in car-
rying out planting operations as a means of reclaiming the saady tracts
beyond Salt River.
' This volume was originally compiled in view of what seemed to be
required at the Cape of Good Hope. It has been revised and printed
now, as a contribution towards a renewed enterprise to arrest and
utilise sand-wastes which stretch from Table Mountain to the Hottentot
Holland Mountains ; and additional information is forthcoming if it
should be desired.'
VIII.— Reboisement in France ; or, Records of the Re-
planting- of the Alps, the Cevennes, and the
Pyrenees, "with Trees, Herbage, and Bush,
with a view to arresting and preventing the de-
structive consequences of torrents. Price 12s.
In this are given a resume of Surell's study of Alpine
torrents, of the literature of France relative to Alpine tor-
rentSj and of remedial measures which have been proposed
for adoption to prevent the disastrous consequences fol-
9
lowing from them — translations of documents and enact-
ments, showinsr what legislative and executive measures
have been taken by the Government of France in connec-
tion with reboisement as a remedial application against
destructive torrents — and details in regard to the past,
present, and prospective aspects of the work.
Extract from Preface. — ' In a treatise on the Hydrology of South
Africa I have given details of destructive effects of torrential floods at
the Cape of Good Hope and N^atal, and referred to the measures adopted
in France to prevent the occurrence of similar disastrous floods there.
The attention of the Legislative Assembly at the Cape of Good Hope
was, last year, called by one of the members of the Assembly to the
importance of planting trees on unproductive Crown lands. On learn-
ing that this had been done I addressed to the editor of the Cope Ai'gus
a communication, of which the following is a copy : —
* "I have before me details of destructive effects of torrents which have
occurred since I left the Colony in the beginning of 1S67. Towards the
close of that year there occurred one, the damage occasioned by which
to roads and to house property at Port Elizabeth alone was estimated at
from £25,000 to £30,000. Within a year thereafter a similar destructive
torrent occurred at Natal, iu regard to which it was stated that the
damage done to public works alone was estimated at £50.000, Avhile the
loss to private persons was estimated variously from £50,000 to £100,000.
In the following year, 1869, a torrent in the Western Province occa-
sioned the fall of a railway bridge, which issued in loss of life and loss
of property, and personal injuries, for one case alone of which the rail-
way proprietors were prosecuted for damages amounting to £5000. In
Beaufort West a deluge of rain washed down the dam, and the next
year the town was flooded by the waters of the Gamko ; and the next
year, 1871, Victoria West was visited with a similar disaster. Such are
the sums and the damages with which we have to deal in connection
with this question, as it affects the case ; and these are only the most
remarkable torrents of the several years referred to. I have spoken of
millions of francs being speut on reboisement in France, and some may
be ready to cry out, ' Xothing like such an expenditure can be under-
taken at the Cape ! ' Perhaps not ; but the losses occasioned by the
torrents seem to amount at present to about a million of francs in tlie
year. This falls in a great measure on individuals, that would fall on
the community ; and the coinmuuity in return would benefit by water
retained to fertilize the earth, instead of being lost in the sea, and by
firewood and timber being grown where now there is none. These are
facts well deserving of consideration in the discussion of the expediency
of planting Crown lands with trees."
' Towards the close of last year, 187-t, still more disastrous effects
were produced by torrential floods. According to the report given by
one of the Colonial newspapers, the damages done could not be esti-
mated at much less than £300,000. According to the report given by
10
another, the damage done to public works alone was estimated at
£ii50,000,— eight mill/ons, seven hxtndred and fifty thousand francs. And
my attention was called anew to the subject.
'On addressing myself to M. Far^, Director-General of the Administra-
tion of Forests in France, there was afforded to me every facility I could
desire for extending and verifying the information I had previously col-
lected in regard to the works of rehoisement to which I have referred.
Copies of additional documents were supplied to me, with copies of
works sanctioned by the Administration, and arrangements were made
for my visiting and inspecting, with every assistance required, the works
begun and the works completed ; and thus I have been enabled to sub-
mit a much more complete report than it would otherwise have been in
my power to produce.
' ^Vhile the compilation I have prepared owes its publication at this
time to the occurrence of the inundations of last year at the Cape of
Good Hope, the publication has been undertaken in the hope that \\\
other countries besides Soath Africa the informatioa may be turned to
practical account.'
Translation of extract from letter to the author by M. Alexandre
SuRELL, Ingenieur den Ponts et Chausses, chairman of the Cowpaynie des
Chtmins des Per du JJidi et du Canal lateral a la Garonne, and author of
Etude sur les Torrents des Hautes- Alps, Ouvrage Couronne par V Academie
des Sciences en 1842 : — * You are rendering an eminent service!;© society
in calling the attention of serious thinkers to the subject of reboisements
and gazonnements. It is a vital question affecting our descendants,
specially in southern climates, there are useful truths which have to be
diffused there, and you have fulfilled this duty amongst your country-
men.
' In France public opinion, Jong indifferent, is now suflSciently en-
lightened on the question, and much has been done.
' I have been able to establish in the course of a recent journey
that, throughout a great part of Switzerland, in Styria, in Carinthia,
and in the Tyrol, the same phenomena which have issued in the desola-
tion of our French Alps are beginning to produce the same effects.
There have been recognised a number of extinct torrents which had
originated in the destruction of the forests. If people go on sleeping,
and the administration or the communes do nothing to arrest the evil,
posterity will have a sad inheritance devolved upon it.
' You have given, with very great clearness, a resume of what I have
done in France, be it by my works, or be it by my workings, for the re-
generation of our mountains.'
Translation of extract from letter by the late M. Ernest Cezanne, Tn-
genieur des Ponts et Chausses, Represenlant des Haules Alpes dVAssemhlee
Rationale, and author of Cne Suite to the work of M. !Surell. ' The
post brought to me yesterday your very interesting volume on Rehoise-
raent. I at once betook myself to the perusal of it ; and I am surprised
that a foreigner could digest so completely such a collection of our
French documents drawn from so many diverse sources. The problem
11
of r^boisement and the regeneration of the mountains is one of the most in-
teresting which man has to solve, but it requires time and money, and
with the authorities and political assemblies, technical knowledge which
is as yet but very sparingly possessed. It is by books so substantial as
yours, sir, that public opinion can be prepared to face the importance
of this great work. '
IX.— Hydrolog'y of South Africa ; or Details of the
Former Hydrographic Condition of Cape of Good
Hope, and of Causes of its Present Aridity, with
Sugg-estions of Appropriate Remedies for this
Aridity. Price lOs.
Iq this the desiccation of South Africa, from pre-Adamic
times to the presetit day, is traced by iadications supphed
by geological formations, by the physical geograph}^ or the
general contour of the country, and by arborescent pro-
ductions in the interior, with results confirmatory of the
opinion that the appropriate remedies are irrigation,
arboriculture, and an improved forest economy : or the
erection of dams to prevent the escape of a portion of
the rainfall to the sea — the abandonment or restriction of
the burning of the herbage and bush in connection with
pastoral and agricultural operations — the conservation and
extension of existing forests — and the adoption of measures
similar to the reboisement and gazonnement carried out in
France, with a view to prevent the formation of torrents,
and the destruction of property occasioned by them.
M. Jules Clave, of world-wide reputation as a studeot
of Forest Science, wrote in the Revue des Deux Mondes of
1st May 1882:—
[Translated. \ ' Since the first travels of Livingstone, the African
continent, hitherto inacessible, has been attacked on all points at once.
By the north, and by the south, by the east, and by the west, hardy
explorers have penetrated it, traversed it, and have dragged from it
some of its secrets. Travellers have paid tribute and done their work
in opening up a path ; it is now for science and civilisation to do theirs,
in studying the problems which present themselves for investigation ;
and in drawing ia the current of general circulations the peoples and
lands, which appear as if destined to stand outside ; and in causing to
12
contribute to the increase of social wealth the elements of production
preAiously unknown. Thus are we led to receive with interecit works
which can throw a new light on the condition of regions which may
have been known for a long time, and which make known the conditions
of their prosperity. It is under this title that the work of the Rev. J. C.
Brown on the Hydrology of South Africa appears deserving of notice ;
but it is so also from other points of view. Air Brown, after a previous
residence in the colony of the Cape, whither he had been sent in 1844
as a missionary and head of a religious congregation, returned thither
in ISJo as Professor of Botany in the College of South Africa, and he
remained there some years. In both of these positions he had occasion to
travel through the colony in all directions, and had opportunities to col-
lect most valuable information in regard to its physical geography. Mr
Brown on going out to the Cape knew nothing of the works which had
for their object to determine the influence of forests on the climate, on
the quantity of rain, and on the river courses in Europe ; he had never
heard mention of the work of M. Surell on the torrents of the Alps, or
of that of M. Mathieu on forest meteorology, nor of those of M.
Domontzey, Costa de Bastelica, and so many others on the subject of
rehoisement ; and yet in studying by himself, and without bias, the
climatic condition of South Africa, he came to perceive that the dis-
turbances in the regularity of the flow of rivers within the historic
period should be attributed in a large measure to the destruction of
forests ; and he meets in agreement on this point the savunts whose
names have been mentioned. We have thought it might not be with-
out interest to readers of the Revue to have in the lines of Mr Brown a
collection of phenomena which, in their manifestation at any speci-
fied point are not less due to general causes, the effects of which
may be to make themselves felt everywhere where there may be
existent the same conditions than to aught else.' And there follows a
lengthened article in illustration.
X.— Water Supply of South Africa, and Facilities for
the Storage of it. Price 18s 6d.
In this volume are detailed meteorological observations
on the humidity of the air and the rainfall, on clouds, and
winds, and thunder-storms ; sources from which is derived
the supply of moisture which is at present available for
ao-ricultural operations in the Colony of the Cape of Good
Hope and regions beyond, embracing the atmosphere, the
rainfall, rivers, fountains, subterranean streams and reser-
yoirs, and the sea ; and the supply of water and facilities
for the storage of it in each of tlie divisions of the colony
13
— ill Basutoland, in the Orange River Free State, in
Griqualaad West, in the Transvaal Territory, in Zululinl,
at Natal, and in the Transkei Territory.
Extract from Preface.— ' Appended to the Report of the Colonial
Botanist at the Cape of Good Hope for 1866 was an abstract of a Memoir
prepared on the Hydrology of South Africa, which has since been
embodied in a volume which has been published on that subject, and an
abstract of a Memoir prepared on Irrigation and its application to
agricultural operations in South Africa, which eml traced a Eeport on
the Water Supply of the Colony ; its sources, its quantity, the modes of
irrigation required in different circumstances, the facilities for the adop-
tion of these in different districts, and the difficulties, physical and
other, in the way of works of extensive irrigation being carried out
there, and the means of accomplishing these which are at command.
' In the following volume is embodied that portion of the Memoir
which related to the water supply, and the existing facilities for the
storage of this, with reports relative to this which were subsequently
received, and similar information in regard to lands beyond the Colony
of the Cape of Good Hope, which it has been sought to connect with the
Colony by federation, or otherwise ; and the information relative to
irrigation has been transferred to a Report on the Rivers of the Colony,
and the means of controlling floods, of preventing inundations, of
regulating the flow of rivers, and utilising the water by irrigation
otherwise.
'In the series of volumes to which this belongs its place is immedi-
ately after that on the Hydrology oj South Africa, which contains
details of the former hydrographic condition of the Cape of Good Hope,
and of causes of its present aridity, ivith suggestions of appropriate
remedies for this aridity ; and it has been prepared to show that, not
in a vague and general use of the terms, but in strict accordance with
the statement, the severe, protracted, and extensive droughts, and
destructive floods and inundations, recorded in the former volume, find
their counterpart in constantly alternating droughts and deluges in
every district of the Colony, — and that, in every so-called division of it,
notwithstanding the deluges, there were protracted sufferings from
drought, and, notwithstanding the aridity, there is a supply of water
at command, with existing facilities for the storage of the superabundant
supply which at present proves productive of more evil than good.'
Statement by Reviewer in Europeati Mail : — ' Dr Brown is well known
at the Cape, for in the exercise of his duties he travelled over the prin-
cipal part of it, and much, if not indeed the substance, of the bulky
volume before us, has been before the Cape public in the form of Reports
to the local Government. As these reports have been commented upon
over and over again by the local press there is little left for us to say
beyond the fact that the author reiterates his opinion that the only
panacea for the drought is to erect dams and other irrigation works for
the storage of water when the rains come down. There can be no doubt
14
that this is sage and wholesome advice, and the only question is, who
is to sustain the expanse ? Not long ago, somewhere about the time
that Dr Brown was prosecuting his labours, it will be remembered that
General Wynard said that " Xature had furnished the cups if only
science would take the trouble to make them secure." It is but to
repeat an oft-told story that with a good supply of water South Africa
would be one of the finest of nature's gardens, and would be capable of
producing two crops a year, in addition to furnishing fodder for sheep
and cattle. The question of the water supply for irrigation and other
purposes has been staved ofiF year after year, and nothing has been done.
It is not too much to say, however, that the question must make itself
felt, as it is one of the chief factors in the ultimate prosperity of South
Africa. The author is evidently in love with his subject, and has con-
tributed a mass of facts to Hydrology which will be useful to all coun-
tries of an arid character.'
XI.— Forests and Moisture; or Effects of Forests on
Humidity of Climate. Price 10s.
la this are given details of phenomena of vegetation on
which the meteorological effects of forests affecting the
humidity of climate depend — of the effects of forests on
the humidity of the atmosphere, and od the humidity of the
ground, on marshes, on the moisture of a wide expanse of
country, on the local rainfall, and on rivers — and of the
correspondence between the distribution of the rainfall and
of forests — the measure of correspondence between the
distribution of the rainfall and that of forests — the distri-
bution of the rainfall dependent on geographical position,
or determined by the contour of a country — the distribution
of forests affected by the distribution of the rainfall — and
the local effects of forests on the distribution of the rain-
fall within the forest district.
ExTRA-CTS FROM PREFACE. — ' This volume is one of a Leries. In the
first of the series — a volume entitled — published last year, Hydrology
of South Africa: or, Details oj the Former Hydrographic Condition of
the Cape o) Good Hope and. of Causes of its receiU Aridity, with Sugges-
tions of appropriate Remedies for this Aridity.
'This volume, on the effects of forests on the humidity of the atmos-
phere and the ground, follows supplying illustrations of the reasonable-
ness of the suggestion made in regard to the conservation and extension
of forests as a subordinate means of arresting and counteracting the
deseccation and aridity of the country. '
15
Extracts fro-M Letters to the author from the late Hon. George P.
Marsh, Minister of the United otates at Konie, and author of The
Earth as Modified bi/ Human Action : — ' I am extremely obliged to you
for a copy of your Rehoisement in France, just received by post. I hope
the work may have a wide circulation. . . . Few things are more
needed in the economy of cur time than the judicious administration of
the forest, and your very valuable writings cannot fail to excite a
powerful influence in the right direction,
'I have received your interesting letter of the 5th inst., with the
valuable MSS. which accompanied it. I will make excerpts from the
latter, and return it to you soon. I hope the very important facts you
mention concerning the effect of plantations on the island of Ascension
will be duly verified.
. . . ' I put very little faith in old meteorological observations,
and, for that matter, not much in neic. So much depends on local
circumstances, on the position of instruments, &c. — on station, in short,
that it is oaly on the principle of the tendency of some to balance each
other that we can trust to the registers of observers not known to be
trained to scientific accuracy. Ev^en in observatories of repute, meteoro-
logical instruments are seldom properly hung and guarded from dis-
turbing causes. Beyond all, the observations on the absorption of heat
and vapour at small distances from the ground show that thermometers
are almost always hung too hiafh to be of any value as indicating the
temperature of the stratum of the atmosphere in which men live and
plants grow, and in most tables, particularly old ones, we have no
information as to whether the thermometer was hung five feet or fifty
feet from the ground, or whether it was in any way protected from heat
radiated from near objects.'
Extract Letter from the late Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian
Institution, Washington : — ' The subject of Forest Culture and its in-
fluence on rainfall is, just at this time, attracting much attention in tiie
United States. At the last meeting of the American Association for the
advancement of science a committee was appointed to memorialise Con-
gress with reference to it. Several of the Western States Governments
have enacted laws and offered premiums in regard to it. The United
States Agricultural Department has collected statistics bearing on the
question, and we have referred your letter to that establishment.
* Ttie only contribution that the Smithsonian Institution has made to
the subject is that of a series of rain-fall tables, comprising all the obser-
vations that have been made in regard to the rainfall in the United
States since the settlement of the country ; a copy of this we have sent
to your address.
' It may be proper to state that we have commenced a new epoch,
and have, since the publication of the tables in question, distributed
several hundred rain gauges in addition to those previously used, and to
those which have been provided by the Government in connection with
the signal service.'
These notices and remarks are cited as indicative of the importance
which is being attached to the subject discussed.
16
Extract from Letter to the author from Lieut. -Col. J. Campbell
Walker, Conservator of Forests, Madras, then Conservator-in-Chief of
Forests, New Zealand ; author of Report on State Foreats and Forest
Mo.naqement in Germany and Austria: — 'I am in receipt of j'ours,
along with the notices of your works on Forestry, by book post.
I think very highly of the scope of the works, and feel sure that they
and similar works will supply a want much felt by the Indian forest
oflBcers.
' It contains many important data which I should have vainly sought
elsewhere, and it will be regarded by all competent judges as a real
substantial contribution to a knowledge of the existing surface, and the
changes which, from known or unknown causes, that surface is fast
undergoing. '
Copies of any of these Works will be sent post-paid to
any address within direct Postal communication with
Britain, on receipt by Dr John C. Brown, Haddington,
of a Post-Office Order for the price.
FORESTS AND FORESTRY
OF
NORTHERN RUSSIA
AND L^NDS BEYOND.
COMPILED BY
JOHN CROUMBIE BROWN, LL.D.,
Formerly Lecturer on Botany in University andKing^s College, Aberdeen ;
subsequently Colonial Botanist at Cape of Good Hope, and Professor
of Botany in the South African College, Capetown ; Fellow of the
Linnean Society ; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society ; and
Honorary Vice-President oj the African Institute of Paris.
EDINBURGH:
OLIVER AND BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT.
LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO.,
And WILLIAM RIDER & SON.
MONTREAL: DAWSON BROTHERS.
1 8^8 4.
ADYEBTISEMENT.
In the Spring of 1877 I published a Brochure entitled
The Schools of Forestry in Euroix : a Plea for the Creation of a
School of Forestry in connection with the Arboretum in Edinburgh,
in which, with details of the arrangements made for
instruction in Forest Science in Schools of Forestry in
Prussia, Saxony, Hanover, Hesse, Darmstadt, Wurtemburg,
Bavaria, Austria, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, France,
Italy, and Spain, and details of arrangements existing
in Edinburgh for instruction in most of the subjects
included amongst preliminary studies, I submitted for
consideration the opinion, 'that with the acquisition of
this Arboretum, and with the existing arrangements for
study in the University of Edinburgh, and in the Watt
Institution and School of Arts, there are required only
facilities for the study of what is known on the Continent
as Forest Science to enable these Institutions conjointly,
or any one of them, with the help of the others, to take a
place amongst the most completely equipped Schools of
Forestry in Europe, and to undertake the training of
foresters for the discharge of such duties as are now
ir ADVERTISEMENT.
required of them in India, in our Colonies, and at
home.'
This month has seen an International Exhibition of
forest products, and other objects of interest connected
with forestry, opened in Edinburgh, * in the interests of
forestry, and to promote a movement for the establishment
of a School of Forestry in Scotland, as well as with a
view of furthering and stimulating a gTeater improve-
ment in the scientific management of woods in Scotland
and the sister countries which has manifested itself during
recent years.'
The following is one of a series of volumes^ublished
in support of this enterprise, with a view to introduce
into English forestal literature detailed information on
some of the points on which information is supplied to
the students at Schools of Forestry on the Continent ; and
to make better known the breadth of study which is
embraced in what is known there as Forstwissensclmft, or
Forest Science.
JOHN C. BROWN.
Haddington, 2JitTi July^ I884.
CONTENTS.
PAET I.— Forest Lands.
PAGF
Introduction, - 1
Chapter I. — The Neva, ----- 3
Voyage from St. Petersburg to Schlusselburg.
Chapter II. — Lake Ladoga ^ - - - - 11
Chapter III. ^ — The Svir, - - - - - 16
Chapter IV. — Lahe Onega^ - - - - 22
Chapter V. — The Falh of Keewash^ - - - 27
Chapter VI. — Forest Lands of Olonetz, - - 36
QB.kVT'E.^Yll.— Forests of Archangel, - - - 49
Chapter VIII. — La2:)land, and Land of the Samoides, 59
Chapter IX. — Nova Zemhla, and Lands beyond, - 73
PART II.— Forest Exploitation.
Chapter l.—Sartage, 85
vi CONTENTS.
PA6E
Chapter II. — Jardinage, ----- 89
Disastrous Consequences at Cape of Good Hope (p. 90),
and Elsewhere (p. 95) ; Precautions adopted here
(p. 96).
Chapter III. — Views entertained in Bus sia in regard
to different Methods of Exploitation^ - - 101
Chapter IV. — Export Timber Trade^ _ _ - 109
Onega or English Timber Company (p. 109) ; Transport
and Floatage (p. 112) ; Cutting up of Logs (p. 115) ;
Other Companies (p. 117) ; Forest Code (p. 123).
Chapter V. — Exports by Archangel and the White Sea^ 125
Chapter VI. — Forest Industries, - - - 133
Section A. - Forest Exploitation and Clearing^
Forest Lands, - - - - - -133
Section B. — Tar, Turpentine, and Vinegar Manu-
facture, - — - - - - -137
Section C. — House Building and Carpentry, - 141
PART III— Physical Geography.
Chapter I. — Contour and General Appearance of the
Country, ------- 143
Rivers (p. 144) ; Lapland and its Temperature (p. 147).
Chapter M,—Flora^ - » . . . 155
CONTENTS. vii
PAGB
Section 1. — Characteristic Vegetation^ - - 155
Successive Zones of Vegetation characteristic of Latitude
and of Elevation above the Level of the Sea (p. 156) ;
The Icy Eegion (p. 158) ; the Region of Moss (p.
158) ; the Eegion of Barley and Northern Agricul-
ture (p. 159) ; Marine Vegetation within the Arctic
Circle (p. 160) ; Vegetation on the Snow (p. 163) ;
Terrestrial Vegetation of the Far North (p. 164) ;
and of the Forest Zone (p. 174).
Section II. — Forests, - - - - - 176
Forest Trees and Forest Products of the Government of
Archangel (p. 176) ; and of Olonetz and Vologda
(p. 187) ; Details of the Appearance and Contents of
the Forest Estate of Vuig (p. 179).
Section III. — Classified List of Plants foiind in
the vicinity of Lake Onega hy Forst-Meister
A. Guenther, - - - - - -182
Section IV. — Vegetation in Lapland , - - 191
Section Y. — Palaeontological Botany J - - 193
Views advanced by Dr Oswald Heer, and expounded and
illustrated by Count Saporta, relative to Vegetation
having originated in the Far North, and diiSused
itself Southwards.
Chapter 111,— Fauna, 236
Section I. — Quadrupeds, - . - . 286
Section II. — Birds, 242
Section III. — Insects, 245
Notice of Insects injurious to Forest Trees in Northern
Eussia by Forst-Meister Guenther (p. 245).
Sub-Section A. — List of Coleoptera collected by Mr
Guenther in the Government of Olonetz, arranged
according to Catalogus Coleopterorum Europae et
Caucasi Auctorihus, L. V. Heyden, E. Eeitler, et J.
Weise (p. 248).
yiii CONTENTS.
Sub-Section B. — List of Lepidoptera collected by Mr
Guenther in the Government of Olonetz, arranged
according to Catalog der Lepidojyteren des Europae-
ischen Tatmengebietz, Von 0. Standinger, u. M.
Wocke (p. 264).
AUTHORITIES CITED.
AcERBi, p. 157; The Arctic World, pp. 76, 160; Balfour, p. 231
Blackicood's Magazine, p. 73 ; Baron V. Buch, p. 156 ; Buffon, p. 199
Daa, p. 152; Hepworth Dixon, pp. 49, 69, 126; Dueden, p. 147
Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, pp. 83, 149 ; Forbes, p. 233 ; Forests of Fin
land, pp. 13, 85 ; Frost and Fire, p. 32 ; Guenther, pp, 182, 245, 248, 264
GuiLLEMARD, p. 60 ; Hayes, p. 167 ; Heer, pp. 193, 204 ; Howison
p. 1S9 ; Hydrology 0} South Africa, p. 89 ; Journal of Forestry, p. 108
JuDRAE, pp. 36, 44, 86, 96, 122, 133, 137, 176; Leonard, p. 94; Long
fellow, p. 18 ; Lyell, p. 224 ; Mordvinoff, p. 158 ; Nicolson, p. 13
NoRDENSKJOELD, pp, 198, 213 ; Pears, p. 94 ; Pramiatnais Knjlca, p
43 ; Eae, p. 130 ; Russian Songs, p. 56 ; Saporta, pp. 195, 208, 209
&c. ; Scotsman, p. 233; U staff Laesnoi, p. 123; Lady Vernay, p. 95
Wahlenberg, pp. 59, 62, 191 ; Mackenzie Wallace, p. 155 ; Were
KHA, pp. 101, 122. ^
FOREST LANDS AND FORESTRY
y OF
NORTHERN RUSSIA.
PART I.
FOREST LANDS.
INTRODUCTION.
In the introduction to a companion volume on The Forest
Lands and Forestry of Finland it is stated that ' I spent
the summer of 1879 in St. Petersburg, ministering in the
British and American Chapel in that city, while the pastor
sought relaxation for a few months at home. I was for
years the minister of the congregation worshipping there ;
and I had subsequently repeatedly spent the summer
among them in similar circumstances. I was at the time
studying the forestry of Europe ; and I availed myself of
opportunities afforded by my journey thither through
Norway, Sweden, and Finland, by my stay in Russia, and
by my return through Germany and France, to collect
information bearing upon the enquiries in which I was
engaged. On ray return to Scotland I contributed to the
Journal of Forestry a series of papers, which were after-
wards reprinted and published under the title Glances at
the Forests of Borthern Europe. In the preface to this
pamphlet I stated that in Denmark may be studied the
remains of forests in prehistoric times ; in Norway, luxu-
riarjt forests managed by each proprietor as seemeth good
in his own eyes ; in Sweden, sustained systematic endea-
B
2 THE FOREST LAKDS OF NORTHEEN RUSSIA.
vonrs to resfulate the manas^ement of forests in accordance
o o
with the latest deliverances of modern science ; in Finland,
Sartage disappearing before the most advanced forest
economy ; and in Russia, Jardinage in the north, merging
into more scientific management in Central Russia, and
reboisement in the south.'
The following pages may be considered a study of infor-
mation I then collected, together with information which
I previously possessed, or have subsequently obtained, in
regard to the forestry of the Russian Governments of
Olonetz, Vologda, and Archangel, through some of the
forest lands of which I made a tour in the summer of
1882.
CHAPTER I.
THE NEVA.
The steamer plying between St. Petersburg and Lake
Onega takes its departure from a quay nearly opposite to
the Finnish Railway Terminus. Of the passage by water
from the centre of the city to this, I have given an
account in the companion volume, entitled Forests and
Forestry in Finland. The drive by land from the centre of
the city to the quay of the Onega steamer may be less
striking, but it is not less interesting.
Starting from Yassiliostroff, or from the English
Quay, passing along this brings us upon the Isaac's
Plain, now the Alexandra Sadd. This was the scene
of the military insurrection which occurred in Decem-
ber 1825, on Nicolas I. succeeding to the throne. I write
from memory of what was told to me fifty years ago
O}^ men who had seen, and men who had acted in the
conflict, and of what I then read of the trial and condemna-
tion of leaders in the fight, and the visions which rise before
me may be more vivid than absolutely correct, but they
are my remembrances accurately given. The conspiracy
had been progressing rapidly during the later years of
Alexander I. His death, and the succession of the Grand
Duke Constantino, intensified the desire of many to effect
a change in the government of the Empire. By a family
compact Constantino had ceded to his younger brother
Nicolas all claim to the throne. There, as here, the Sovereign
never dies. The oath of allegiance to Constantine had
been taken when the death of Alexander was proclaimed ;
and now the soldiery were required to take an oath of
allegiance to Nicolas. The disaffected officers, assuming
4 THE rOEEST LANDS OF NORTHEEN EUSSIA.
an air of loyalty, said they could not unless personally
released from their previous oath by the Grand Duke to
whom they had sworn fealty.
According to the accounts given to me, arrangements
were made for a general insurrection of all the troops in
the vicinity of St. Petersburg. The day was fixed for their
concentrating on St. Petersburg ; something occurred to
disturb that arrangement, and to render expedient a short
postponment of the insurrection ; but one regiment did not
receive notice of this in proper time, and began their march;
the others on hearing this were precipitately mustered
and marched from their cazernes, and mustered in tlie
Isaac's Plain.
The Emperor Nicolas, it is said, came out fuom his palace
to the troops with his son, the late Emperor Alexander
II., then a child, in his arms ; and addressing the soldiery
in a dignified tone, he demanded of them : ' What is it you
want ? Is it to take my life, and the life of my^on ? If
so, we are here; but what will taking our lives benefit you,
or advance your purpose ? What better will be your
condition ; No, no, my children, stand by your Tsar.'
The effect was, as might be imagined, electric ; and en-
thusiasm found expression in shouts of loyal attachment
to the Tsar. But while some cried ' Long live the
Emperor,' by others were raised the cry, Constantine e
Consfitutzio.
My informant happened to be on the Isaac's Plain when
one regiment entered from one direction, and another from
another. From their bearing he concluded something un-
usual was going on, though what it might be he could not
imagine. Wishing to see what might be seen he took up his
station along with others between pillars in the wall of the
Senate House. When he saw what was occurring fain
would he have got to his home ; but this seemed
impracticaVjle ; at length a gun was so planted as to sweep
the whole Galernoy — the street at his feet ; and then he
made away with all speed and at all risk, glad enough
to get safely to his house. From him I learned not a
THP: NEVA. 5
little of what occurred before the bloodshed commenced,
and the spot was indicated to me by him, where, standing
between the two pillars of the Senate House, whence he
was looking down upon the commotion, he saw an officer
ride up to two or three soldiers, who were standing at his
feet, and greatly excited, and cry to the men, ' Call out
Constantine e Constitutzio ! ' The men hesitated, grounded
their arms, and insisted to know who Constitutzio was.
' Constantino's wnfe, you blockheads,' was the repl}^
' Ah Xoroshos /' (all right), and forthwith the cry was
raised, Constantine e Constitutzio !
While these shouts were being raised a shot was heard,
whether fired accidentally or of design was unknown, and
Milardovitch, the Military Governor-General of the city,
who was riding in front of the troops addressing to them
soothing words, fell dead. He was a man universally
beloved ; great confusion immediately ensued, and fighting
beoran among^st those who had marched thither animated
by a common purpose. Soon regiment was firing upon
regiment, which of them in the supposed interests of the
Crown, which of them in the supposed prosecution of
rebellion, it would have been difficult to say. Dreadful
was the slaughter. At length one party remained masters
of the field — either they were the loyal party, or if they
were not, and there were none such in the fight, they
found it convenient to proclaim themselves such; and
order was re-established. It was in winter, the snow on
the plain was everywhere red with blood; but during the
night which followed, openings were made in the ice which
covered the Neva, which flows past the place ; and into
these, it is said, the dead and the dying were thrown pro-
miscuously. These the rapid-flowing river carried quickly
away ; the snow was cleared off, and similarly disposed of;
and by the following day peace was restored.
I said to one of the officers of a so-called loyal regiment:
* Now, tell me, were you all perfectly loyal V 'As loyal as
man is to God,' was his reply, given with great solemnity
and assurance. I said, * That is not in accordance with
6 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
what I have heard from others.' His rejoinder was : ' Mark
my reply ; I cannot say more, but, I repeat, As loyal as
man is to God.' 'Oh ! ho ! Universal depravity ? ' He
said nothing in reply, but his silence led me to say :
* How came you then to fire upon those who were in the
same plot ? ' He shrugged his shoulders and replied, ' We
are in the army accustomed to implicit and immediate
obedience. Our superior officers gave the orders to us ;
and we in turn, faithful to our traditions, gave them to
those who were under our command, et Voila ! '
Through the scene of this outbreak, and slaughter, and
treason, and treachery, lies the way from the English Quay
to the point of embarking for Lake Onega.
St. Isaac's Plain is now laid out as a garden with public
promenades, and there there is to be seen one manifestation
of the reign of peace which, often as I have beheld it, always
gives me pleasure. Here and there are laid down cart-
loads of fine clean sand in the summer, in which children,
whose parents cannot arrange to take them to the country,
as do most who can, may work as they please —making dove-
cots, digging pits, raising bulwarks, and trundling sand
from one corner to another, as children delight to do ; and
in the early morning, before they are again astir, all is
swept up again into a heap, where during the day they or
others may resume their play.
Within this garden stands the statue of Peter the Great,
on its immense boulder support. At right angles to the
Synod and Senate Houses stands St. Isaac's Church, the
dome of which dominates the city. Along the left-hand
side of the garden are the Admiralty Buildings, with their
golden spire, opposite to which diverge at equal angles the
three lengthened Prospects which divide into sections a
great extent of the city situated on the mainland, — one of
them, the Nevsky Prospect, being one of the celebrated
streets of Europe. Beyond the Admiralty Buildings is the
Imperial residence, the Winter Palace, looking out upon the
monolith erected to the memory of Alexander L, and on the
THE NEVA. 7
Glavno Stab. Beyond the palace, and connected with it,
is the Hermitage, containing a valuable collection of
articles pertaining to Peter the Great, the founder of the
city, and an invaluable collection of paintings byancient and
modern artists, of coins, of cameos, and of other gems. A
little way brings us upon the Champs de Mars, an exten-
sive plain devoted to reviews of the troops, dominated by
palaces, among others that erected by the Emperor Paul,
and in which he met his death. In front are the Summer
Gardens, studded with statuary. Leaving the Champs de
Mars, we pass a statue of Kotussof, and passing in front of
the Summer Gardens we pass a shrine for prayer, erected
on the spot where was made the first attempt to assassinate
the late Emperor Alexander II. Passing onwards between
a noble qua}^ or line of palatial residences and the river,
and passing the entrance to a noble granite bridge
spaning the Neva, and leading to the Finnish railway, and
the country beyond, we reach at length the quay from
which the steamers for Lake Onega take their departure.
The commencement of the voyage is through miles of
urban scenes — houses, churches, manufactories, and wharfs ;
but these past, the rural scenery is reached. Here
the banks of the Neva present aspects differing greatly
from those of the Saima Canal in Finland : there the
banks are wooded to the water's edge, approximating and
receding, and branching off into numerous lakelets, and
presenting in front ofttimes a wooded barrier against
advance, which, however, is found practicable by some narrow
outlet in a concealed corner ; here there is a broad expanse
of river, winding indeed, but never so as to conceal what
is ahead. Both banks of the Neva, from St. Petersburg
upward, for a considerable distance, are crowded with
timber yards and manufactories of different kinds, and not
until Alexandrof, eight or nine miles distant by road, has
been left a considerable way behind is it otherwise.
Beyond this the banks are studded with villages, with
' datches ' or villas, and with churches admirably located
^ THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
for effect, occupyiDg prominent positions in the landscapes
seen from a considerable distance as they are approached
by the river.
There is not a lack of trees ; but these do not constitute
a characteristic feature of the scenery. On the north bank
of the river, the land a mile or more in breadth, has
been sold or ceded to private parties, Russian communes,
German colonies, aud Finnish villagers, but beyond this is
a forest, belonging the Imperial Domains, 160 square
versts in extent, preserved for the chase, where bears,
wolves, elks, blackcock, capercailzie, and ptarmigan
constitute the principal game. While this forest on the
right bank, commencing a little distance from the river,
but not seen from it in general, has been preserved, and
may be said to extend almost continuously from the
Finnish frontier to the Ural Mountains and Siberia, with
what was once a forest, I may say, in continuation of this
on the opposite bank of the Neva, it is otherwise^
Along the left bank of the Neva, which at no distant
period was richly wooded, the woods have been extensively
destroyed, sometimes by forest fires, sometimes otherwise.
The agricultural operations adopted on both banks have
in many cases, perhaps in most, been the following : The
ground has been cleared of the stumps and roots, which,
after being piled and thus dried, have been used as fire-
wood ; the ground then roughly ploughed, and, though all
hillocks and hollows, has been sown with oats or rye,
generally the former, and a remunerative crop, though not
abundant, has been obtained. The stubble has then been
ploughed in, and the ground in steep furrows exposed to the
influence of the weather. In early spring it has been again
ploughed, harrowed, and levelled ; and potatoes, planted
with appropriate manure. For two or three years there-
after oats, barley, or rye, are grown, but the rye, not being
suitable for malting, can only be used in the manufacture
of pearl barley, for which there is no great demand ; with
the last crop, the field is laid down in Timothy grass and
THE NEVA. &
wild clover, and for some years hay crops are taken. The
red clover gradually gives place to white clover, which
grows abundantly where Avoods have been burnt, and the
Timothy grass gives place to some extent to other grasses
less nutritive to horses and cattle, but which still yield a
valuable hay. After a time the same routine is repeated.
On some farms the ground is divided into four, five, or
six sections, each of which in succession is planted wdth
potatoes, with appropriate manure, or sown with grain.
Winter-sown r3^e yields a beautiful crop, but the risks
from early frost are so great as to frighten many from
adopting this method of culture.
When the winter-grown rye makes what is deemed too
great progress, it is eaten down with cattle or mown, by
wdiich operations the number of stoles is probably
increased. If in spring the crop threatens to fail, it is
generally ploughed up, and the ground left in fallow.
Though damage is done to the hay by rain, a copious
rainfall immediately before cutting the grass is hailed
with delight as greatly facilitating the work of the mower.
The mowing is generally done during the night, through-
out which there is abundant light in July in this region.
The cut grass is turned and tossed by women the following
day, and by nightfall or next morning it is fit for stocking
in hay-cocks.
The German colonists give more special attention to the
growth of potatoes, and onl}'^ introduce the other cultures
in so far as this can be subordinated to the successful
growth of the potato.
Four hours' steamino^ brinofs the traveller from St.
Petersburg to Schlusselburg, the fortress of that name
being situated on an island in the river, the town on the
shores of Lake Ladoga, from ^vhich the river takes its rise.
The Neva has a course of about 40 miles, the medium
breadth of its main stream is about 1500 feet, and the
depths of its mid channel, near St, Petersburg, is about
50 feet.
iO THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
The population of Schlusselburg numbers about 3,500.
The island on which the fort is built is between 300 and
400 yards long. The walls of the fort are about 50 feet
high, of great thickness, and fortified in the old fashion,
with turrets and battlements. The passage to and from
the mainland is by a drawbridge. So early as 1324,
George, Prince of Moscow and Novogorod, built a fort here
while on an expedition against Wyborg, which was taken
by the Lithuanians, who in turn were driven out by
Magnus, King of Sweden, A.D. 1347, but it was retaken
by the Kovogorodians in 1352. It was ultimately, in
1702, occupied by Peter the Great, but till that time it
was a subject of frequent contention between Kussia and
Sweden. Since then the fortress has often served as a
State prison ; here one Emperor at least, John VI., met
his death, and here the first wife of Peter the Great was
confined after being divorced.
CHAPTER II.
LAKE LADOGA.
Lake Ladoga is the terminal reservoir of the waters
drained off from Finland by the Saima See and the Falls
of Imatra, and the reservoir of waters drained off by other
water-courses and water systems in the north, and the
east, and the south, where all these waters are collected, to
be thence discharged by the Neva, and conveyed by it to
the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic, and thence by the
Katiofat and the Skao^ar Rack into the German Ocean and
the Atlantic beyond.
Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe : its length
from north to south is 138 miles, and its greatest breadth
90 miles, the area of the lake is 6,300 square miles. It
contains several islands, and numerous rocks and sand-
banks, which render the navio^ation of it danoerous. It is
fed by about sixty tributary streams, the principal of
which are the Volkhov and Siasi on the south, and the
Svir, which connects it with Lake Onega in the Govern-
ment of Olonetz. The dangerous character of the lake,
and the frequency and violence of its storms, induced
Peter the Great to begin the formation of a canal from
Schlusselbarg to Novaia Ladoga, on the Volkhov, which
was completed in 1732. Additional canals to extend the
means of communication were dug under the direction of
Catherine 11. The Ladoga Canal, 70 miles in length, and
74 feet in breadth, forms with the Siasi and Svir canals, a
continuous line round the south and south-east sides of
the lake.
12 THE FOEEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
The name Novaia Ladoga, or New Ladoga, was given to
the town mentioned, a town of 3,000 inhabitants, in con-
tradistinction to Staraia Ladoga, or Old Ladoga, formerly a
large place, noted in Russian annals as the earliest resi-
dence of Ruric, first sovereio'n of Russia. The ruins of its
ancient walls are still seen ; but since the erection of
Novaia Ladoga, it has become almost depopulated, and the
number of its houses does not exceed fifty. Steamers ply
daily during summer between St. Petersburg and Novaia
Ladoga, leaving Schlusselburg at 2.30 P.M., and arriving at
Novaia Ladoga at 1 A.M., and thence there is water con-
nection with the Volga and the network of inland naviga-
tion.
The creation of this canal, skirting the southern extremity
of Lake Ladoga, was one of the last enterprises of Peter the
Great. In 1718 he formed the plan of the canal and its
sluices. He relied much on canals as a mean&-of extend-
ing the inland navigation of his country ; and when canals
were to be dug with this view, sometimes on marshy and
almost impassable grounds, he was frequently seen at the
head of his w^orkmen, digging the earth, and carrying it
aw^ay himself.
The purpose he had in view in the formation of this
canal w^as to establish a communication between the Neva
and another navigable river for the more easy conveyance
of merchandise to Petersburg, without making the circuit
of the coast of the lake, which, from the storms which
prevailed on the coast, was frequently impassable for barks
or small vessels, and still is, even for steamers, as I have
experienced in crossing it. The Emperor levelled the
ground himself, and the tools and implements used by
him in digging up and carrying off the earth have been
carefully preserved. His courtiers followed his example,
and persistently prosecuted the work, which at the same
time they looked upon as part of an impracticable under-
taking. It was not finished till after his death ; but at
length it was completed.
LAKE LADOGA. 13
The object was to draw produce to St. Petersburg for
exportation ; and in extension of the project of the Ladoga
Canal he, in the same year, or shortly thereafter, made
another canal by which the Caspian became connected by
navio^able water channels with the Gulf of Finland and the
Ocean ; and boats sailing up the Volga, traversing a canal
connecting this river with another, proceeding so far by
this and by another canal to the lake of Ilmen, could
thence by the Ladoga Canal reach the Neva, whence
goods and merchandise might be conveyed by sea to all
parts of the world.
Lake Ilmen, in the Government of Novogorod, inter-
secting a town of the same name, is connected with Lake
Ladoga by the VolkhofP. The length of the course of this
river is about 150 miles. It is deep and rapid, but except
when its waters are low, when it forms cascades, it is
navigable. It is connected by canal with the Siasi, which
flows through the Government of St. Petersburg in a
N.N.W. direction, throughout a course of about 100 miles.
Schlusselburg forms thus a port of departure whence the
traveller may proceed by water to the south, to the east,
to the north, or to the west. By the canal the traveller
may proceed by water to Odessa, the Black Sea, Constan-
tinople, the Mediterranean, and thence whithersoever he
will, the wide world over. By leaving the Volga, a little
beyond Kazan, and ascending the Kama to Perm, a
railway journey of 312 miles will bring him to Ekaterine-
burg, in Siberia, which is in like manner possessed of
wonderful facilities for inland navicjation.
In a sketch of the Hydrography of Finland, in a volume
entitled The Forest Lands of Finland, I have narrated the
experience of my friend, the Rev. W. Nicolson, agent of
the British and Foreign Bible Society, in descending the
Ulea River to the Galf of L^othnia, whence he found his
way by coasting steamers to St. Petersburg. It was by
this route that he had entered Finland. Embarking at
14 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
St. Petersburg, and ascending the Neva at Schlusselburg,
he entered on Lake Ladoga, and visited Konevits,
Hexholm, and Walaroo: the first and the last of which
are holy islands, visited by hosts of pilgrims by which the
steamer was crowded, most being deck passengers. Many
of these were very sick, and strewn on the deck, it seemed
as if in many places they were lying three deep. A day
or half a day spent by the steamer at each place gave an
opportunity to such as chose to fulfil there the object of
their pilgrimage, and proceed with the steamer to the
next ; but if they preferred to do so, they could remain,
and proceed by the following steamer. At one of the
islands, which is covered with forest, no tree may be felled,
no animal slaughtered. Other restrictions similar in
character, but different in kind it may be, are in force at
other holy places subject to the Greek Chuich of Russia;
and yet . Well, at Konevits, a somewhat lugubrious-
looking priest took up his position by the side of the
vessel, and never left it while the vessel was in port. My
friend asked the captain what was the purpose of his
there keeping watch and ward, and he was informed that
the priest was stationed there by ecclesiastical authority
to watch, and afterwards to testify, that no one of the
monks had obtained brandy on board or from on board
the steamer : a precaution which may be commendable ;
but one which may naturally suggest a gibe at the expense
of the character of the consecrated men ; and allegations to
their prejudice in regard to sensual immoralities are
advanced in support of the gibe.
He entered Finland by Hexholm, a little town beautifully
situated on the western shore of the lake — a town of which
frequent mention is made in the old historical annals of
Finland. On the shores of Lake Ladoga, with its fcrest-
crowned hills and lovely valleys, one may feel as if trans-
ported to some one of the most lovely regions of the South.
My route took me across Lake Ladoga in an easterly
direction to the mouth of the Svir, by which are conveyed
LAKE LADOGA. 15
to this gigantic reservoir the waters of Lake Onega, which
is in its turn largely fed by the upper waters in the moun-
tain range which constitutes the boundary between Russia
and the north-eastern lUns of Finland.
CHAPTER III.
THE SVIR.
The aspect of the shores of the Neva, seen from the
river, differs not more from that of the Saima Canal than
does the appearance of Lake Ladoga differ from that of
the Saima See, the latter studded with islands, or
branching out in innumerable lakelets — thus one broad
expanse of waters like to Lake Ontario, and some of the
other lakes of North America, presenting nothing to view
within the horizon but w^ater, water, water, generally
smooth, but liable like these to be tossed intal billows,
when lashed by a storm.
But near the mouth of the Svir wooded islands agfain
appear, and ere the voyager is aware, he has passed from
creeks between islands into the continuous flow of the
river, which, in consequence of its rapid descent, has a
current of considerable force. The surface of the river
throughout lengthened stretches present appearances
characteristic of rapids — now that of the surface of molten
lead, now that of a shallower stream passing over a rocky
bed, and at times the steamer quivers as it stems the
torrent. The banks are covered with trees, but most of
them comparatively young. Floating rafts of timber,
barges laden with deals, piles of firewood a fathom in
height, stretching in some cases as at Vajnee for versts
along the shore, tell of what has occasioned this. All the
older trees have been felled, and these are the reproduced
forests in a condition which may be compared to that of
youth and early manhood.
Four hours or four and a half hours brings the steamer
across the lower end of the lake, from Schlusselburg to
THE SVIR. 17
Sermaksi on the Svir, where are large stores for produce
and a meteorohigical observatory. Some two hours or
more brings it to Ladonoi Pole, founded by Peter the
Great, and formerly a naval dockyard. Here there are
still extensive bakeries, to which flour is brought from
great distances, and whence are shipped great quantities
of cringles, a kind of Russian or Swedish biscuit, made in
the form of a long roll, the tapering ends of which are
twisted together so as to form a ring with an expansion
in the middle. Great quantities of cray fish are caught in
the neighbourhood, and offered for sale by peasants crowd-
ing the landing stages where the steamer touches. It is
situated at what appears to be the confluence of two
rivers.
Ladonoi Pole (the field of Lodi) is a place of some
interest, being the spot where Peter the Great built his first
galleys in 1702. He superintended their building in
person, and subsequently employed them in taking the
fortress of Schlusselburg from the Swedes. A monument
in cast iron marks the site of a house in which Peter
resided.
In four hours or more is reached Vajnee, where appar-
ently the rafts of timber are made up. This is brought
hither in floats made in three tiers of twenty logs each,
bound firmly together. Here ten such are connected in a
long line, two oar-like helms or helm-like steering oars are
attached to each end of the long raft, and either end may
become stem or stern, or alternately the one or other.
Ten or twelve women, with one man amongst them to
direct their movements, ply those on the foremost float,
so as to keep the whole in the current, or to move it out
of the way of steamers advancing in an opposite direction,
and one or two men do the like with those in the stern.
The women whom I saw thus employed were cleanly
dressed, and looked healthy and strong, neither coarse-
featured nor ineleo^ant in form. Throusfhout the whole
region women are extensively employed in rowing the
boats plying on the river, and also in piling firewood,
C
18 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Such work is preferred to domestic service, and is more
highly remunerated, and I found complaints rife of diffi-
culty experienced in procuring domestic servants, especi-
ally during the summer months, the wages paid being two
roubles, or 4s a month !
There were many villages besides those I have men-
tioned, and the whole country presented the appearance
of an older settled district than those of Finland through
which I had passed. There was much more land under
pasturage and agriculture. Contrary to what is seen in
some parts of Russia, all the houses and outbuildings
stood erect and in g^ood order. One striking feature was
the clean, newly-painted appearance of all the churches.
Here, as elsewhere, there are little erections containing
pictures of the saints, before which the passing traveller
may offer his prayers. Some of these were ruinous, though
with most it was otherwise, and, with the churches, all
were beautifully clean, leaving no occasion for~^another
Longfellow to tell of what the Devil saw in Church."^
The people, with a slight admixture of Russians from the
south, seemed generally to be of the Thutchi tribe, and
those further to the north to be Karells.
■ What a darksome and dismal place !
I wouder that any man has the face
To call such a hole the house of the Lord,
And the gate of Heaven — yet such is the word.
Ceiling, and walls, and windows old,
Coverer'd with cobwebs, blacken'd with mould ;
Dust on the pulpit, dust on the stairs,
Dust on the benches, and stalls, and chairs.
The pulpit, from wliich such ponderous sermons
Have fallen down on the brains of the Germans,
With about as much real edification
As if a great Bible, bound in lead,
Had fallen, and struck them ou the head ;
And I ought to remember that sensation !
Here stands the holy water stoup !
Hol}^ water it may be to many,
But to me the veriest Liquor Gehennae !
It smells like a filthy fast-day soup !
Near it stands the box for the poor,
With its iron padlock, safe and sure.
I and the priest of the parish know
Whither all these charities go ;
Therefore, to keep up the institution,
I will add my little contribution !
(He puts in money.)
THE SVIR. 19
The flow of the Svir is W.S.W. Its course is about 150
miles. Its principal affluents are the Ivina and Vagena,
flowing into it on the right bank, and the Oiat and Pacha
on the left.
The Ivina rises some 25 miles S.S.W. of Petrozavodsk,
the capital of the Government of Olonetz.. and has a course
of about 60 miles. The Oiat rises in the same Govern-
ment, and flowing westward enters the Svir ;after a course
of 92 miles. The Pacha rises near Ledia, in the Govern-
ment of Novogorod, and flowing first west, and then north,
joins the Svir after a course of 150 miles. Its principal
affluent is the Kapcha.
The Canal of Siasko connects the Svir with the Polkhov,
and thus forms a means of communication between St.
Petersburg and the surrounding provinces.
Russians express their delight in heat in a proverbial
saying that * Heat breaks no bones !' and in sweltering
weather officers and others in like position are to be seen
on the streets of St. Petersburg in wadded cloaks and
overcoats, and peasants in sheepskin shoubs; but it is not
without cause, for changes in temperature are great and
sudden. Spaniards have a proverbial saying that ' The
zephyr which will not extinguish a candle may blow out
a man's life,' and another to the effect, ' Sit in a draught
and send at once for a lawyer and a priest, to make your
will and receive your dying confession.' A similar opinion
seems to prevail in Russia, and of this I had an illustration
in the course of my voyage. I was on the upper or steer- ^
ing deck ; the steerage passengers covered their deck, sleep-
ing in all attitudes and places, and the cabin passengers
were seated or walking about on theirs, when all at once,
like a picture of the resurrection from the dead, the steer-
age passengers started to their feet, and men and women
alike were in movement, like the sea in a stoim, putting
on their shoubs, and the cabin passengers in continuous
lines were making for the cabin doors as if at the sum-
mons of a church bell. I was about to ask the occasion,
20 THE FOREST LANDS OJ^' NOETHERN RUSSIA.
"when I became aware that the wind had suddenly veered
round to the north-east, and was blowing somewhat
strongly. This was the occasion of the sudden movement !
In making arrangements for another journey, I asked a
friend, who had travelled extensively in the region I was
purposing to visit, what provision of clothing for the
journey I should make? He said, 'Go Avhere you may in
Russia, always provide for four different temperatures,
otherwise you are not safe.' It was said playfully; but
on this trip one clay we had the temperature of 92° Fahr.,
next day that of 67°, and the day following 42^ Calling
the attention of one of my fellow travellers to this, he said
that in Archangel, where he resided, one day they had a
temperature of upwards of 90° Fahr., and in the course of
a few hours it was frost ! One day while on this trip I
felt the heat extreme, but within twenty-four hours the
cold was such that I could not sleep at night though
wearing my under flannels, and covered with ^r-^ile of
coverlets.
I met also on this trip with an incident illustrative of
the feelings with which my countrymen are regarded by
the Russians. In Russia fellow travellers freely enter
into conversation with one another. There are sufficient
indications of their position in society to prevent unplea-
santness; and brotherly kindness is one of the traits of
character seen alike in prince and peasant. There was on
board the steamer a gentleman, an official in the Forest
Service, between whom and myself there sprung up con-
siderable intimacy and freedom of conversational inter-
course, from our both being interested in forestry and in
several allied matters. On the second or third day he
said to me, laughingly : ' I must tell you this : When I
came on board, the captain said to me, " There is an
English tourist on board ; he will be ignorant of our
language ; he is going to the Government of Olonetz; and
as you also are going there, I wish you would give to him
any assistance he may need in travelling." I at once
said, "No; he is an Englishman. I know not but any
THE SVIR. 21
advance made by me may bring upon me an insult, the
English are so supercilious. I will have nothing to do
with him." I find that you are the tourist; I find nothing
supercilious about you. How is this ? ' 1 replied, also
laughingly, * I am not an Englishman.' ' You are not an
Englishman ? I thought you were.' ' Oh, no.' ' Then
what countryman are you V ' I am a Scotsman.' ' Ah/
he exclaimed, ' that explains all ;' and with fervour he
embraced me, orivins: me, as is the national custom, three
kisses — the first on one cheek, the second on the other,
and the third on the first again.
I told some friends in St. Petersburg of the incident,
when my story was capped, w^ith other like incidents
experienced by others ; and it was mentioned by one
whose experience had been given, that gentlemen in Russia
fuU}^ recognise the difference between Scotchmen and
Englishmen. They say the average Englishman is a Jingo,
pooh-poohs anything you may say, and will not hear you
complete a sentence )■ ou may have begun ; the average
Scotchman is intelligent ; he is not afraid to hear what you
have got to say ; he may differ from you, but he will allow
you at least to express 3'Our views, and he will judge dis-
passionately of what you say. I have found the difference
between Scotchmen and Englishmen recognised the wide
world over, and generally with a preference for my
countrymen. To many foreigners the supercilious bearing
of Englishmen is offensive; and of English-speaking people
the only thing more so is that of a discourteous American
citizen travelling au prince.
CHAPTER IV.
LAKE ONEGA.
At the issue of the Svir from Lake Onega is Vosnisenya,
one of the principal centres of inland navigation by a
widely extended systeoi of canals, of which there are three
connecting the Baltic and North Sea with the Volga and
the Caspian. One of these commences here, where are
collected barges and vessels from all parts of Russia,
including an extensive region of Siberia. In this respect
it resembles the town and port of Schlusselburg on Lake
Ladoga, it being the fort from which that town^takes its
name, and not the town itself, which is situated on an
island in the river.
In the month of June last (1883) were formally opened
at Serumaxa on the Svir two new canals, connected with the
rivers Svir and Siass, the formal opening taking place in
the presence of the Emperor and Empress, who were
accompanied by several Ministers. The Svir Canal has
been named after the Emperor, and the Siass Canal after
the Empress. Both canals are 8 feet deep, and will allow
of the passage of large vessels, thus rendering possible the
transport of goods to the harbours of St. Petersburg in ten
days less time than hitherto.
Vosnisenya is called by the inhabitants The St. Peters-
burg Gate. I received much kind courtesy here, and I am
indebted for much information and assistance in my en-
quires to Forst-Meister Dlutofsky. Here I had an opportu-
nity of penetrating a httle way into the forests, along
with Forst-Meister Herman Goebel, from whom I received
much information in regard to forestry in Russia, and
more especially in regard to planting operations on
LAKE ONEGA. ^
the steppes in the vicinity of Odessa. The trees which I
saw were chiefly the pine (pinus sylvestris), and the fir
(ahies excelsor) ; but from another forest official, from
whom also I derived much valuable information, I learned
that in the forests beyond there were also to be found the
Norwegian maple, the lime, the elm, the juniper, and
other kinds of trees, the juniper attaining to an arborescent
size, very different from the juniper bush of Britain.
Finding it difficult to thread our way through the close
growing trees, I asked how a forester found his way when
lost in the wood. The reply was, ' The coniferae are on
the north side of the trunk more or less densely covered
with lichens, and thus we know in what direction to go.'
Lake Onega may be considered a basin of the Vodla,
the principal river flowing into it, while the outlet is by
the Svir. Its water is clear, and abounds in fish. The
bases of the islands, of which it contains several, are lime-
stone. It is by the Vodla and Mariienskai water-course
that it is connected with the Volga, while by the Svir it
is connected with Lake Ladoga, the Neva, and the Baltic,
into which river flows also the Oiat, which rises in the
Government of Olonetz, and, entering that of St. Peters-
burg, it joins the Svir on the left bank, after a course of 92
miles. The Vodla flows from a lake bearing the same
name, 26 miles long from north to south, and 14 miles in
breadth, to the N.N.E. of Pudoj, or Pudoscha, a town with
a population of 1200 inhabitants, situated about 65 miles
east of Petrozavodsk. Flowing first in a S.S.E., and then
in a S.S.W. direction, it falls into Lake Onega after a course
of about 100 miles.
From Vosnisenya I sailed to Petrozavodsk. Lake
Onega measures about 220 versts, about 150 miles in
length, and about 75 versts, or 50 miles, in breadth.
Petrozavodsk is situated on the western shore of the lake.
The town dates from 1701, when Peter the Great estab-
lished works there for casting cannon. These were
ti THE FOREST LAXDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
afterwards destroyed, and replaced by other works cora-
pleted in 1774. Guns continued, nevertheless, to be
imported into Russia at great expense from the Carron
works in Scotland, owing probably to the unsatisfactory
state of the establishment on Lake Onega. In order to
improve the latter, Catherine II. invited Charles Gascoigne,
the manager of the Carron works, to come over and
rebuild the Gun Foundry, which he did in 1794, when the
town that had sprung up around it took the name of
Petrozavodsk. Gascoigne was accompanied by two Eng-
lish artisans, who subsequently rose to great eminence in
the service of Russia. Guns for the navy are to this day
cast at Petrozavodsk.
The Government is divided into seven districts, and the
town of Olonetz, on the river Olonza, is the capital of the
district bearing that name, while Petrozavodsk is the
capital of the Government. Olonetz is a town of nearly 3000
inhabitants, on the Olonka, at the junction of^he Meg-
vega, about 15 miles from the east coast of Lake Ladoga,
132 miles north-east from St. Petersburg, and 72 miles
south-west of Petrozavodsk. It has large building docks,
established by Peter the Great, and numerous saw-mills.
The soil, where not covered with forests, is in some parts
stony, and in others marshy, and generally little capable
of culture. Between Lakes Onega and Ladoga are quar-
ries of marble and porphory, and in some of the mountains
are mines of iron and copper. In the Museum at Petro-
zavodsk are beautiful collections of the marbles found in
the Government, and models of different places of interest
in the Government, and relics of the Imperial founder.
Petrozavodsk covers a good deal of ground, surmounted
by two cathedrals, in both of which officiates the Arch-
bishop of the diocese. Near to these is the residence of
the Governor, and the Cazerne or Barracks. The town is
traversed by a small river, ihe Lossalenka. The number
of inhabitants is about 7000.
Lake Onega, upon which it has been built, is only one of
several lakes in the Government of Olonetz.
LAKE ONEGA. 25
The Olonetz chain of mountains, on the confines of the
Eussian Government of the same name and of Finland,
constitute part of the watershed whence the waters flow
on the one side into the Baltic, and on the other into the
White Sea. In continuation of this chain on the north-
west are the mountains of Maanselka, extending from
Finland to Uleaborg, at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia;
and again, on the north-west of these, they are connected
with the Dofrines or Dovre-field, a name sometimes given
to the whole Scandinavian mountain system, but more
explicitly in application to that portion which, in latitude
62°, 63o N., extends from Cape Stadtnaes to the Sylt-
Field, or Syll-Fiellen, in Norway, throughout its length,
dividing the bason of the Baltic from that of the White
Sea
The Government of Olonetz, bounded on the west by
the Grand Duchy of Finland and Lake Ladoga, is bounded
on the north and north-east b}^ the Government of Arch-
angel, on the south-east by that of Vologda, on the south
by that of Novogorod, and on the south-west by that of
St. Petersburg ; it Hes between 60° and 64° 30' N. lat., and
29° 40' and 41° 40' E. long., measuring 890 miles in length
from N.W. to S.E. and about 300 miles at its greatest
breadth, with an area of 51,100 square miles. With the
exception of the range of hills on its north-west boundary,
the surface of the Government is generally level, but inter-
spersed with undulating hills. It comprises districts form-
ing portions of the basins of three far-separated seas — the
White Sea, the Baltic, and the Caspian. In the first-
mentioned, the north and east of the Government, is Lake
Latcha, in which the Onega river and Lakes Sego and Yiga
have their sources, and in which are numerous sheets of
water of smaller dimensions ; in the second are Lakes Onega
and Ladoga, the principal tributaries of which are the
Vodla and the Vitegra; and in the third is the Kovja.
Lake Latcha is about 24 miles in lenofth from north to
south, and 8 in breadth. It receives the waters of the
Soid ; and gives origin to the river Onega, flowing to the
26 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
White Sea. Lake Sego is 30 miles in length from N.W.
to S.E., and 24 in breadth. To the north-east of this is
Lake Vigo, fed by the Vig, which enters it on the south-
east, and flows from it on the N.N.W. The Kovja takes
its rise in Lake Kovjskoe, in the southern part of this
Government ; flowing south, it enters the Government
of Novogorod, and falls into Lake Bielo, on its N.W. side,
after a course of 60 miles.
In the number of its lakes, and the relative proportions
of land and water, Olonetz resembles Finland ; but the area
of the land greatly preponderates over that of the lakes, and
in waterfalls and rapids the similarity of the two countries
is maintained, though the similarity is not very great.
CHAPTER V.
THE FALLS OF KEEWASH.
I A^i indebted greatly to the Forst-Meister in charge at
Vosnisenya, and not less so to the Forst-Meister in charge
at Petrazavodsk, and to the Oberforst-Meister Giinther,
whom I met on my return voyage. Desirous of seeing
something of the forests beyond, with the advice of the
Forst-Meister in charge, and accompanied by his brother,
also a forest official, I proceeded from Petrozavodsk to the
Falls of Keewash, which took me through some stretches of
old forest, as well as extensive stretches of forests in a state
of rejuvenescence, and land which, reclaimed from the
forests, had been devoted to agriculture. The latter showed a
fertility which justifies those who, though lamenting the
inconsiderate destruction of wood, tell that the forests are
not to last for ever, and that even the destruction of them
may be made the means of promoting the advancement of
a country. My excursions into the forests took me
over well nigh a hundred miles, and were deemed sufficient
to give me a general idea of the condition of those existing
in the district. The road which we took brought us in
sight of some beautiful lakes, sprinkled with beautiful
islets, generally wooded to the water's edge.
I had here an opportunity of seeing one of the Objest-
cliicks, or Forest Circuit Wardens, in his home. This was
anything but a palace. It consisted of but a single apart-
ment, with a projection — I cannot call it a verandah —
extending the whole breadth of the house, and some ten
feet deep. My fellow traveller and I arrived at midnight,
and the wife was immediately in attendance to make
arrangements for our comfort. In this verandah were all
^ THE FOREST LAKDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
kinds of agricultural implements, made of wood alone, a
two-pronged and a three-pronged fork, cut from the
branchiucT^ bouoh of a tree, and a harrow with smaller
branches inserted into the bars for teeth. The place was
lumbered with other encumbrances. On a wooden bed-
stead, under a covering like a mosquito net, but made of
coarse linen, the man lay awake. His wife showed us to
noble apartments in a wood built pavilion, erected by
the Government in connection with the zavod already
mentioned, and designed for the accommodation of visitors,
bringing as we did a permit from the authorities. It was
light, for at midsummer there is no night there, but it was
very cold, and we returned to the house, where, according
to our desire, she was preparing for us a supper of tea,
eggs, black bread and butter. Inside there was like con-
fusion ; but there was a plain deal table and bench, scrupu-
lously clean. Behind a temporary screen two daughters were
sleeping; on the hearth was a blazing fire, on^ which our
eggs were being cooked ; of these there was being prepared
no stinted supply, and as soon as they were boiled
they were placed for a minute in cold water. Meanwhile,
wdth embers from the fire, the water in the samovar, or
Russian tea-urn, was made to boil, and tea was soon
infused. We intimated our preference to take it there
rather than in the pavilion. Bread and butter were soon
on the table, but no knife or spoon. My fellow traveller
at once produced his pocket-knife, and laid on thickly the
butter; seeing I had none, our hostess soon produced her
husband's forester's knife with which the bread had been
cut, and handed it to me, when I did likewise. Our only
light was that supplied by the little fire on which the eggs
were boiled, and a small window not above 18 inches
square, and though it was now only half an hour past mid-
nigfht the lioht was all we could desire. There was no
chimney, but two holes in the roof, about a foot square,
one above the fire, the other near the centre of the room.
The higher half of the apartment was filled with smoke,
which irritated my eyes, and provoked a cough, upon
THE FALLS OF KEEWASH. 29
which our hostess brought out a coverlet and spread it oq
the floor for me to sit upon, while my fellow traveller and
she, to use an Aberdeen expression, newsed away about any-
thing and everything.
We, warmed and refreshed, retired for the night to
the pavilion, where was a spacious sitting-room, with bow-
window commanding the Fall, plainly, but elegantly and
substantially furnished. There were more than one bed-
room furnished in like style, a dressing-room with every
thing pertaining to the toilet, and a small cabinet with
everything pertaining to the writing-table, and outside
was a kitchen with hot plates and other conveniences, but
there was no bed or table linen, knives or forks, or tea or
dinner crockery. All these visitors were expected, in
accordance with the usage of the country, to bring with
them, together with provisions, unless they chose, as did
we, to procure these from the woman in charge.
The nio^ht was cold, and in the morninor we were asfain
fain to betake ourselves to the house of the Objestchi'ck for
our morning meal, rather than have it served in our elegant
quarters. On going there we found the daughters, as well
as the parents, all astir, the former making up for sale small
bundles of birch twigs, which are used extensively through-
out Russia for switching the body in the national bath. The
husband, who retained his bed when we arrived at nigbt, was
now up and ready for conversation. He had five watchmen
under him, and an extensive district under his charsfe.
and he appeared to talk intelligently of much that related
to his forest duties, and of much beside. His wife had
the oven charged with wood in full blaze, and this added
not a little to our comfort in the chilly morning. Tea and
eggs, black bread and butter, were served to us ad libitum,
the butter being laid on thick, and the eggs drunken out
of the shell. The smoke, as volumes came belching out
from the open oven, was still more offensive to my eyes
than that of the evening before. As then, a coverlet
was spread for me on the ground, and a pillow placed upon
the bench upon which to rest my arm supporting my
30 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
head, while I listened to the conversation carried on by
my fellow traveller and our host. It appeared that on the
preceding night, a bear had entered the kraal, and was
hugging one of the cows in a death-gripe, preparatory to
carrying it off, when it was disturbed by the bell of our
tarantass, and the rattling of our vehicle over the planks of
the bridge by which we approached the pavilion. Bears
are abundant in the forests there. Twenty carcasses of
cows hugged to death by bears had been found in the
neighbourhood of Petrozavodsk in the course of the pre-
ceding year, and game of all kinds abound. Winged game,
rabschick and tytark, may be had iov a mere trifle, and, the
mystery of hare-soup being still unknown, hares are a drug,
the people being unwilling to eat them, and when they
do prepare them for the table they are larded wdth strips
of bacon introduced with a larding pin before being cooked,
otherwise, they say, the flesh would be too dry to be
eatable. ^
The wages of this forest warder were 18 roubles, or 36s,
a month, with eight dezatines, or 20 acres of arable land,
free pasturage for his cows, and the horse w^hich he is
required to keep. He and his wife had been there for
eighteen years. By way of ' stirrup cup ' our hostess had
prepared for us a cup of tea at our hour of starting, and I
having asked for a glass of milk, it seemed to give her
greater pleasure than even it did to me, to give me as
much milk as I chose to drink.
I may mention that other forest officials are remunerated
in the same way — salary, dwelling-house, and arable land,
varying with their rank and position. They hold rank
corresponding to that m the army, with corresponding-
uniforms of which the higher officials have four sets — one
appropriated to work in the forests, another to work in the
office, another so-called full dress uniform, and a fourth
characterised as undress uniform. On retiring from the
service they retire with rank next higher in grade to that
which they held, and with permission to wear the corres-
ponding uniform ; but not until they have attained to the
THE FALLS OF KEEWASH. 31
rank of General have they any claim to a retiring allow-
ance or pension.
From the pavilion is seen a magnificent view of the
falls ; and there has been constructed below the fall a
footbridge, more than half a verst long, leading towards a
little wooden temple on the higher level, from which the
most striking view of the falls may be had, and other views
are obtained in passing along this bridge.
The Falls of Keewash are on a river by which a higher-
lying lake within the Russian boundary empties its waters
into a series of lakelets by which they find their way into
Lake Onega, and thence by the Svir into Lake Ladoga. The
Russians distinguish between rapids and a waterfall ; the
latter they call koshi, the former koskia. The Falls of
Jmatra may be cited as a specimen of the koskia. The Falls
of Keewash are, strictly speaking, a specimen oithekoski. As
the Falls of Niagara are, divided by Goat Island into two
distinct waterfalls, so it is with Keewash ; from the right
bank of the river, not the left, as in Niagara, there is a
miniature resemblance of the Horse-shoe Fall, and for a
little way behind the surface of the upper stream may be
seen from the shore the vacant space over which the
water shoots ; but soon this is broken into what I can
only describe as a gigantic counterpart to the falling
of the laps of the wig of the Speaker of the House
of Commons, and that worn by the Lord Chancellor of
Eno^land.
Bej^ond the dividing island there flows away the
remainder of the stream, but by far the greater portion
of this makes its escape by the side, pouring over and
between ridges of rock like the teeth of a comb, and
forming a continuation of the fall. A small portion makes
its way behind the pavilion to the lower basin.
Elsewhere I had seen losrs dashincr over waterfalls —
rushing along 'seething, boiling, tumbling, racing waters,
and had looked down upon the basin into which the waters
fell, ' in whose circling depths logs and tree-trunks, stripped
32 THE FOREST LA^'DS OF KORTHEEN RUSSIA.
of bark and water- worn, swept round and round, and anon
raised a despairing arm to heaven for help, only to sink
back into the toils again.'
Of such a scene the author of Frost and Fire gives the
followino- graphic sketch. It is an account of what was
seen by him at Yigelund, on the Torristal River, about ten
miles above Christiansand.
' At every moment some new arrival comes sailing down
the rapids, pitches over the fall, and dives into a foaming
o-round pool, where hundreds of other logs are revolving
and whirling about each other in creamy froth. The new
comer first takes a header, and dives into some unknown
depth, but presently he shoots up in the midst of the pool,
rolls over and over, and shakes himself till he finds his
level, and then he joins the dance. There is first a slow
sober o-lissade eastward across the stream to a rock which
bears the mark of many a hard blow, There is a shuffle,
a concussion, and a retreat, followed by a pirouetfee sunwise,
and a sidelong sweep northwards up stream towards the
fall. Then comes a vehement whirling over and over, or
if a tree gets his head under the fall, there is a somersault,
like a performance in the Hailing dance. That is followed
by a rush sideways and westward, when there is a long fit
of setting to partners under the lee of a big rock; then
comes a simultaneous rush southwards, towards the rapid
which leads to the sea, and some logs escape and depart,
but the rest appear to be seized with some freak, and away
they all slide eastwards again across the stream to have
another bout with the old battered pudding-stone rock
below the sawmill ; and so for hours and days logs whirl
one way, in this case against the sun, below the fall, and
they dash against the rounded walls of the pool. Such is
the effect of these concussions that above the fall it has
been found necessary to protect the rock against floating
bodies so as to preserve the way of the stream. It
threatened to alter its course and leave the mill dry, for
the rock was wearing rapidly. Lower down, nearer the
sea, is a long flat marsh, between high, rounded cliffs ; and
THE FALLS OF KEEWASH. 33
there these mountaineers, floating on to be sawn up, form
themselves into a solemn funeral procession which extends
for miles; and it may be noticed that the course of this
stream of floats is always longer than the course of the
river's bed ; for the water is slowly swinging from side to
side as it flows, and the floats show the course of the
stream and its whirling eddies.'
It was from the banks of the river at the side of the fall
that I got my best view of the cataract. Immediately
above the fall lay moored a long raft of logs ready to be
shot. We were informed of this before leaving Petroza-
vodsk, and a hope was expressed that we might see it done,
but in this we were disapponted ; and it was a disappoint-
ment, for this is always an exciting scene. I had visited
the locality described in the passage cited, and here was
everything combined to produce a similar scene — the
waterfall and the basin below. I had, however, to rest
satisfied with imaginiEg what the scene would have been.
I have found few things in connection with forestry
more exciting than incidents connected with the flotage
of timber.
On the Glommen, in Sweden, I have seen hundreds and
thousands of logs floating down the river sej^arately, to be
collected and arranged according to the owners' marks
upon them at a depot at a lower level. The breadth of
the river, compared with the size of these logs, suggested
the idea of some boys having emptied into a brook a
hundred or a thousand boxes of matches, and of these
being floating away. At any little fall of three or four
feet, there they came tumbling down, sometimes sideways,
sometimes slanting, and sometimes head foremost, and
kicking up their heels in the air. Occasionally in some of
the rivers in Norway the trees floated thus accumulate, and
become so interlaced that further progress is impossible.
There, as elsewhere, logs are transported from the spot
where they are felled to the banks of the nearest stream,
and marked with the initials of the owner. On the melt-
D
34 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
ing of the ice they are pushed into the carrent, and the
contributions of many affluents find their way to the river,
which may at the time be covered with the floating masses,
which become more or less compactly interlaced, till some
projecting rock in the bank or the river bed arresting
some, others are impeded and stopped in their course, and
ultimately many thousands, it may be, are stopped, and
piled up in a confused heap. It is perilous work to break
up the piled mass, and set the logs afloat upon the stream
again. Elsewhere 'the men employed go about balancing
themselves on detached logs in the middle of the stream,
pushing on each log by means of a boat-hook, till at last
the mass of logs hanging together begins to be disturbed
and shake, and then comes the struggle for the men to
regain the shore. The skill which the men display in dis-
entangling the logs, the agility with which they run about
and maintain their balance on the floating logs, as well as
on those which are fixed, the intelligence which ^ey apply
to the separation and setting afloat again of all those
interlaced logs, and, in fine, the courage with which they
face all these perils, are all of them worthy of admiration.'
The statement is cited from a report by Dr. Brock, a dis-
tino^uished Norweo^ian statistician.
The author of a large work entitled Frost and Fire, to
which 1 am indebted for the account of logs performing the
Hailing dance below the waterfall on the Torristal river,
some distance above Christiansand, tells that after the logs
have been launched ' many get waterlogged and sink ; and
these may be seen strewed in hundreds upon the bottom,
far down in clear green lakes,' and he goes on to say : —
' Many get stranded on the mountain gorges, and span
the torrent like bridges ; others get planted like masts
amongst the boulders ; others sail into quiet bays, and rest
upon soft mud.
' But in spring, when the floods are up, another class of
woodmen follow the logs and drive on the lingerers. They
launch the bridges, and masts, and stranded rafts, help
them through the lakes, and push them into the stream;
THE FALLS OF KEEWASH. 36
and so from every twig on the branching river floats gather
as the river gathers on its way to the sea.
' Sometimes great piles of timber get stranded, jammed,
and entangled upon a shallow, near the head of a narrow
rapid ; and then it is no easy or safe employment to start
them. Men armed with axes, levers, and long slender
boat-hooks, start down in crazy boats, and clamber over
slippery stones and rocks to the float, where they wade
and crawl about amongst the trees, to the danger of life
and limb. They work with might and main at the base
of the stack, hacking, dragging, and pushing, till the whole
mound gives way, and rolls and slides rumbling and crash-
ing into the torrent, where it scatters and rushes onwards.
' It is a sight worth seeing. The brown shoal of trees
rush like living things into the white water, and charge
full tilt, end on, straight at the first curve in the bank.
There is a hard bump and a vehement jostle ; for there
are no crews to paddle and steer these floats. The dashing
sound of raging water is varied by the deep musical notes
of the battle between wood and stone. Water pushes
wood, tree urges tree, till logs turn over and whirl round,
and rise up out of the water, and sometimes even snap and
splinter like dry reeds.
' The rock is broken, and crushed, and dinted at the
water-line by a whole fleet of battering-rams, and the
square ends of logs are rounded j so both combatants
retain marks of the strife.'
At Keewash I was told that the logs shot the fall bound
together in floats or rafts, whether single floats consistino-
of 60 logs, or in long rafts consisting of ten such floats,
bound together, I neglected to enquire, but I presume the
former. I would have been glad to have seen the effect in
either case, but I could not await the operation.
CHAPTER VI.
FORESTS OF OLONETZ.
Wishing to learn a great deal more in regard to the
creneral appearance of the forest lands in Northern Russia
than could be obtained on such a holiday trip as I could
myself undertake, I asked Professor Schavranoff, Direc-
tor of the Laesnoi Corpus, or School of Forestry in the
vicinity of St. Petersburo-, how this could be accomplished.
He at once supplied me with a narrative prepared by ^I.
Judrae, a forest official of high position, of a tour of inspec-
tion which was made by him in 1867. The following is a
translation of part of his narrative of what he saw : —
' The first steamer of the season (1867) proceeding from
St. Petersburg to Petrozavodsk, sailed on the 30th May
(Old Style), having been prevented from sailing earlier by
the ice on the Neva and Lake Ladoga. With fine, some-
what warm weather, we left the capital, and a few hours'
hard steaming against the current brought us to Lake
Ladoga ; but scarcely had we got 30 versts (20 miles)
from St, Petersburg when ice began to meet us, some of it
in sheets of a very large size ; and it was getting dark.
The keen north-east wind made itself felt ; and looking to
the horizon there stretched out before us a sea of unbroken
or of congealed fields of ice; the steamer, however, resolutely
advanced. I took refuge in the cabin from the intolerable
cold, but after a few minutes I hastened on deck in con-
sequence of the steamer being stopped. There was ice in
immense shoals ahead of us, so that to go on in the course
we were following would have risked damage to our paddle-
wheels, whereby we should have been placed in an awkward
FORKSTS OF OLONETZ. 37
condition amongst tlie ice floes of the Ladoga. At length
the order was given to cast the anchor and wait for the day.
In a few minutes we were fast, and a strangely contrasting
stillness and silence pervaded the vessel, while a magnifi-
cent scene was stretching around us in all direction. Far
as the eye could see were open spaces of water and sheets
of ice commingled, and whole schools of black seals moving
backward and forward on the floating masses, while with
the cold wind were combined black clouds and a murky
sky, although it was now the 31st of May (O.S.), the 12th
day of June in lands where the New Style has been intro-
duced.
* Next day the steamer by some way or another got
throuo^h Lake Ladoga, and entered the river Svir. Steam-
ing along, we found everywhere on the banks on both
sides, woods, woods, woods. From the deck of the vessels
could only be noticed firs, and pines, and birches, although
in some parts of the Government of Olonetz there still
grew the Norway maple, the lime, the elm, and other kinds
of trees.
' Now we passed on the left bank of the river the town
of Ladenoi-Pole, founded by Peter the Great, and formerly
a naval dockyard. A few hours more and we reached
Vosnesenya, one of the principal centres of inland naviga-
tion by a system of canals, of which there are two or three
connectino^ the Volga with the Baltic.
' The village of Vosnesenj^a is situated on the Svir as it
issues from the Lake Onega, and it is called by the inha-.
bitants the Petersburg Gate.
' It was impracticable to go further by the steamer, as
the ice in this lake had not yet broken up ; consequently
I bad to travel to Petrozavodsk by horse, which I did by a
very picturesque route by the western shore. From Vos-
nesenya to Petrozavodsk by the so-called Vilegarskoi road
is 130 versts, or 86 miles.
* Between the hills are occasionally met with rivers or
rivulets flowing into Lake Onega. The current of these is
very rapid in consequence of the steep declivity of the
S8 THE FOREST LAN'DS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
ground towards the lake ; and tliey present generally the
characteristics of mountain streams. The most striking
feature of the country is the great quantity of boulders
upon its surface, the number of which, if stated, would be
almost incredible. They consist exclusively of gi'anite and
other primary or transition formations, covered partially
by drift, in which is a red sand in considerable quantity.
There are also projecting from the ground granite hills in
whole or in part quite bare, or covered only with lichens.
Having examined the works I proceeded further. On the
right hand was a magnificent view of the Onega Lake, the
breadth of which at this place is above 80 versts (about 54
miles). On the left side of the road were hills, the
continuation of those of Finland, which pass into the
Government of Olonetz, but fall away towards the south
till they present an altitude not exceeding 420 feet above
the level of the country around. The surface of the hills
seen from this point is covered with forests, which consist
of four different kinds of trees, intermixed in varying
proportions — fir, pine, birch, and aspen. The height of
these trees, judging by the eye, seemed to be low compared
■v\dth like vegetable productions. The only impression I
have retained of the course of the whole journey to Petro-
zavodsk, with such opportunities of observation as I had,
was a feeliug that I had gotten into a comparatively
northern region, and that I must be nearing the polar
circle ; granite hills and interminable forests, a stony soil,
with abundance of waters but a sparse population — these
are my remembrances of my first acquaintance with the
Government of Olonetz.
'Every twenty or thirty versts (14 and 20 miles) there
were small villages inhabited by Karrells, a tribe of Finns
who have retained the Finnish language, but in every
other respect they are like the population from Novgorod
found in the south and east, and in parts of the ceutral
portion of this government.
* Within two weeks after my arrival at Petrozavodsk I
was once more on the road in my Hbitka speeding onward
FORESTS OF OLONETZ. 30
to the most northern town in the Government of Olonetz,
where, according to the opinion among the population, is
the end of the world. This town is called Povonetz. At
about 20 versts, or 14 miles, from Petrozavodsk is the
village of Thouya, the first post station on the river of the
same name, across which there is a barge ferry. The
river Thouya flows into the Onega Lake, and has through-
out its course a very rapid current. Wliere I crossed
there was wood being floated down from the Government
mining forest estates situated further up, from whence the
strength of the current brought them down.
' The current brought them with such rapidity and force
that the barge was in danger, and with difliculty we
reached the other shore.
'The rapid current is not favourable for the flotage of
timber, and there has been formed what may be called a
dam at the mouth of the river ; but this having been
broken, a great quantity of wood has been carried into
the Onega Lake, whereby the navigation of it in this part
by steamers has been impeded. It is to be desired that
some effective measures were taken to prevent this loss,
which increases the cost of what forest timber is secured.
' Looking at the floating timber I was struck with the
activity with which the men employed maintained their
footing, each standing on a log and holding in his hand a
long pole or boat-hook, with which he balanced himself,
and with which, in floating down the timber, he cleared the
obstacles encountered; and these on this river are very,
numerous.
' For this purpose it is generally inhabitants of the dis-
trict who are employed, these being very skilful and
accustomed to the work. They are here known as
" Onejan," or Onega men, and I am under an impression
that under this general name such workmen pass in St.
Petersburg.
' Proceeding onward to the north, on both sides of the
road there were to be seen forests and forests, and nothing
but forests. I can affirm that the person who is acquainted
40 THE FOREST LANDS OF XORTHEEN RUSSIA.
with the extent of tliese forests only by knowing the num-
ber of desatins which they cover, has no idea of what that
extent is. To obtain this one must travel through them —
travelling continuously through forests for five hundred
versts ; and he must experience personally the depressing
influence produced by the forests and forest-covered nioun-
tains of this forest region to enable him even partially to
comprehend what is implied in the easily pronounced
statement about so many millions of desatins. Such
numerical statements are required for the production of a
national tax, or estimate and description of what fellings
should be made to secure a sustained production of wood,
and the charge to be made for trees ; and the latter is a
matter which is not so easy of accomplishment as to many at
first sight it may appear to be. Those who are in the trade
do not make known what is the cost of preparing the timber
tor the market, or the prices obtained by them, being
afraid of the charge to them being raised. If^here be
made but a simple allusion to the subject, they begin to
complain that they are carrying on their operations at a
loss, and that the demand for timber is diminishing from
year to year. And to arrive at a knowledge of the truth,
the forest officials must solve the problem for themselves,
with such data as they have at command
'At a distance of ninety versts, or sixty miles, from
Petrozavodsk, is the village of Leejma, where there is a
saw-mill of considerable magnitude, occupied also at the
present time by M. Baelaetf. It is erected on the river
Leejma, and has two water-wheels and four frames of saws,
two for each water-wheel. It works without intermission
day and night, and can cut up in the course of the year
60,000 logs; but, in consequence of hindering circumstances,
it cuts up only some 45,000, These are pine logs of the
length of twenty-two feet, and eight verschocks or fourteen
inches thick at the upper extremity. The boards most in
demand in the market are twenty-two feet long and three
inches thick, which are known as 2J-in. boards; and
besides these there are what are called inch boards,
Forests of olonetz. 41
sent chiefly to Holland. According to the statements of
the traders these inch boards are both in quality and price
inferior to the Swedish boards of the same measurement,
in consequence of which the preparation of them in large
quantities is not remunerative.
* Coming next to those connected with Povonetz, I have
to state that not far from the post road on the river
Koumsa, at a distance of twenty- three versts from Povo-
netz, there is a saw-mill belonging to the timber merchant,
Mr ZachaniefF. This mill also I had an opportunity of
seeing. It is built in a very pretty situation, in the valley
of the rapid river Kamsa, surrounded by lofty hills extend-
inof to the Ones^a Lake. The mill has one wheel and two
frames, and there are sawn in the course of the year about
30,000 logs. Everywhere about it are seen order and clean-
liness ; and there is a fire which never dies out, burning
continuously the outside slabs, the ends of logs, and other
debris ; and what are literally mountains of sawdust fill up
the picture of the mill and its surroundings, while the noise
of the wheel and of the saws is reverberated by the sur-
rounding forest.
* A journey of some fifteen miles brings us to Povonetz.
A poorer and more unattractive town than this it is
impossible to imagine : it is simply a village built on the
plan of a town. The most remarkable object in Povonetz
is an old wooden church staading on the shore of Lake
Onega, built by Peter the Great, the only monument which
indicates that ever he was here. There is, it is true,,
besides this, the Petrozavodsk road ; but this is now only
a footpath or track, by which are brought the goods
obtained in this town from Archangel. Add to this two
or three legends or traditions about Peter, and all records
of his having been here are exhausted.
' Almost close to the town, on the estuary of the Povet-
chanka, is the saw -mill, which gives some little life to the
town, and is the only thing which vivifies its existence.
* The whole biographies of the place tell only of what
relate to the works, besides which the inhabitants have an
4^ THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
opportunity several times in the course of the summer to
admire a steamboat which visits the place ; but beyond
this and fishing, change they have none.
' Almost all the vessels which leave the landing-place of
Povonetz are laden with boards produced at this mill. In
the fullest sense of the word, Povonetz is a timber town,
and on arriving here I felt proud while I thought that my
profession was the principal profession of its inhabitants,
and had to do with the very source of its wealth. To
determine and specify what is the trade of the place must
occasion no difficulty to any one. Its imports consist of
everything excepting wood and fish, and its exports consist
of wood and fish alone, the latter principally Triska.
' The discharge of my professional duties led me further
in the north.
' For nine versts or six miles beyond Povonetz it is pos-
sible to travel by wheel, but beyond this point the journey
has to be made by water in very uncomfortabte^ boats on
narrow lakes and rivers connected with them. From the
Lake Yolozer issues the river Povetchanka, which flows
through a very picturesque country. Thanks to the high
hilly shores, the general rapid current of the river, and the
frequent occurrence of considerable rapids, this little river,
or rivulet, is in spring changed into a very dangerous
torrent, tearing along, and threatening to engulf and carry
along with it whatever may tumble into its waters. It
has a course of about eleven versts, nearly eight miles, and
by it are floated some 20,000 logs a year to the saw-mill
at Polonetz.
' The construction of a road from near the Lake Volozer
to the White Sea has been projected, and the initiative of
the execution has been taken, but nothing more seems to
have been done. The proposal created great excitement
throughout the district, where there are very few roads of
any kind or other facilities for communication with other
parts. Scarcely could the projection of a railroad in any
other part of Russia produce so much discussion, and excite
so many hopes, as would the making of a common road in
Forests of olonetz. 4^
this country. This part of the Government of Olonetz is
passing through that period of its history at which any
measures taken for the formation of roads, the opening up
or clearing of forests, or the introduction of regular system-
atic agriculture, possess very great interest.
'Unhappily the execution of this enterprise has not
proceeded further than the felling of a strip of trees
through the forest along which it was proposed that the
road should be made. And the general impression is that
soon the whole matter will end, for money is not forth-
coming, and the kind of road is not satisfactory. Coming
upon it at various points, it seemed to me that the pro-
jector or surveyor had of design made it to pass at a
distance from the most important centres, and carried it
over uninhabited districts and unsuitable land.
' For forest operations this road to the White Sea would
not have been unimportant, and, having referred to the
subject, I am led to mention also a proposal which has
been made to open up water communication between the
White Sea and the Onega Lake. Having no accurate
data, but only partial information, I cannot give details or
discuss fully the importance of this gigantic subject.
' Of this proposal it is stated in the Pramiatnais Knjka
or official Notes of the Government of Olonetz for the year
1867, " The execution of this project, opening up communi-
cation between the White Sea and the Gulf of Finland,
and vice versa, proposed solely with a view to commercial
enterprise, would for strategical purposes affecting the
whole of the north of Russia have immense importance;"
and Mr Seederofif [a gentleman well known throughout
this region, a merchant who has carried on great commer-
cial transactions in Archangel and Nova Zembla, and made
valued contributions to the different International Exhi-
bitions in the capitals of Europe] says in a communication
to the Imperial Free Economical Society, " Steam war
vessels could proceed from Cronstadt and make their
appearance for the protection of the inhabitants of the
shores of the White Sea, or, if necessary, of Archangel,
44 THE FOEEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
which now, in consequence of the dismantling of the for-
tress of Nova Dwina, is left without defence."
' According to the views of Mr Seederoff, there will only
be required the construction of a canal fifty versts long,
which, opening on the lake, wdll make it possible for ship-
ping to pass from the lake to the White Sea, or from the
White Sea to Lake Onega, and, consequently, to St.
Petersburg.'
M. Judrae goes on to say, 'Mr Seederoff has, I think,
neglected to take into account the rapids of the Svir,
which, to the accomplishment of such a scheme, w^ould
require to be passed by a canal ; and this would add con-
siderably to the difficulty of the undertaking. But both
the Onega and White Sea canal and the White Sea road
remain at present within the category of projects, and they
are likely to remain there for some time, as no one
seriously believes in the execution of either of them in the
immediate future. ^
' Returning to details of my journey : After proceeding
some eighteen versts, or twelve miles, by boat through a
succession of narrow lakes, I landed at a place where there
was a very narrow path, which could only be traversed on
foot. A walk of six versts, or four miles, brought me to
the village of Morskoy Mosselgie. The road I found
2)leasant. It goes along a picturesque ridge of hills, run-
ning from west to east some thirty-two versts or twenty-
one miles north of Povonetz, at an elevation of some seven
hundred feet above the level of the adjacent country, being
the greatest altitude in the Government of Olonetz.
' This ridge constitutes the watershed of streams flowing
on the one side to the Baltic, and on the other to the
White Sea. On the former are narrow lakes, which, with
the rivers connecting them or issuing from them, flow into
the Onega, while on the latter is the Matkozero, whose
waters flowing northward follow the course indicated.
' On the banks of the Matkozero they fell wood for the
saw-mills at Povonetz, transporting it by carts across the
Mosselgie ridge, the woodmen going further and further
FORESTS OF OLONETZ. 45
into the Interior of the forest, in consequence of the
exhaustion of the woods near to the saw-mill.
' Having crossed the ridge, I found myself in a country
manifesting all the characteristics of a northern land. I
got into a boat again, and went by the river some ten
versts to the village Telekin situated on a river or lake of
the same name — I say river or lake because it is difficult
sometimes to designate precisely what is seen by the one
name or the other, or to tell at what point it ceases to be
one or the other, and to take the different character where
it should be called a narrow lake and where it should be
designated a broad river.
' The general character of the waters in these regions is
the following : — Picture to yourself a comparatively small
lake, having a flow barely noticeable in some one direction.
In the direction of this flow the water becomes perceptibly
narrower, and the shores get higher, and the water takes
the form of a river, distinguishable from the lake above by
being narrower and having a greater current, or it becomes
a strong rapid, by which the waters flow into a large
expanded lake, which serves as a reservoir for the waters
of the surroundinsf neio-hbourhood. Such are the o-eneral
characteristics of all the small expanses of water in this
region.
'All the rivers and rivulets here have a great many
rapids throughout their course. For example, the river
Vuigozero, which in a course of 100 versts, 66 miles, from
its leaving the lake of that name to its flow into the White
Sea, has seventeen rapids. The fall of the river through
these rapids is 272 feet. In consequence of these rapids
all navigation of the river is out of the question. Only
timber is floated down these rivers and their confluents in
spring — and this notwithstanding the stones with which
the beds are filled, and other obstacles. From the Vuigo-
zero Lake I went 40 versts, 27 miles, by the river Telekin
to its embouchure.
' The Vuigozero or Vuigor Lake is one of the largest
lakes in the district of Povonetz. It is 60 versts or 40
46 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHEPvN RUSSIA.
miles long, and 30 versts or 20 miles broad. It is through-
out its whole extent studded with islands, which, according
to the idea prevailing in the locality, are equal in number
to the days of the year. Some of these have an area of
50 square versts. Many are covered with woods, but
uninhabited and unsurveyed, so that their contents are
unknown ; many of them find no place on the map, and
their area is considered as lake, though some of them have
Sfood available soil, or are covered with valuable forests of
pine.
' On the shore of the Yuigozero is the Vuigozero Podost,
the most southern station in the Government of Olonetz
for village administration, and this uninviting spot must
be for a time my place of residence.'
Mr Judrae states what his duties were, and communi-
cates some valuable information relative to forest operations
there and in similar localities, all of w^hich mayJjpe after-
wards given in detail. Here it is this journey and the
aspect and condition of the country as seen by him which
alone eno^agjes our attention. Of this he thus resumes
details : —
' My duties on the forest estate of Vuig being finished,
on the 9th of September I left this place to go further to
the north and the north-east, to that part of the Povonetz
district inhabited by the Corrells or Karrells ; I had to go
by boat on the Vuigozero. We had a favourable wind, and
the well-filled sails carried the small boat along with great
rapidity.
' I might have proceeded directly to my destination, but
I could not deny myself the pleasure, being there, of visit-
ing the village of V'oitzi, situated at the northern extremity
of Vuigozero, 100 versts distant from the White Sea, and
in the Government of Archangel. This village is well
known as the site of a gold mine, which is now a thing
of the past. Gold w^as discovered there in 1735 by a
peasant Tarass Antonofif. Mr Poushkaroff, in describing
the Government of Archangel, says that at Voitzi, quartz
FORESTS OF OLONETZ. 47
on being crushed and washed yields 7 J zolotnicks of gold
for every 150 pounds."*^
' The working of the mine at Voitzi was discontinued in
1783. In 1827 gold was discovered on the banks of the
river Vuig, and in the course of the present century inves-
tigations have been made several times by private parties,
but they have not proved successful in unearthing any
stores of the precious metal, and at the present time there
remain only here and there pits and buildings in which the
workmen of a former day were lodged. The traditions of
the district give in a thousand different forms pictures of
the prosperity enjoyed by bhe peasants in those times. I
had to pay somewhat dearly for the gratification of my
curiosity to see the old mine. I had to go on foot 35
versts, 22 miles, to the nearest Karrell village, situated on
the edge of the forest estate of Padan ; and my walk was
the more unpleasant because the road, or, speaking more
correctly the path, according to local phraseology, founded
on the topographical condition of the ground, lay across
the earth, and did not go with the earth. From the
northern part of the district of Povonetz, on to the shores
of the White Sea, the ground lies in parallel rows of ridges
or linear hillocks, with hollows consisting sometimes of peat
bog lying between. The ridges are narrow and long, as are
likewise the bogs by which they are separated. They run
north and south, consequently for the traveller in either of
these directions the path lies along the summit of the ridge,
and according to local phrase he goes with the earth, and it
is more easy to do so ; but if he travels east or west he
must walk across the bogs and ridges ; and as the crests
are about a verst apart, this has to be done in every verst
of his journey.'
' The Padan forest estate lies to the west of Vuigozero,
and covers an area of 570,000 desatms.f All that has been
* 96 zolotJiicks = 1 lb. Russia, 40 lbs. Russ. or 36 lbs. avordupois - 1 pood. — T.C.B.
t A desatin = 40 X 60, or 2,400 Russian square fathoms of 7 Eng-lish feet. An English
acre is 0-37041 of a desatin, which makes a desatin = 2-69972 Eti<,'lish acres. A desatin
~ 4 2789 Prussian morgens. A verst is equal to two-thirds of au Enylish mile.— J C. B.
48 THE FOREST LANDS OF KORTHERN RUSSIA.
said of the forests of Vuig might be reaffirmed of these,
the only difference being that these show a decided pre-
ponderance of pines over the number of firs, especially in
the northern parts. In general, the nearer we approach
the sea the more rarely do we meet with fir, and at last
this tree disappears entirely. With regard to the quality
of the pine I can state as the result of my personal obser-
vation, that within certain limits the quality of the wood
does not depend on the latitude, but is in direct relation
to the quality of the soil. In the Vuig forests they are
met '\;\^th first in the middle and northern parts of the
Padan forest estate.
' With the development of forest operations in this dis-
trict the Padan forest will acquire much importance in
consequence of the number of navigable streams existing
in the Wliite ^Sea basin. In the southern part of this
forest estate there is the Segozera, second in size only to
the Onega ; further to the north is the Lake Qndazero,
through which flows the river Onda, one of the tributaries
or confluents of the Vuig, constituting the boundary be-
tween the Governments of Olonetz and Archangel.
' On the 1st of October I crossed the frontier of the
Government of Olonetz, and in three days I was on the
shores of the White Sea.'
CHAPTER VII.
FORESTS OF ARCHANGEL.
The report of M. Judrse does not embrace any account of
the forests in Archangel. Of these, and of the aspects of
forests along a different route from that followed by him,
some idea may be formed from the graphic accounts of
Hepworth Dixon, in the volume entitled Fi^ee Russia.
His journey was from north to south — from Archangel
towards the central districts of the empire — and it thus
supplies an account of what might have been seen on a
return journey from Archangel or from beyond it by
another route. It is in accordance with what I have
myself seen travelling in other parts of Russia, and with
what I have heard from others of what they have experi-
enced in travelling through the forest lands of the Empire.
Speaking of his tour through Russia, he says : — ' My
line from the Arctic Sea to the southern slopes of the
Ural Range ; from the Straits of Yeni-Kale to the Gulf of
Riga ; runs over land and lake, forest and fen, hill and
steppe. My meaus of travel are those of the country ;
drojki, cart, barge, tarantass, steamer, sledge, and train.
The first stage of my journey from north to south is from
Solovetsk to Archangel ; made in the provisioD boat, under
the eyes of Natha John. This stage is easy, the grouping
picturesque, the weather good, and the voyage accomplished
in the allotted time. The second stage is from Archangel
to Vietegra ; done by posting in five or six days and nights ;
a drive of 800 versts through one vast forest of birch and
pine.'
It is the narrative of this journey to which I have
referred as conveying some idea of what travelling in
E
50 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
forest lands in Russia is, and of what is seen on such a
journey. His conveyance was a tarantass, which he thus
describes :—' Atarantass is a better sort of cait, with the
addition of splash-board, hood, and step. It has no
springs ; for a carriage slung on steel could not be sent
through these desert wastes. A spring might snap ; and
a broken coach, some thirty or forty miles from the nearest
hamlet, is a vehicle in which very few people would like to
trust their feet. A good coach is a sight to see ; but a
good coach implies a smooth road, with a blacksmith's
forge at every turn. A man with roubles in his parse can
do many things: but a man with a million roubles in his
purse could not venture to drive through forest and steppe
in a carriage which no one in the country could repair.
' A tarantass lies lightly on a raft of poles ; merely
lengths of green pine cut down and trimmed with a
peasant's axe, and lashed on the axles of two pairs of
wheels, some nine or ten feet apart. The body is an
empty shell, into which you drop your trunks and traps,
and then fill up with hay and straw. A leather blind and
apron to match keep out a little of the rain ; not much ;
for the drifts and squalls defy all effort to shut them out.
The thing is liglit and airy, needing no skill to make and
mend. A pole may split as you jolt along ; you stop on
the forest skirt, cut down a pine, smooth off the leaves and
twigs ; and there, you have another pole 1 All damage is
repaired in half- an-h our.'
A tarantass was supplied to him for the journey by a
private friend, and the British Consul supplied him with a
trustworthy servant to do what was needful by the way,
and fetch back the vehicle when the journey was com-
pleted ; and the journey is thus described : —
' This private tarantass is brought round to the gate ; an
empty shell, into which they toss our luggage, first the
hard pieces — hat-box, gun-case, trunk ; then piles of hay
to fill up chinks and holes, and wisps of straw to bind the
mass ; on all which they lay your bedding, coats, and
skins. A woodman's axe, a coil of rope, a ball of string, a
FORESTS OF ARCHANGEL. 51
bag of nails, a pot of grease, a basket of bread and wine, a
joint of roast-beef, a teapot, a.iJ a case of cigars, are after-
wards coaxed into the nooks and crannies of the shell.
' Starting at dusk, so as to reach the ferry at which we
are to cross the river by daybreak, we splash the mud and
grind the planks of Archangel beneath our hoofs. " Good-
bye ! Look out for wolves ! Take care of brigands t
Good-bye ! good-bye ! " shout a dozen voices ; and then
that friendly and frozen city is left behind.
'All night under murk}^ stars we tear along a dreary
path : pines on our right, pines on our left, and pines in
our front. We bump through a village, waking up house-
less dogs ; we reach a ferry, and pass the river on a raft ;
we orritid over stones and sand ; we tug through slush and
bog ; all night, all day ; all night again, and after that all
dav, windino^ throusfh the maze of forest leaves, now turned
and scared, and swirled on every blast which blows. Each
day of our dri\ e is like its fellow. A clearing thirty yards
wide runs out before us for a thousand versts, the pines are
all alike, the biiches all alike. The villages are still more
like each other t^an the trees. Our only change is in the
track itself, whicn passes from sand drifts to slimy beds,
from grassy fields to rolling logs. In a thousand versts we
count a hundred versts of log-road, two hundred versts of
sand, three hundred versts of grass, four hundred versts of
waterway and marsh.
* If the sands are bad the logs are worse. One night we
spend in a kind of protest, dreaming that our luggage has
been badly packed, and that on daylight coming it shall be
laid in some easier way. The trunk calls loudly for a
change. My seat by day, my bed by night, this box has a
leading part in our little play; but no adjustment of the
other traps, no stuffiing in of hay and straw, no coaxing of
the furs and skins, suffice to appease the fitful spirit of that
trunk. It slips and jerks beneath me, rising in pain at
every plunge. Coaxing it with skins is useless j soothing
52 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
it with wisps of straw is vain. We tie it with bands and
belts ; but nothing will induce it to lie down. How can
we blame it ? Trunks have rights as well as men ; they
claim a proper place to lie in; and my poor box has just
been tossed into this tarantass, and told to lie quiet on logs
and stones.
' Still more fitful than this trunk are the lumber verte-
brae in my spine. They hate this jolting day and night ;
they have been jerked out of their sockets, pounded into
dast, and churned into curds. But then these mutineers
are under more control than the trunk ; and when they
begin to murmur seriously I still them in a moment by
hints of takino^ them a drive throuoh Bitter Creek.
' But, ah ! here is Holmogory. Holmogory was the
birthplace of Lomonosoff. a philosopher and a poet of the
last century, whom his countrymen greatly honour
here is Holmogory, standing on a bluff abova^the river,
pretty and bright, with her golden crops, her grassy roads,
her pink and white houses, her boats on the water, and
her stretches of yellow sand; a village with open spaces;
here a church, there a cloister, gay with gilt and paint,
and shanties of a better class than you see in such small
country towns; and forests of birch and pine around her
— Holmogory looks the very spot on which a poet of the
people might be born.
'From Holmogory to Kargopol, from Kargopol to Viete-
gra, we pass through an empire of villages, not a single
place on a road four hundred miles in length that could
by any form of courtesy be called a town. The track runs
on and on, now winding by the river bank, now eating its
way through the forest growths ; but always flowing, as it
were, in one thin line from north to south ; ferrying deep
rivers, dragging through shingle, slime, and peat ; crashing
over broken rock ; and crawling up gentle heights. His
horses four abreast, and lashed to the tarantass with ropes
and chains, the driver tears along the road as though he
were racing with his Chert — his Evil One; and all in the
hope of getting from his thankless fare an extra cup of tea.
FORESTS OF ARCHANGEL. 53
It is the joke of a Russian jarvey, that he will " drive you
out of your senses for ten kopecs." From dawn to sunset,
day by day, it is one long race through bogs and pines.
The landscape shows no dykes, no hedges, and no gates ;
no signs that tell of a person owning the land. We
whisk by a log fire and a group of tramps, who flash upon
us with a sullen greeting, some of them starting to their
feet. "What are those fellows, Dimitri?" "They seem
to be some of the Runaways." " Runaways ! Who are the
Runaways? What are they running away from ?" ''Queer
fellows, who don't like work, who won't obey orders, who
never rest in one place. You find them about here in the
woods everywhere. They are savages. In Kargopol you
can learn about them."
* At the town of Kargopol, on the river Onega, in the
province of Olonetz, I hear something of these Runaways,
as of a troublesome and dangerous set of men, bad in
themselves, and still worse as a sign. I hear of them
afterwards in Novogorod the Great, and in Kazan. The
community is widely spread. Tinvashef is aware that
these unsocial bodies exist in the provinces of Yaroslav,
Archans^el, Volocrda, Novog^orod, Kostroma, and Peren.*
I'll 11
At Kargopol he got the information for which he asked,
but this concerns us not here. At present we have to do
with his journey and with what he saw\
* Village after village passes to the rear. Russ hamlets
are so closely modelled on a common type that when you
have seen one, you have seen a host ; when you have seen-
two you have seen the whole. Your sample may be either
large or small, either log-built or mud-built, either hidden
in forest or exposed on steppe ; yet in the thousands on
thousands to come you w^ill observe no change in the pre-
vailing form. There is a Great Russ hamlet, and a Little
Russ hamlet ; one with its centre in Moscow, as the capi-
tal of VeHka Rouss [Great Russia], the second with its
centre in Kief, the capital of Malo Rouss [Little Russia.]
' A Great Russ village consists of two lines of cabins
parted from each other by a wide and dirty lane. Each
54 THE FOREST LAXDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
homestead stands alone. From ten to a hundred cabins
make a village. Built of the same pine logs, notched and
bound together, each house is like its fellow, except in
size. The elder's hut [Starista] is bigger than the rest ;
and after the elder's house comes the [Ka-bac] whiskey-
shop. Four squat walls, two tiers in height, and pierced
by doors and windows; such is the shell. The floor is
mud, the shingle deal. The walls are rough, the crannies
stuffed with moss. No paint is used, and the log fronts
soon become grimy with rain and smoke. The space
between each hut lies open and unfenced, a slough of
mud and mire, in which the pigs grunt and wallow, and
the wolf-dogs snarl and fight. The lane is planked. One
house here and there may have a balcony, a cow-shed, an
upper storey. Near the hamlet rises a chapel built of
logs, and roofed with plank ; but here you find a flush of
colour, if not a gleam of gold. The walls of the chapel are
sure to be painted white, the roof is sure to %a painted
green. Some wealthy peasant may have gilt the cross.
' Beyond these dreary cabins lie the still more dreary
fields which the people till. Flat, unfenced, and lowly,
theyjiave nothing of the poetry of our fields in Sussex and
Essex plains ; no hedgerow of ferns, no clumps of fruit-
trees, and no hints of home. The patches set apart for
kitchen stuffs are not like gardens even of their homely
kind. They look like workhouse plots of space laid out
by yard and rule, in which no living soul had any part.
These patches are always mean, and you search in vain
for such a dainty as a flower.
' The forest melts and melts ! We meet a woman driv-
ing in a cart alone ; a girl darts past us in the mail ; anon
we come upon a waggon, guarded by troops on foot, con-
taining prisoners, partly cnained, in charge of an ancient
dame.
* This service of the road is due from villaofe to villao^e ;
and on a party of travellers coming into a hamlet the
FORESTS OF ARCHANGEL. 55
elder [Starist] must provide for them the things required
— carts, horses, drivers, in accordance with their podorojna;
but in many villages the party finds no men, or none
except the very young and very old. Husbands are leagues
away, fishing in tlie polar seas, cutting timber in the
Kargopol forests, trapping fox and beaver in the Ural
mountains, leaving their wives alone for months. These
female villacres are carious thinofs, in which a man of
pleasant manners may find an opportunity of fluling to
his heart's content.
* Villages, more villages, yet more villages ! We pass a
gang of soldiers marching by the side of a peasant's cart,
in which lies a prisoner, chained ; we spy a wolf in the
copse ; we meet a pilgrim on his way to Solovetsk ; Ave
come upon a gang of boys whose clothes seem to be out at
wash ; we pass a broken waggon ; we start at the howl of
some village dogs ; and then go winding forward hour by
hour, through the silent woods. Some touch of green and
poetry charms our eyes in the most desolate scenes. A
virgin freshness crisps and shakes the leaves. The air is
pure. If nearly all the lines are level, the sky is blue, the
sunshine gold. Many of the trees are rich with amber,
pink, and brown ; and every fragrant breeze makes music
in the pines. A peasant and his dog troop past, reminding
me of scenes in Kent. A convent here and there peeps
out. A patch of forest is on fire, from the burning mass of
which a tongue of pale pink flame laps out and up through
a pall of purple smoke. A clearing swept by some former
fire is all aglow with autumnal flowers. A bright beck
dashes through the falling leaves. A comely child, with
flaxen curl?, and innocent northern eyes, stands bowing in
the road with an almost Syrian grace. A woman comes
up with a bowl of milk. A group of girls are washing in
a stream, under the care of either the virgin mother or
some local saint. On every point the folk, if homely, are
devotional and polite ; brightening their forest brakes with
chapel and cross, and making their dreary wood, as it were,
a path of light toward heaven
56 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
' We dash into a village near a small black lake. . . .
This may be such as has been described, for, as has been
stated, one general character pervades the whole until you
reach the latitude of Kief to the south, and again to the
west in which they are different.
' Such is travelling through forest lands in Eussia.*
The description is exactly such as I would give if I
could ; and I wish I could, but I cannot. I felt while I
read the narrative as if I could realise it all — the unending
road, the weary feeling of being jolted into a jelly ; in the
blue or green or gilded dome, the village, seen and soon left
behind, the travellers overtaken, or met, and passed, the
village, and the tearing along of the rough conveyance,
with the reins held at arm's length, while the yemshick or
driver encourages them with his voice, coaxing, threaten-
ing, thrashing, sometimes in the overflowing of his love,
and sometimes in fury, and singing the yemschrck's song,
while the bell on the horses' bow tingles its monotonous
accompaniment :
The troika drives a quiet trot
On even road at dead of night ;
The tinkling bell alone doth tell
Its near approach, though not in sight.
The tinkling bell alone doth tell
Its near approach, though not in sight.
The yemschick, roused before the dawn,
Feels sadden'd in the chilly night ;
He tries to raise a song in praise
Of his village maiden's eyes so bright.
He tries to raise a song in praise
Of his village maiden's eves so bright.
O I/O
"Ye eyes of blue, ye bright blue eyes,
Ye've broke a gallant spirit's heart !
And the oppressors, cruel ever,
Have dared two loving souls to part.
And the oppressors, cruel ever,
Have dared two loving souls to part.
"Fair one ! I've left you !" The tears are falling
Upon his coat like drops of rain ;
FORESTS OF ARCHANGEL. 57
But he dashes ofiF the feeling soft,
And the troika driv^es full speed again.
But he dashes ofif the feeling soft,
And the troika drives full speed again.
Or it may be this one : —
Do you see by the roadside that village ?
Thither it is that our yemschick is stealing.
His heart beats quick,
And he gently sings.
His heart beats quick,
And he gently sings :
•' 0 thou lovely one that charmed me !
Now to me the wide world is cold !
Why ? 0 why didst thou enchant me ?
If I was not dear to thy heart ?
Why, 0 why didst thou enchant me ?
If I was not dear to thy heart ?
" My darling horses will now languish in grief
At parting with me, beloved as they are.
No more will we together tear along
The verst-post mark'd road.
No more will we together tear along,
The verst-post mark'd road.
** Not much longer, with wild song
Not much longer will I cheer the traveller.
Soon, soon, beneath the sod
Will lie the body of the young yemshick.
Soon, soon beneath the sod
Will lie the body of the young yemshick."
And his successor, the driver of the next stage, may sing
with laughing irony, which tells that he exults in the
assurance that it is not true, or with saddened tone,
according as the case may be : —
Why do you look along the road so eagerly,
Away from all your cheerful companions ?
Your heart has begun to beat at the tramping sound !
Your whole face has become flushed !
Why do you run so hastily
After the troika which has passed ?
So, you saw the travelling Count lying on his side in the troika,
As he gazed on thee as he passed !
58 THE FOREST LANDS OJ^' NORTHERN RUSSIA.
No wonder that he looked on thee so intently !
No one can help loving thee.
The yellow robe, and the ornaments in thy black hair
I can liken only to the night.
In the pink hue of thy snowy face
I see the dawn coming forth ;
From under thj'- arched eyebrows
There looks forth the roguish eye 1
One look of the dark, broad-shouldered gipsy,
So like the spark of fire setting on fire the forest,
Would cause the old man to ruin himself in presents,
But in the heart of the young man awakens only love !
Yes, you will have lovers enough and to spare,
Thy life will be both full and free,
To thy share will fall abundance,
To the pawky slut comes not the poor viujik (peasant).
Such is the yemschick, one of the most interesting, if not
the only interesting, object of study on such a journey. He
may be clad in a sheepskin shoube, or in hodder^gre}^, or,
like some village Lothario, in velvet coat, loose red drawers,
and shining boots, with one or two, or it may be half a
dozen peacock feathers wound round his hat — the indica-
tion of his being a Government driver. Such are the
yemschick, his sentiments and his songs, these being
generally of love, and always in a minor key, wound up
and closing with a long drawn out fugue, dolorous, plain-
tive, rising and swelling and dying away with the cadence
of an ^olian harp ; and then there follows generally a
word or two of endearment addressed to his horses — one
of them addressed as his golubchik or turtle dove, and
another as his dousliinka or sweet little soul ; but some-
times words of scolding are used, such as I would not
willingly repeat, save to tell that during the time of the
Crimean war, and for some time thereafter, they had no
more spiteful names to call them than Palmerston and
Aberdeen I
CHAPTER VIIT.
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES.
From about the latitude of Archangel, but on the western
coast of the White Sea, and extending thence to the
frontier of Finland, is Russian Lapland. It also is wooded,
but the country inhabited by the Lapps extends through
Finland, Sweden, and Norway, to the Atlantic, and the
timber trade is much more extensively developed in the
Scandinavian portion of Lapland than in that which lies
further to the west. The Tornea flowing into the head of
the Gulf of Bothnia, and the western boundary of Finland,
is considered the medium line.
Lapland has been divided by Wahlenberg into five zones,
concentric with the Gulf of Bothnia, and differing from each
other in climate and productions. The first, extending
obUquely round the Gulf of Bothnia, from N. lat. G^*^ to
nearly 69^, and forming a zone generally 80 miles in
breadth, is covered with forests of spruce and Scots fir,
and is called Woody Lapland. The second, higher and
colder than the first, extending from latitude 65" to nearly,
70°, and generally only six or eight miles in breadth, con-
tains the Scots fir, and is denominated Sub-woody Lapland.
The third, of a higher elevation than either of the others,
ranges, like the latter, from 65° to 70° N. lat., and is gene-
rally about twelve miles in breath, except to the north-east
of Enonteki, where it descends to about 40°, produces the
birch, but none of the conifers ; it is called the Sub-Alpine
region. The fourth, immediately behind the third, and
nearly of the same breadth, stands still higher, and pro-
duces only the Salix glauca, a species of willow peculiar
60 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RtSSlA.
to very cold climates ; it is called the Lower Alpine
region, The fifth, the Higher Alpine region, lies beyond
this. Much of it is covered with perpetual snow; it pro-
duces no trees, and scarcely any vegetation whatever,
except a few hardy plants where the snow has disappeared.
Mr A. G. Guillemard, writing in the Journal of Forestry
of September 1882, of Forest Rambles in Swedish Lapland,
tells :—
' An almost unbroken solitude of vast forests and wide-
spreading moorland, lonely lakes, and rushing rivers, with
lofty ranges of noble snow-mountains in the far interior,
dividing the watershed between the Gulf of Bothnia and
the Atlantic Ocean ; a " wild north land " in which the
solitary traveller from countries of so-called civilisation is
regarded with eyes of wonderment, and to which the
modern tourist never comes ; the home of the elk and the
bear, the. ptarmigan and capercailzie — such is the land of
the Lapp. A glance at the map of the country will suffice
to convince the intending traveller that this far-distant
land is eminently a land of waters, rivers innumerable
flowing through long strings of lakes forming its main
characteristic. But the four days' voyage from Stockholm
to Lulea at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia will speedily
lead him to conclude that it must be a land of trees as
w^ell, for almost every ship he meets is a timber ship, every
port at which his steamer touches is crowded with rafts of
pine-trunks, and noisy with saw-mills, and the entire coast-
line is densely covered mth pine forest. His deduction
will prove to be a correct one, though the sights and
sounds from which he draws it are Swedish, the boundary
of Lapland being far up country. The cream of the forest
and mountain and lake scenery, and perhaps of the spoil,
as well, is to be found in the vicinity of the Stora Lule
river and its tributaries, a truly noble stream, which for
many miles above its mouth averages more than a mile in
width Small steamers navigate the Stora Lule for a
distance of a hundred miles, and at a point just ninety
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 61
miles from Liilea, a lane cut through the forests down to
the river banks marks the boundary line of Lapland.
* Throughout the passage up stream the fact that the
main product of the interior of Lapland is timber is plainly
evidenced by the vast number of pine logs floating down
with the current. Felled far away in the recesses of the
forest, and roughly trimmed of their branches, the trunks
are hauled to the nearest stream during the early spring,
so that when the summer suns have melted the snows on
the mountains, and unbound the icy fetters on lake and
river, the fruits of the winter's forestry are borne seaward
on the rushinor flood. Throuojhout the summer and autumn,
and up to mid-November, by which date the Lule is gene-
rally frozen up, the endless procession of logs continues.
Although the floats of the paddles of steamers are guarded
by chains, the careful helmsman generally gives the wheel
a spoke or two to avoid trunks immediately ahead, exer-
cising similar discretion to that evinced by the quarter-
master of a North Sea steamer in steering clear of the
far-spreading nets of the fishing fleet on the Dogger Bank.
These trunks are all marked, so that they can be properly
identified by gangs of out-lookers at the mouth of the
river, who are always on the alert to secure them, and con-
sign them to the respective saw-mill owners or shippers for
whom they have been despatched. All along the course of
the river, too, men are employed by the Government to
maintain the traffic unimpeded, to clear "jams " of logs in
the rapids, and to set afloat such as may have drifted
ashore and been left high and dry as the river decreased
in volume.
'At Storbacken, a hundred miles up-stream, steamer
navigation comes to an end, the rapids of Porsi-forssen
presenting an insurmountable obstacle. Hence a drive of
thirty-two miles, following the course of the Lilla Lule
through undulating forest country, diverisfied- here and
there by small clearings, where good crops of potatoes,
barley, and oats please the eye of the fanner, takes the
traveller to Jokkmokk, the nearest of Lapp villages to
62 THE FOKEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
civilisation. The scanty population of this part of the
country may be judged from the fact that in September
last I drove the entire distance without meetinoj a single
vehicle on the road. Most of the farms are to the right
of the road along the river bank ; to the left one might
strike into a pathless forest and wander aimlessly for days
together with but a slight chance of lighting upon a house
or even a sign of a human being. At one part of the road
I drove for three miles through a wilderness of gaunt
blackened trunks of pines, across which a forest fire had
swept some three years previously. In Tasmania, New
South Wales, and California, I had passed through similar
scenes of desolation, and the surroundings are always eerie
and dej)ressing, but, like most gloomy things in this world,
they have redeeming features. The w^ondrous after-glow of
these high latitudes showed up in strong relief the naked
ruined trunks, and the havoc that had been wrought was
vividly portrayed ; but at the same time the growth of the
new forest, the young pines and birches, the largest of
them already from five to eight feet in height, and the
vigorous undergrowth, afforded an:iple evidence of the
recuperative properties of forest soil, only requiring time
to develop themselves in order to replace the old forest
that had been swept away.'
We should err if we were to conclude from this that
Lapland, even in its wooded parts, is one continuous forest
such as M. Judrse traversed in the Government of Olonetz,
and Mr Hepworth Dixon in the Governments of Archangel
and Vologda. The soil of Lapland is generally sterile. The
greater part is covered with rocks, or moss, or gravelly
plains, or a kind of turf composed of mosses destroyed by
the frost, and impregnated with stagnant water ; the variety
of vef^etation is more strikingr than its abundance. Wah-
lenberg's edition of the Flora Lapponica gives descriptions
of 1087 species of plants; of which 49 G are phanerogamous
and 591 are cryptogams. Of trees there are 26 kinds,
consisting af the Scots fir, spruce fir, birch, alder, mountain
ash, birdcherry, and nineteen species of willow.
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 63
Mr Guillemard and a fellow traveller fixed on Jokkmokk
as their headquarters, and thence made daily excursions
into the forest, visiting the neighbouring lake and river in
quest of trout and grayling.
* Between us,' says he, * we had travelled in all the four
quarters of the globe, and, with eyes for the picturesque,
were of opinion that a fairer landscape than that viewed
from the road a mile or so south-east of this little Lapp
village, could not be desired even by a Ruskin. A low
wooden bridge spans a brawling torrent, eddying in rapids
through peaty brown pools, and mingling its waters with
those of the Lilla Lule, which here expands into a broad
reach, a mile across, studded with two or three islets
fringed with reeds, and crowned with crests of pine and
yellow birch. Its waters are of a deep glowing blue,
reflected from the brilliant sky overhead, and contrasting
vividly with the flame-colour of the birch leaves and the
sombre dark green of the pines. To the right is a tiny
clearing, on which a crop of oats is fast ripening under the
hot suns of autumn, but this alcne gives s.gn of the handi-
work of man. From the opposite bank of the river rises a
steep slope of forest, and each headland and curve of bay
is thickly covered with pine and fir, and birch and aluer,
which, touched by the sharp frosts of the September nights,
already warn us of the waning of the year. In the pools
beneath the bridge, on the placid surface of which the sun
strikes hotly, we can plainly see a hundred tiny fish hold-
ing high revel amongst the boulders which form the bed-
of this Devonshire-like trout-stream; but away in the
great river before us, running in swirling eddies round the
headlands, and wildly tossing tall rainbow-tinted jets of
spray high into the sunny air amongst the rapids between
the islands, the speckled trout and grayling have tlieir
home, and the lordly salmon cruises regardless of fly or
minnow. Whether seen under the full blaze of noon-tide
sunshine, or the wondrous brilliance of the Northern
Lights, this panorama of river and forest scenery never
failed to charm us.
64 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
'I have paid many visits to Scandinavia, but cannot
remember any forest ramble so replete with all the
numerous beauties of nature and scenery as that taken by
Mr D. and myself on our expedition to the Falls of Njom-
melsaska in September last. These superb falls are distant
thirty -five miles from Jokkmokk, and lying as they do far
to the north of the route from Lulea to Quikkjokk, and
entailing on the traveller a seventy mile walk through a
wild forest country, are but seldom visited. In the entire
Continent of Europe there is no cataract of equal volume
and grandeur ; and yet so remote is it from the haunts of
man, that we learned at Jokkmokk that no one had visited
Njommelsaska for two years prior to our arrival. The lion
of European waterfalls cannot complain that the solitudes
in which he lies hidden are ever disturbed by the incursion
of " specially-conducted parties."
'Having despatched some hours previously a sturdy
young Swede with our ulsters and hammocks, to give
warning of our advent at the half-way house, where we
were to obtain quarters for the night, we started at mid-
day, knapsacks on backs, for Yajkijaur, the first of the long
string of superb lakes which stretch away westward for
sixty miles to Quikkjokk. Whilst rowing across its blue
waters, the grand snowy peaks of the Kabbla mountains
charm the traveller with their picturesque outline, and
indicate the distant spot where Suoloitjelma, king of
northern ranges, lifts it proud peak above untrodden snows.
We land at a little hamlet at the foot of a southern slope
covered with small fields of grain and potatoes, and without
loss of time strike into the forest to the northward. The
trail leads through a dense growth of Scots fir for several
miles, the trees being of small girth, and in but few
instances exceeding eighty feet in height. So thick is
the forest that the branches overhead form almost a com-
plete ceiling, and the ground is so plentifully strewn with
the fallen needles that the path is barely traceable. A
great stillness reigns, the only sound noticeable being the
low murmur of the breeze through the foliage far above
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 65
lis. The trail then gradually rises, the fir forest is left
behind, and we pass through scant birch and alder shrub-
bery, varied occasionally by long stretches of marsh,
hemmed in by tracts of reeds from six to eight feet in
height, from out of which the unwonted sound of our
voices scares a small string of duck. These marshy tracts
are common all over Scandinavia, which is merely a vast
substratum of rock covered with a shallow soil. Huge
tussocks of coarse grass, rushes, and diminutive shrubs
afford precarious foothold : these are covered in many
places with the foliage of water-plants, whilst the boulders,
which crop up in every direction, are overgrown with deli-
cate mosses and lichens of a hundred tints of green, gray,
and brown.
' We then re-enter the forest and dive into a lovely
valley, the floor of which is emerald green, with a thick
carpet of grass, from out of which springs here and there
a tiny specimen of the oak fern, a rarity in these high
latitudes. Here we come across some grand spruce firs,
ranging to a hundred feet in height and of perfect sym-
metry, and the sylvan beauty of the scene is enhanced by
a tiny brook coursing away over a boulder-strewn bed
between banks of tall grasses and the fleecy white seed-
spikes of the cotton plant. A steep slope of some five
hundred feet of ascent closes in the dell to the north, and
as we are toiling up the rugged path a couple of caper-
cailzie soar slowly upwards into the blue sky and are lost to
sight over the tops of the firs. The summit gained, n,
magnificent prospect is before us, the broad blue expanses
of Lakes Vajkijaur, Purkijaur, and Randijaur lying as it
were at our feet, with the rapids of the Lilla Lule plainly
visible amongst the dark forest round Jokkmokk, and the
Kabbla snows glistening white on the far horizon. Around
us rise the ruddy trunks of pine and fir, the sombre foliage
of which is abundantly diversified by the flaming yellow
and scarlet of the birches and aspens, and the brilliant
crimson of the shrubs of rowan, whilst the mosses, lichens,
and tiny forest-plants form a perfect mosaic of rich colour-
F
66 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
iQg under our feet. Hence a gradual descent through
thick birch shrubbery leads us to Anajaur, a lake some
four miles round, embosomed in forest, and famous for the
size of its pike, which, however, are but seldom disturbed
by the drag-nets of the Ligga farmer. Having crossed
this in a crazy boat, an hour's walk through spruce forest
brings us to the tioy clearing we seek.
' Ligga is a small farm inhabited by a hardy Swede,
who has cleared away some twenty acres of forest on a
plateau about five hundred feet above the Stora Lule
river, which, having left at its junction with the Lilla Lule
at Posi-forssen, we now strike some forty miles nearer its
source. The farm-house consists of the customary weather-
board buildiDg of two rooms, and is prettily placed close to
the bank of a mountain stream rushing down in cascades
to join the big river at the foot of the mountain slope.
One of these rooms is allotted to us, and in this we sling
our hammocks, and, in spite of the cold, for chinks are
numerous in the walls, and it is freezing hard outside, pass
a fairly comfortable night. The ground is sparkling wath
hoar-frost when we turn out next mornicg, and, greatly to
the amusement of a couple of Lapps, the labourers at the
farm, proceed to make our ablutions in a big pool of the
torrent. A hearty breakfast of Chicago beef, biscuits, and
coffee — the latter always excellent in Scandinavia — and at
nine we start for the falls. This part of the country is
almost uDiohabited — we are deep in the recesses of the
forest primseval, with a plethora of the beauties of nature
round us, rendered doubly beautiful by the aspect of all-
pervading repose and solitude. Save at Ligga we see not
a single human being in the course of our seventy mile
walk. We are on higher ground this second day, and some
of the firs and spruces are of noble dimensions, but the
under-growth is scantier, owing to the more exposed nature
of the country and the shallowness of the soil. Every-
where huge boulders lie in picturesque confusion, and the
gnarled roots of the trees twist and curl here and there
seeking in vain for sufficient depth of soil to cover them.
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 67
Under these conditions, and remembering that we are far
within the Arctic Circle> and that the snowfall and the
gales of winter must severely try the stability of the trees,
the number of fallen giants is not to be wondered at. But
though the floor of the forest wears a somewhat more
desolate aspect than that between Vajkijaur and Ligga,
the general tone of colour being gray in place of the green
of the gi'asses and mosses of the lower country, the dark
glossy leaves and crimson clusters of the molte-haere, the
bright crimson of the tiny shrubs of rowan and the deep
red-brown of the lichens spreading over the larger mas.ves
of rock diversify the colouring of the landscape pleasantly.
In places we come across a small stream tinkling musically
over the boulders between banks fringed with aspen and
birch thickets, and in secluded spots find the Arctic straw-
berry flourishing, and bearing a rich crop of delicious
aromatic fruit. A walk of ten miles brinos us to the Stora
Lule again, here a river of some two hundred yards across,
its deep blue waters flecked with huge masses of creamy
foam, the product of the mighty fall, the thunder of which,
echoing from out the deep canyon in which it is secluded,
now falls plainly on our ears. We find a boat hauled up
in a quiet nook among the rocks, and paddle across to the
left bank of the river, from which the Ananas Mountains
rise in a steep slope of birch forest, now ablaze with the
golden splendour of autumnal tints. Hence to the foot of
the falls is a distance of some two miles, at first a walk
over a smooth lawn of short sweet gi^ass, on which we find
the poles, erected in circular shape, of a Lapp encampment,
and finally a rough scramble over huge masses of rock under
the lee of which thickets of Arctic raspberries afl'ord us a
rich feast, the delights of which, however, are a trifle
marred by the clouds of mosquitoes and midges which as
yet have survived the early frosts.
* As we gaze down into the deep canyon, and trace the
course of the river from the broad blue reach above the
falls, over the three great plunges and down the series of
rapids by which they are connected, surveying the whole
m THE FOREST LANDS OF NOETHEEN RUSSIA.
six hundred yards of cataract in its various phases of
sheer fall, boiling cauldron, wave and eddy and rapid, with
the spray flying over us in clouds hurled up forty feet into
the rainbow-sprinkled air from where the huge waves are
breaking in thunder on the ink-black cliffs below us, we
find no difficulty in realising that the grandest fall in
Europe is before us. The river is about 150 yards across
above the crest of the first fall, when at high flood, after
the melting of the snows, and some thirty feet in depth ;
but now, in early autumn, its volume is much reduced,
and huge black rocks divide it into three separate streams
at the lip. Some idea of the stupendous rush of waters
may be judged from the fact that this superb river falls
250 feet in the course of six hundred yards. Immediately
below the first fall of forty feet is an inaccessible islet,
covered with pines and birches, the leaves of which
quiver with the concussion of the falling waters, just as
those of the shrubs on Luna Island, hanging on the brink
of Niagara, are ever tremulous.
'So indescribably grand is Njommelsaska, that it is with
the utmost reluctance that we turn our backs upon its
glories, and wend our way back to Ligga through the
silent forest, whence a third long day's walk brings us to
Jokkmokk.'
This, however, though within woody Lapland, lies far to
the west of the line which divides Scandinavian Lapland
from Russian Lapland.
The whole of woody Lapland is so level that scarcely
one of the mountains rises hioher than 213 feet above the
neighbouring plains, and in none of the first three zones is
the height above the level of the sea considerable, but a
few high mountains there are. And the Lapland Alps
have an altitude such that no part is less than 2000 feet
above the level of the sea.
The fifth region, the higher Alpine region, extends
along the north side of Lapland, varying in breadth as it
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 69
may happen to be indented by the sea. In the southern
Alpine region there are mountains and glaciers 4000,
5000, and 6000 feet above the level of the sea. 01 the
maritime Alps, which occupy the Avest and northern part
of Lapland, and which has glaciers immediately over the
sea, the highest are the Alps of Lyngen, which rise to an
elevation of 4264 feet. The rest of the coast of Lapland
is very rocky ; but, excepting the promontory of Kunnen,
it scarcely contains any high mountains. The promontoiies
of eastern Finmark do not exceed an elevatiou of 2132
feet above the level of the sea ; and those on its north
coast are only 1279 feet in height; and a long stretch
of comparatively level land is presented by the coast of the
Arctic Ocean in Russian Lapland. But it is begirt by a
mountain range, on the south of the coast of the White Sea.
Here it is that the forests commence. Much of the land
to the north of the Arctic Circle, like the land in the same
latitude to the east of the White Sea, resemble the
barrens of North America, and the Tundras of Siberia,
sterile marshy wastes.
Of those lands washed by the White Sea the following
account is given by Hepworth Dixon, who wielded a
graphic pen perhaps somewhat freely, but if so all the more
effectively, in bringing before his readers the scenes he
describes. He is describing his approach to Russia, to
which he went by Archangel, in preference to taking any
of the more generally adopted routes in the south.
' Rounding the North Cape, a weird and hoary mass of
rock projecting far into the Arctic foam, we drive in a
south-east course, lashed by the wind, and beaten by hail
and rain, for two long days, during which the sun never
sets and never rises, and in which if there is dawn at the
hour of midnight, there is also dusk at the time of noon.
' Leaving the picturesque lines of fiord and alp behind,
we run along a dim, unbroken coast, not often to be seen
through the pall of mist, until, at the end of some fifty
hours, we feel, as it were, the land in our front ; a stretcU
70 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RtJSSlA.
of low-lying shore in the vague and far-off distance, trend-
ing away toward the south, like the trail of an evening
cloud. We bend in a southern course between Holy Point
(Sviatoi Noss, called in our charts, in rough salt slang,
Sweet Nose) and Kanin Cape, towards the Corridor ; a
strait of some thirty miles wide, leading from the Polar
Ocean into that vast irregular dent in the northern shore
of Great Russia, known as the Frozen Sea.
' The land now lying on our right, as we run through the
Corridor, is that of the Lapps ; a country of barren downs
and deep black lakes ; over which a few trappers and
fishermen roam ; subjects of the Tsar, and followers of the
orthodox rite ; but speaking a language of their own, not
understood in the Winter Palace, and following a custom
of their fathers, not yet recognised in St. Isaac's Church.
Lapland is a tangle of rocks and pools ; the rocks very big
and broken, the pools very deep and black ; with here and
there a valley winding through them, on the slopes of
which grows a little reindeer moss. Now and then you
come upon a patch of birch and pine. No grain will grow
in these Arctic zones, and the food of the natives is game
and fish. Ryebread, their only luxury, must be fetched in
boats from the towns of Onega and Archangel, standing on
the shores of the Frozen Sea, and fed from the warmer
provinces in the south. These Lapps are still nomadic,
cowering in the winter months in shanties ; sprawling
through the summer months in tents. Their shanty is a
log pyramid, thatched with moss to keep out wind and
sleet ; their tent is of the Comanche type ; a roll of rein-
deer skins drawn slackly round a pole, and open at the top
to let out the smoke,
' A Lapp removes his dwelling from place to place, as
the seasons come and go ; now herding game on the hill-
sides, now whipping the rivers and creeks for fish ; in the
warm months roving inland in search of moss and grass ;
in the frozen montlis drawing nearer to the shore in search
of seal and cod. The men are equally expert with the
bow, their ancient weapon of defence, and with the birding
LAPLAND, AND LAND OF THE SAMOIDES. 71
piece they warn off settlers in their midst. The women,
looking anything but lovely in their sealskin tights and
reindeer smocks, are infamous for magic and second sight.
In every district of the north a female Lapp is feared as a
witch — an enchantress, who keeps a devil at her side, bound
by the powers of darkness to obey her will. She can see
into the coming day. She can bring a man ill luck. She
can throw herself out into space, and work upon ships that
are sailing past her on the sea. Far out in the po]ar brine,
where her countrymen fish for cod, stands a lump of rock,
which the crews regard as a woman and her child.
' Such phantasies are common in these Arctic seas where
the waves wash in and out through the cliffs, and rend and
carve them into wondrous shapes. A rock on the ^orth
Cape is the Friar; a group of islets near that cape is
known as the Mother and her Daughters. Seen through
the veil of Polar mist, a block of stone may take a
mysterious form ; and that lump of rock in the Polar
waste, which the cod fishers say is like a woman with her
child, has long been known to them as the Golden Hag.
She is rarely seen ; for the clouds in summer, and the
snows in winter, hide her charms from the fisherman's
eyes ; but when she deigns to show her face in the clear
bright sun, her children hail her with a song of joy, for on
seeing her face they know that their voyage will be blessed
by a plentiful harvest of skins and fish.
* Woe to the mariner tossed upon their coast !
'The land on our left is the Kanin Peninsula; part of
that region of heath and sand over which the Samoyed
roams; a desert of ice and snow still wilder than the
countries hunted by the Lapp. A land without a village,
without a road, without a field, without a name ; for the
Russians who own it have no name for it save that of the
Samoyed's land. This province of the great empire
wends away north and east from the walls of Archangel,
and the waters of the Kanin Cape to the summits of the
Ural chain, and the iron gates of the Kara Sea. In her
clefts and ridges snow never melts j and her shore-
72 THE FOREST LAJ^DS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
lands, stretching toward tlie sunrise upwards of two
thousand miles, are bound in icy chaius for eight months
in the twelve.
' In June, when the winter goes away suddenly, the
slopes of a few favoured valleys grow green with reindeer
moss; slight spects of verdure in a landscape which is
even then dark with rock and grey with rienne. On this
gTeen moss the reindeer feed, and on these camels of the
Polar Zone, the wild men of the country live.'
CHAPTER IX.
NOVA ZEMBLA AND LANDS BEYOND.
The preceding notice of the Land of the Samoides, to
which we have been led by taking notice of the northern
coast lands of Lapland, has led us out from the forests, if
not beyond the forest-lands, of Northern Russia; and
having ventured so far, surely we may venture across the
narrow strait beyond, and take a glance at Nova Zembla,
or Novaia Zemblia — the New Land — before we betake
ourselves to the study of the forest economy of the land
whither we have found our way. This projects from the
most northern point of Russia in Europe, near to its
eastern boundary, from which it is separated by the
Waygatz Shoals. With an exception, which will after-
wards be referred to, it may be said to be uninhabited ;
but it is visited by fishermen and hunters, who are sent
out by the merchants of Archangel and Mezen to obtain
whales and walrusses. It is generally spoken of as one
island, but being traversed by a narrow crooked passage
from west to east, there are two large islands, with some
lesser ones on the coast. Coal and asphaltum have been,
found in the interior, and there exists a salt lake there.
A writer in Blackwood's Magazine, in the issue for Sep-
tember 1883, who appears to be keenly alive to the plea-
sure experienced in the chase, and who came home with
the crew of the ill-fated ' Eira,' supplies some interesting
details in regard to this land, amongst others these : —
' Being far out of the way of all our merchant routes,
and only approachable during the summer over the, even
then, ice-encumbered sea. Nova Zembla will probably long
remain one of the last refuges of the reindeer ; while its
74 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
ice-choked fiords and frozen seas will still be haunted by
the white whale, the seal, the walrus, and the polar bear.
' Frequented until of late only by some dozen schooners,
who visit its shores ever}^ year chiefly for white wliale and
salmon, and by a few roaming Samoides from the mainland,
these Arctic shores have hitherto afforded an undisturbed
asylum during the winter to game of all kinds, marine or
terrestrial, which abounds there. Recently, however, the
Russian Government have seen fit to plant a colony of
Samoides, and these skilful hunters harry the game
throughout the year with great vigour. Beyond visits
from European sportsmen or explorers, so rare that they
might almost be counted on the fino^ers, no other human
intruders ever invade these wild regions
' Till the present century the contour of the two large
islands which form what is now known as Nova Zembla
was very differently represented upon the various manu-
script chaits in existence, these having been compiled
from the observations of Dutch, Norwegian, and Russian
navigators. Barents led off in 1598 with a chart repre-
senting the west coast and that part of the north-east coast
which he had visited ; this, though terribly out in longi-
titude, was very good as to latitude, and since the days of
this old explorer, his maps, with many additions and a few
corrections, have been generally adhered to : some repre-
senting the north coast as taking an abrupt turn to the
east, and thus continuing ad. infinitum^ the authors veiling
their perplexity by drawing a meridian line down the chart
and thereby cutting it short, leaving the rest to the imagi-
nation of the beholder.
* For our present knowledge of the shape and dimensions
of the islands we are chiefly indebted to the Russian
coast survey made daring the early part of the present
century, and continued by subsequent explorers, which is
generally considered to be pretty accurate as far north as
Admiralty Peninsula, the most prominent headland on the
west coast on the north island Cape Nassau,
the point between Admiralty Peninsula and Cape Mauritius,
NOVA ZEMBLA AND LANDS BEYOND. 75
the north point has traditionally acquired an evil reputa-
tion amongst the walrus hunters, as being a sort of
bewitched headland, to round which means to say farewell
to the world ; for it was believed that vessels were
mysteriously drifted thence into the Arctic Ocean, beset
by ice, and never heard of again. That there is some
foundation for this tradition, is proved by the fate of the
Austrian Polar expedition of Weyprecht and Payer in the
steamer Tegethoff, which was beset near this Cape in
1S72, and never got free again, being drifted about the
Arctic Ocean for two years, during which the expedition
involuntarily discovered Franz-Josef land, and only at last
got free by abandoning their ship, and undertaking a most
perilous and laborious journey over the ice with their
boats, which lasted three months, when they had the good
fortune to reach the shores of Nova Zembla, and to encoun-
ter a Russian schooner which was just leaving for home.
' Lying between the parallels of 77° 85' N. and 70° 4D'
N., the two main islands, with a curved outline, cover a
space,' says our author, ' of about 450 English miles, while
their average breadth may be taken as 60 miles. The two
islands are divided by a strait called the Matotchkin Sharr,
which also well marks a central position in the physical
configuration of the country ; for it is in this locality that
the highest mountains and wildest scenery are to be found,
the land thence sinking to lower levels both to the north-
ward and southward. Matotchkin Sharr may likewise be
said to be a central position as to the distribution of the-
various objects of sport ; for it is on the slopes of the snow
and glacier clad mountains of this part of the country that
reindeer are most plentiful, whilst wildfowl of all kinds
prefer the south island. Bears, walrusses, and seals, on the
other hand, may be looked for with greater confidence on
the shores of the north island, and more particularly on
the eastern and northern parts of it.'
Mention is made of Barents, and of the Austrian
expedition under Payer.
76 THE FOREST LANDS OJ^' NORTHERN RUSSIA.
' The merchants of Amsterdam/ writes the author of
The Arctic World: its Plants, Animals, and Natural
Phenomena,* ' having fitted out a ship — the Mercurius, of
one hundred tons — to attempt a passage round the northern
end of Novaia Zemlaia, the command was given to William
Barents; who accordingly sailed from the Texel on the 4th
of June 1594.
'He sighted Novaia Zemlaia, in lat. 73<^ 25' N., on the
4th July, sailed along its grim, gaunt coast, doubled Cape
Nassau on the 10th, and struck the edge of the northern
ice on the 13th. For several days he skirted this formid-
able barrier, vainly seeking for an opening ; and in quest
of a channel into the further sea he sailed perseveringly
from Cape Nassau to the Orange Islands. He went over no
fewer than seventeen hundred miles of ground in his assi-
duous search, and put his ship about on e-and-eighty times.
He discovered also the long line of coast between the two
points we have named, laying it down with an exactness
which has been acknowledged by later explorers. His men
wearying of labour which seemed to yield no positive
results, Barents was under the necessity of returning home.
'In 1596 the Amsterdammers fitted out another expe-
dition, consisting of two strongly-built ships, under Jacob
van Heemskerch and Jan Cornelizoon Hijp, with Barents
as pilot, though really in command.
'In this voyage the adventurers kept away from the
land in order to avoid the pack-ice, and sailing to the
westward, discovered Bear Island on the 9th of June.
Then they steered to the northward, and hove in sight of
Spitzbergen exactly ten days later. They supposed, how-
ever, that it was only a part of Greenland, and were led to
bear away to the north-west — a course which was speedily
arrested by the eternal icy barrier. Barents then coasted
along the western side of Spitzbergen ; and the north-
western headland being frequented by an immense number
of birds, he called it Voo^elsanof.
* T. Nelson & Sous, London, Edinburgh, and New York.
NOVA ZEMBLA AND LANDS BEYOND. 77
' On the 1st of July he again made Bear Island, and here
he and Rijp agreed to separate. Of the latter we know
only that he was unsuccessful in an attempt to find an
opening in the ice on the east of Greenland, and that he
returned to Holland in the same year. Of the former the
narrative is painfully full and interesting.
' Quitting Bear Island, he reached Novaia Zemlaia on
the 17th of July, sighting the coast in lat. 74^ 40' N.
Keeping along it with characteristic perseverance until the
7th of August, he passed Cape Comfort ; but only to find
himself once more face to face with the dreary spectacle of
the far-reachiug Polar ice. It so hemmed and fenced him
in on every side that he was unable to extricate his vessel
from it ; and being driven into a bay, which he named
Ice Haven, " there they were forced, in great cold, poverty,
misery, and griefe, to stay all the winter," For the heavy
pack-ice drifting into the bay closed it up, and closed
around the ship until she was held fast as in iron bonds.
'Barents and his sixteen followers now prepared to
encounter with a good heart the trials of the long Arctic
winter night. They displayed, in truth, a courage, a
patience, and a good fellowship which were heroic. Find-
ing a large supply of drift-wood, they constructed, with the
help of planks from the poop and forecastle of the vessel,
a sufficiently commodious house, into which they removed
all their stores and provisions They fixed a chimney in
the centre of the roof; a Dutch clock was set up, and duly
struck the weary hours ; the sleeping-berths were ranged ^
along the walls ; a wine-cask was converted into a bath.
All these ingenious devices, how^ever, availed but little
against the terrible feeling of depression which is induced
by the continuance for so many weeks of a blank and
cheerless darkness.
' The sun disappeared on the 4th of November, and the
cold thereafter increased until it was almost intolerable.
Their wine and beer were frozen, and lost all their strength.
By means of great fires, by applying heated stones to their
feet, and by wrapping themselves up in double fox-skin
78 THE FOKEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
coats, they barely contrived to keep ofif the deadly cold.
Id searching for drift-wood they endured the sharpest
pain, and often braved imminent danger. To add to their
troubles, they had much ado to defend themselves against
the bears, which made frequent assaults on their hut.
However, they contrived to slaughter some of the auda-
cious animals, and their fat provided them with oil for
their lamps. When the sun disappeared the bears
departed, and then the white foxes came in great numbers.
They were much more welcome visitors, and being caught
in traps, set in the vicinity of the house, supplied the ice-
bound voyagers with food and clothing.
'When the 19th of December arrived, they found some
comfort in the reflection that half of the dreary season of
darkness had passed away, and that they could now count
every day as bringing them nearer to the joyful spring.
They suffered much, but endured their sufferings bravely ;
and celebrated Twelfth Night with a little sack, two pounds
of meat, and some merry games. The gunner drew the
prize, and became King of Novaia Zemlaia, " which is at
least two hundred miles long, and lyeth between two seas."
' On the 27th of January every heart rejoiced, for the
glowing disc of the sun reappeared above the horizon. But
it brought with it their old enemies the bears, against
whom they found it necessary to exercise the greatest
vigilance.
* On the 22nd of February they again saw " much open
water in the sea, which in long time they had not scene."
During the whole month violent storms broke out, and the
snow fell in enormous quantities.
'On the 12th of March a gale from the north-east
brought back the ice, and the open water disappeared ;
the ice driving in with much fury and a mighty noise, the
pieces crashing against each other, " fearful to hear." Up
to the 8th of May the ice was everywhere, and their sad
eyes could look forth on no pleasant or hopeful scene.
Then it began to break up, and the gaunt, weary explorers
prepared to tempt the sea once more. They set to work
NOVA ZEMBLA AND LANDS BEYOND. 79
to repair their two boats, for their ship was so crippled and
strained by the ice that she was injured beyond their ability
to repair.
* On the 14th of June they quitted the place of their
long captivity ; Barents, before they set out, drawing up
in writing a list of their names, with a brief record of their
experiences, and depositing it in the wooden hut. He
himself was so reduced with sickness, want, and anxiety
that he was unable to stand, and had to be carried into
the boat. On the 16th, the captain, hailing from the other
boat, inquired how the pilot fared. " Quite well, mate,"
Barents replied ; " I still hope to mend before we get to
Wardhouse," — Wardhouse being an island on the coast of
Lapland. But he died on the 19th (or, as some authorities
say, on the 20th), to the great grief of his comrades, who
appreciated his manly character, and placed great reliance
on his experience and skill.
' The adventurers met with many difficulties from the
ice, — sometimes being carried out far from the ice-belt,
and at others being compelled to haul the boats for long
distances over the rough surface of the floes to reach opeu
water. It has been well observed that there are many
instances on record of long ocean-voyages performed in
open boats, but that, perhaps, not one is of so extraordinary
a character as that which we are describing, — when two
small and crazy craft ventured to cross the seas for eleven
hundred miles, continually endangered by huge floating
ice-masses, threatened by bears, and exposed for forty
days to the combined trials of sickness, famine, cold, and
fatigue.
' At length they arrived at Kola, in Lapland, towards
the end of August ; and, strangely enough, Avere taken on
board a Dutch vessel commanded by the very Cornelizoon
Rijp, who had commanded the sister discovery ship in the
previous year. They reached the Maas in safety in
October 1597.
'No voyager appears to have sailed in the track of
80 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Barents, or, at all events, to have visited the place where
he ^vintered, until 1871. No one but he had rounded the
north-east point of bleak Novaia Zemlaia. In 1869, how-
ever, and on the 16th of May, Captain Carl sen, a Nor-
weo^ian of much experience in the North Sea trade, sailed
from Hammerfest in a sloop of sixty tons, called the Solid.
On the 7th of September he reached Ice Haven, and on
the 9th discovered a rude wooden house standing at the
head of the bay. Its dimensions were 32 feet by 20, and
it was constructed of planks measuring from 14 to 16
inches in breadth, and 1| inches thick. These, it was
evident, had belonged to a ship, and amongst them were
several oak beams. Heaps of bones of seal, bear, reindeer,
and walrus, as well as several large puncheons, were col-
lected round the hut. It was the winter prison of Barents
and his companions, and had never been entered by human
foot since they had abandoned it. The cooking-pans stood
over the fireplace, the old clock hung against the wall ;
there were the books, and implements, and tools, and
weapons, which had been of so much service two hundred
and seventy-eight years before. It was an Arctic repro-
duction of the legend of the hundred years' sleep of the
fairy princess.
'Captain Carlsen gives the following list of articles
found in the lone hut on the shore of Novaia Zemlaia : —
Iron frame over the fireplace, with shifting bar; two ship
cooking-pans of copper, found standing on the iron frame,
with the remains of a copper scoop ; copper bands, pro-
bably at one time fastened round pails ; bar of iron : iron
crowbar ; one long and two small gun-barrels ; two bores
or augers, each three feet in length ; chisel, padlock, caulk-
ing iron, three gouges, and six files ; plate of zinc ; earthen-
ware jar; tankard, with zinc lid; lower half of another
tankard ; six fragments of pepper pots ; tin meat-strainer ;
pair of boots ; sword ; fragments of old engravings, with
Latin couplets underneath them; three Dutch books; a
small piece of metal ; nineteen cartridge cases, some still
full of powder; iron chest, with lid, and intricate lock-
NOVA ZEMBLA AND LANDS BEYOND. 81
work ; fragments of metal handle of same ; grindstone ; an
eight-pound iron weight; small caunon-ball ; gun-lock,
with hammer and flint ; clock, bell of clock, and striker ;
rasp j small auger ; small narrow strips of copper band ;
two salt and pepper pots, about eight inches high ; two
pairs of compasses ; fragment of iron-handled knife ; three
spoons ; borer ; hone ; one wooden, and one bronze tap ;
two wooden stoppers for gun muzzles ; two spear or ice-
pole heads ; four navigation instruments ; a flute ; lock
and key ; another lock ; sledge-hammer head ; clock
weight ; twenty-six pewter candlesticks and fragments,
six in a complete state of preservation ; pitcher of Etruscan
shape, beautifully engraved ; upper half of another pitcher ;
wooden trencher, coloured red ; clock alarum ; three scales ;
four medallions, circular, about eight inches in diameter,
three of them mounted in oak frames ; a string of buttons ;
hilt of sword, and a foot of its blade ; halberd head ; and
two carved pieces of wood, one with the haft of a knife in
it.
'On the 14
<7e//^o/ spent the winters of 1872 and 1873 in
the Icy Sea, and made some discoveries of interest. It
returned in safety in the summer of 1874.'
In lands further to the north than Nova Zembla there
may be found moss, scurvy grass, and sorrel, but no trees.
In the year AD. 879, when the first settlers in Iceland,
under Ingulf their chief, went thither, they found very
extensive forests in the valleys, which they penetrated with
difficulty ; and roots and stumps of large fir trees are, or
were sixty years ago, to be seen in various parts, but now
not a tree is to be found in the whole island, and only a
few stunted birches and some low brush or underwood
grows in the most sheltered situations.
Greenland is said to have gotten that name from an
Icelander, Eric Raude, or Eric the Red, by whom it was
NOVA ZEMBLA AND LANDS BEYOND. 83
discovered probably between a.d. 880 and 835, who,
having explored the continent, returned in the third year
to Iceland, where he boasted very much of the fertility of
the land he had discovered, to which he gave this name,
hoping, it is alleged, to induce others to follow him thither.
A writer in the beginning of the present century speaks
indeed of trees, but he tells : ' Those shrubs and trees,
which in milder climates afford a comfortable shade to the
wanderer, creep in this forlorn land under scattered rocks,
to find shelter from their destroying enemies — storm, snow,
and ice. This land, however, presents a series of plants
which probably would not subsist in a milder climate ; and
in the interior of the inlets and firths many species pre-
viously unknown in other countries. Some of the new-
species are mentioned in the last number of the Flora
Danica* There are also other spots which boast the most
luxuriant verdure, but they are only places in the neighbour-
hood of the Greenland houses, which have been improved
for many years by the blood and fat of seals and other
animals. There are also small hills on the uninhabited
islands, where the birds build their nests, and, manuring
the decomposing rocks, extort vegetation to their abode
from the uncertain soil. These places, however, are but of
rare occurrence, in proportion to the immense extent of the
country. Innumerable cryptogamic plants, growing with
great rapidity under snow and ice, supply the want of
flourishing vegetation on the rocks and cliffs.'
According to reports brought by Baron Nordenskjold,
the land, instead of being everywhere a green land, might
with as much propriety as the land from which Eric was a
fugitive, have been designated Iceland. On the 4th Sep-
tember 1883 he anchored in a fiord which had been newly
visited by the Esquimaux, and where were found some
remains of the Norman period. It was the first time since
the fifteenth century that a vessel had succeeded in anchor-
* A classified list of plants, &c., found in Greenland is given in Brewster's Edinburgh
Encyclopcedia, vol. x., pp. 494-496.— J. C. B.
84 THE FOEEST LANDS OF XORTHEEN RUSSIA.
ing on the east coast of Greenland south of the Polar circle.
The glaciers on the east coast are few, and of no great size ;
and the fiords are free from ice. Over the whole inland
there is ice. There occur masses of fine dust, partly of
cosmical origin, with the ice. An inland ice party started
on the 4th of July from Auleitzwik Fiord. When they
were 140 kilometres east of the glacial border, and 500
feet above the seal level, they were prevented by soft snow
from proceeding with sledges. They sent the Laplanders
further on snow-shoes (skidor.) These advanced 230 kilo-
meters eastwards over a continual snow desert to a height
of 7000 feet. The conditions for a snow-free interior con-
sequently did not exist here ; but this expedition, during
which men have reached for the first time the interior of
Greenland, has given important results as to the nature of
the interior of an ice-covered continent. Baron Nordens-
kjold had believed that if the high mountainous ranges along
the coast of Greenland were crossed, the valleys (if any) in
the interior would probably be found covered with green
vegetation, but it w^as found that after ascending to about
7000 feet abovj the sea level, the country was compara-
tively flat, and covered with snow and ice. The greatest
cold experienced was 20 degs. below zero.
PART II.
o
FOREST EXPLOITATION.
CHAPTER I.
SAETAGE.
In Sartage portions of the forest are burned down, and on
the soil manured with the ashes difterent crops are culti-
vated for a few years, until its fertility being exhausted, it
is abandoned, and another place is similarly treated.
In the narrative given by Mr Judrae of his journey
through the forests of Olonetz and Archangel, mention is
made of the practice of Sartage or Rhoeden, and Svedjande,
as it is called in Finland — the last being a Swedish term
introduced in connection with the domination of Sweden
in Finland, previous to its being annexed to the Russian
Empire. Mr Judrae, in the few sentences in which he
has spoken of it, has said all, or almost all, that can be
learned in regard to it from what is practised here. The
literature of forest science in France supplies ample details
in regard to it ; and in reports of forest operations in India
we are supplied with details in regard to the results and
consequences of such a treatment of forests.
In a companion volume I have given details of the
practice as followed in Finland, from which country, if not
by the Finnish Karells inhabiting a large portion of the
Government of Olonetz, it may have been introduced into
this region. I consider it to be a practice of Asiatic origin,
S6 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
brought by the Finns from the East ; and in the volume
named details are given in regard to the practice as fol-
lowed in India, Burmah, and Ceylon, with discussions
which have taken place in regard to the advantages of
this mode of exploitation under different conditions.
Both at Vosnesenya and at Petrozavodsk I heard of
Sartage being practised frequently, and in different parts
of the Government.
Od this subject Mr Judnte says: — ' Reading the reports
in the Government office of the Imperial Domaines, one is
arrested involuntarily at a place which treats of unauthor-
ised fellings carried on without leave or sanction.
* According to these reports the population of the Govern-
ment consists almost exclusively of those who were Crown
serfs and their children, whose requirements of wood for
fuel and building are sufficiently met by the allotments
made to them annually from the forests ; but these people
for a long time back have been possessed with the idea
that woods are of no pecuniary value, and they destroy
them recklessly. When the annual allotment happens to
be less than they think they require for building material
— for it may be fancy erections which they do not require
— they frequently go off to the woods and cut what they
want without ever applying for permission to do so. And
then the question comes up. Is it possible for the people
to acquire at the present time any adequate idea of the
necessity which there is for the conservation of the forests
and the exploitation of them in a rational or scientific
way*? Let any one realise the case. Around all of these
villages, even the smallest of them, there are forests of
which the eye can see no end, they appear to be intermin-
able ; and there are depths of them to which the foot of
man has never penetrated. The extent of these forests is
such that to the peasantry they seem inexhaustible ; while,
en the other hand, the severity of the climate, the unpro-
ductiveness of the soil, and the poverty of the people are
such as to seem to call upon every one to find out for
himself with a hatchet in his hand any means of improving
his condition.
SARTAGE. 87
' The natural condition of the country could not have
called forth or exercised upon the people an effect more to
be deplored.
' The peasantry here look upon wood as being in common
with earth and air, fire and water, one of the elements, and
as equally free to all persons ; and they consequently con-
sider that they are free to use it without stint or limit, as
one of the free gifts of nature. Tliis state of things, origi-
nating, as I have intimated, from the physical condition of
the country, can only be changed or destroyed by the great
change-producer, time ; and the reports of the consequent
destruction of the forests embrace numerous details of the
extension in the country of the practice of Sartage and
Roederiy or Svedja. This system of felling is very frequently
met with; but if we enter into the circumstances of the
case, considering, on the one hand, the condition of
the agricultural economy of the people, together with
the paucity of labourers and the lack of manures, and
the circumstances that the temporary culture of the fields
which is thus effected supplies the only means of support
to man, and, on the other hand, the great extent of the
forests and the difficulty of maintaining an efficient watch
over them by wardens or forest watchmen with a great
extent of forest entrusted to their care, we cannot con-
demn the Forest Administration for not adopting effect-
ual measures to prevent altogether this unauthorised
felling of trees in the forest.
' This unauthorised felling is the primary form taken by^
agriculture — the first step taken towards the development
of rural economy. We hope in process of time to get
beyond this ; but to put it down by force would not be
a rational course of procedure. The Northern peasant
not having productive ground near his residence, nor
means to improve it if he had, goes into the depths of the
forest, burns down trees, and cultures his temporary field
for two or three years, or so long as its powers of fertile
production is not exhausted— the fertility being produced
by the ashes and cinders of the burnt trees. The persua-
88 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
sion of the peasant as to the perfect legality of such a
procedure is such, that it is very doubtful whether any
general measure of repression at present could remedy
the evil. In order fully to understand the economic con-
dition of this region we must go back some fifty years or
so, and look at things with other eyes. I consider that
this unauthorised felling originally was legal and reason-
able— suitable for the place where the forests are very
dense ; but as a principle it admits of some formal
limitation. And this, according to these reports, appears
to have been attempted in the Government of Olonetz in
1867. Of the system of operations carried on by this
people, it is said the first settlers in the country were
satisfied with small plots of ground of easy cultivation,
but as they increased in number they were obliged to have
recourse to land which was more fertile indeed, but
marshy or covered with forests, and requiring labour to
prepare it for culture, and care and thought. Cultivation
such as may be seen in civilised communities was not
attainable by these people, were it only for their want of
agricultural implements and manure. In the same book,
on the page following, it is stated, " In these virgin soils,
previously covered with forest or bush, the produce of rye
in the first year was ^e^ifold — frequently twelvefold ; and
there were places — generally places where there had been
old dense high forests — in which^the produce was fiftyiold.,
and in the second year the produce was from ten to fifteen
fold." '
CHAPTER II.
JARDINAGE.
Sartage, which has been noticed in the preceding chapter,
can scarcely be called with propriety Forest Exploitation;
with more manifest propriety it may bo called Exploitation
of Forest Land ; but the utilisation ot tQe ashes obtained,
and the utilisation of the forest trees to produce these
ashes, justify my treating of it as I have done. With
Jardinage it is otherwise, in as much as it is employed
primarily as a means of utilising the trees produced, irre-
spective of the ground on which they were produced.
The designation is given in France to a treatment of
forests prevalent everywhere, according to which a man
seeks out and fells the tree which he thinks wdll serve his
purpose, whatever that purpose may be, leaving the others
standing, if they do not happen to be crushed by the fall
of his tree, or stand m the way of his getting it brought
out from the forest.
This method of exploitation gradually exhausts the
forest of all trees yielding large timber, as does the practice
of the gardener, from which the designation given to it
has been derived, exhaust the bed of leeks, onions, turnips,
or carrots, gathering one here, another there, as they come
to maturity. Others have testified what they have seen of
this effect in different countries in Europe and elsewhere.
In a volume entitled Hydrology of South Africa"^ I have
* Hydrology of South Africa; or, details of the former hydrographic condition of
the Cape of Good Hope, and of causes of its present aridity, with suggestions of appro*
priate remedies for this aridity.— In which the desiccation of South Africa, from pre-
Adamic timea to the present day, is traced by indications supplied by geological forma-
90 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
given the following account of what I have seen, not in
one forest alone, but in many widely dispersed over the
colony of the Cape of Good Hope, supplying illustrations
of the first, the second, and the final stages of the devasta-
tion thus occasioned: —
Under a system of forest management which, borrowing
a term employed in works on forest science in France, I
may call primitive Jardinage, the forests in the colony have
been long gradually disappearing. The system followed
was to cut down trees such as might be required, leaving
others standing, but doing nothing to promote their growth,
or to replace those which were removed.
I have before me a chart of the forests of the Tzizi-
Kamma. From information supplied to me by Captain
Harrison, the Conservator of forests in the district, I have
gathered the following particulars, which I give, as illus-
trative of what I may call the first stage of the work of
destruction under the treatment which I have called
primitive Jardinage.
On the west bank of Storm River there is — or was at
that time — a piece of what may be described as virgin
forest, in which operations were begun about ten years ago.
On the east bank of that river is a patch of scrub destitute
of timber.
Below this is a large piece of ground in two divisions,
which is mostly private property, and in which the Crown
property had been denuded of timber previous to Captain
Harrison entering on his duties as conservator of forests
in the district.
Continuous with this, and at the mouth of the river, is
a patch in which wood-cutting has been actively carried
tions, by the physical gcograph3- or general contour of the country, and by arborescent
productions in the interior, with results confirmator\- of the opiuion that the appro*
priate remedies are irrigation, arboriculture, and an improved forest economy ; or the
erection of dams to prevent the escape of a portion of the rainfall to the sea,— the
abandonment or restriction of the herbage and bush in connection with pastoral and
agricultural operations, — the conservation and extension of existing forests, — and the
adoption of measures similar to the rebois -ment and gazojineiitcnt carried out in France,
with a view to prevent the formation of torrents and the destruction of property occa<
sioned by them.— London : C. Kegan Paul & Co. 1876..
JARDINAGE:. 91
on for years, and in which timber is consequently becoming
scarcer, but waggon-wood is still plentiful.
A little to the east of this is a patch which still con-
tains some very large yellow-wood trees ; and half-way
between this and the mouth of the Faure River, which is
still further to the east, is a large patch from which an
immense quantity of timber has been cut out of late years,
and in which the work is now going on daily.
In the upper district of the Faure River, skirting its
east bank, is a patch, the timber of which has been nearly
exhausted, but in which there are an immense number of
young trees. And half-way tovvards its mouth is a patch
which has been nearly destroyed by fire. It is a patch of
Kuerboom — Virgillia capensis ; and there is valuable
timber in it.
A small patch skirted by the Kruis River on the east,
has a few yellow-woods close to the river ; but the other
timber has been cut out.
To the north of this, near the source of a tributary of
the Kruis River, is a larger patch, from which the timber
has been cut out, but in which a few young trees are
growing up.
Below the confluence of this tributary of the Kruis
River, traversed by another shorter tributary stream, is a
patch in which stinkwood is becoming scarce, but in
which yellow-wocd and waggon- wood are plentiful.
Continuous with this, lying in the fork formed by the
confluence of the Kruis and Eland's River, is a patch which
was formerly private property, but which is now the pro-
perty of the Crown, and which contains valuable timber at
its lower extremity. Near the confluence of the rivers
continuous with this, but on the eastern bank of the
Eland's River, and extending towards its source, is a patch
of valuable timber of all kinds, but the trees are growing
in deep kloofs. Below this, and continuous with it to the
banks of the Stinkwood River, and the confluence of this
and the Eland's River, is a large portion of the same patch,
containing valuable timber of all sorts, of more easy access.
« THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
And continuous with this, on the eastern bank of the
Stinkwood River, is Robbe Hoek, in which is sound valu-
able timber, but it is difficult of access, in consequence of
its growing in deep kloofs. In this patch waggon- wood is
plentiful.
Above this are three small patches in which no valuable
timber has been left uncut, but in which a few young trees
are growing up. Still higher, skirted on the east by the
Witte-els River, and traversed in part by the upper bed of
the Stinkwood River, is the Witte-els Bush, near to which
is the residence of the conservator. It abounds in witte-
els and contains good waggon-wood, but the stinkwood
and yellow woods have been nearly cut out.
On the south or seaward side of the Eerste River, where
it follows a course parallel with the Eland, is a large por-
tion of an extensive patch traversed by that river, in which
there is plenty of waggon-wood and some very large yellow
wood trees, but little stinkwood has been left in it.
On the north bank of this river, and on the same side
of the river, where it takes a southerly course, are three
patches, from which all old timber has been cut, excepting
such as is not generally used, and these patches are now
closed to allow young timber to grow.
Such is the first stage of the work of destruction under
the treatment which I have designated primitive Jardinage,
here arrested, it is to be hoped, by the judicious measures
adopted by Captain Harrison. But the progress of the work
can be traced a little further in an adjoining district in
regard to one Crown forest, in regard to which the forest
warder wrote to me some time since : 'I would suoraest that
Government should, without delay, get this portion sur-
veyed, as and are appropriating the forest
to themselves. No licences are exhibited, and to my
knowledge, as much as £750 worth of timber has been
removed within the last ten years, while for the cutting of
timber out of the said forest I have only issued two licences
[each for the removal of a single load.] The same amount
JAEDINAGE. 93
of value in timber has been destroyed through the reckless
behaviour of" these individuals, and those in their employ-
ment, igniting the grass, which has caused fearful destruc-
tion. There are a few other small patches and stripes of
bush ; but, comparativel}^ speaking, they are nothing, only
adapted for fuel ; most of the valuable timber has been
removed, and by fire greatly destroyed. The great evils
are men cutting without licences, and grass fires.
' To my knowledge, there is on an average 40 loads of
fuel, poles, and spars removed weekly to Port Elizabeth
from the forests between the Gamptoos and the Van
Staden Rivers, for cutting timber for which I have never
issued one licence for the benefit of Government. I feel
convinced that it all comes from the Crown forest ; but as
it is a case of disputed boundary and licences, I am not
empowered to move in the matter. If this state of things
continues much longer, the whole of the forest will be
eradicated and destroyed.'
Such an issue as is thus indicated may be considered
the second stage of the destruction of forests under primi-
tive Jardinage, the conversion of forests into hush. In
Krakakamma, between the Zitzikamma and Port Eliza-
beth, there is a good deal of arborescent vegetation, but it
can scarcely be reckoned forest ; the same may be said of
the Kadouw Bush, between Port Elizabeth and Grahams-
town ; and such, I am informed, is the present condition of
what within the last thirty years was an extensive forest
in the valley of the Kowie, in the neighbourhood of Bath-
urst : the old timber having been destroyed, but not re-
placed, the forest character has been lost.
But this second stage of the progress of the work of
destruction is not unfrequently succeeded by a third, in
which even the arborescent bush may disappear. From
more than one of my correspondents 1 have heard of the
mountainous country around Somerset having abounded
in forest trees of various kinds — Yellow-wood (Fodocarpus)^
Iron-wood (Olea), Assegai-wood {Curtisid), but all of these
94 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
are fast disappearing. Mr Leonard, of Somerset, in reply
to a query issued from the Colonial Office in 18G4, having
remarked that the Yellow-M^ood tree forms a much less
conspicuous element in the scenery than his memory pic-
tured it doing some four-and twenty-years before, goes on
to say, — ' Of other forest trees there used to be an abun-
dant supply in the forest that skirts our mountain here,
but the large demand that rules in an age of bullock wag-
gons for disselbooms and other waggon wood, is sure to
clear out any but an inexhaustible supply of Assegai and
Iron- wood trees, while the durability possessed by the olive
post soon marked it out for the woodman's axe, in procur-
ms timber for the ever memorable Hartebest house of the
first pioneers ; and subsequently the same durability in the
nature of the wood caused the continuous destruction of
the tree for fencing stakes, when advancing civilisation
demanded and gave way to buildings of brick and stone.
' Yellow-wood trees of any size, as well as Assegai,
Olive, and Iron-wood trees are now becoming so scarce
here that we may easily predict the speedy extirpation
of them from amongst our natural productions ; and,
unless human care and culture produce specimens, when
those of the kloof and the rivulet have disappeared, the
next generation will have to refer to some some botanical
collection to see what they are like.' •
About the same time the late Rev. J. W. Pears, the
minister of the Dutch Reformed Church at Somerset,
previously professor in the South African College, Cape-
town, writing to me on another subject, said : — ' When
I came to the frontier ^18 years ago there was grass every-
where in abundance, in the plains sweet, and in the
mountains sour ; and this, sometimes five or six feet high ;
now none, excepting near rivers or on the tops of moun-
tains, is to be found. Formerly, also, the mountains were
unoccupied, as no one chose to pay for them ; the herbage
was abundant ; and the moisture was long detained, so
that all the little streams continued to flow through the
whole year. Now these mountains were all occupied, and
JARDINAGE. 95
generally burned annually, and the consequence is that
the water has failed. For instance, the mountain behind
my house, which rises to the height of 1,756 feet, was
covered with high grass and thousands of beautiful bulbous
flowering plants and shrubs, and its whole face and
offshoots adorned with Yellow-wood or other valuable
trees ; now these are all gone ; not a Yellow-wood or other
tree worth anything is left, and only a useless growth of
bushes occupy their place, and the consequence is that a
stream that supplied my garden and some others, runs
now only after rain. The whole face of the mountain, if
planted with oak, firs, and other useful timbers, might not
only be valuable, but again it might protect the water.
But almost every year, by the idle and reckless, the moun-
tain is fired, and all is destroyed. It is now burning
fiercely. In the kloof there still stand the charred stumps
of large Yellow- wood trees.'
Such appear to be the only remains of the forests once
flourishinor in the neighbourhood of Somerset.
This may be considered as a third stage of the destruc-
tion of forests— the final — in which they entirely dis-
appear. And to this those spoken of as being destroyed in
the vicinity of the Gamptoos River are likely soon to
come. I am informed that 'the whole of the Crown
Forest Reserve and vacant land in the ward of Van
Staden's River, which comprises also the Field Cornetzy
and ward of Eland's River, is to be disposed of on a twenty-
one years' lease ; other portions, not of great extent and
value, are to be annexed to the properties adjoining them j
and the office of Forest Ranger is to be abolished.'
Similar results have been seen by others elsewhere.
In a paper by Lady Verney, in the Contemporary Review,
I find the following statement of a generally accepted fact:
' The question of the supply of timber for the future is all
over the world becoming very serious ; the sources are
gradually exhausted, while scarcely anything is done to
repair the waste, except by England and in parts of Ger-
96 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
many. In India the small cultivators cut down the trees
wherever they can, and, of course, never plant, and the
destruction of the forests has greatly injured the rainfall,
dew-moisture, and supply of wood in the country, while the
peasants are burning manure of their cattle for lack of
better fuel, instead of putting it on the land. Government
has now been obliged to interfere, both for the protection
of forests and to plant fi'esh trees. In America along the
■v\ hole line where cultivation encroaches on the backwoods,
the trees are recklessly destroyed, even burnt down, and
no steps are taken to ensure future supplies of timber in
place of that which is so rapidly disappearing. What is
sent to Europe comes every year from a greater distance
inland.' And so is it here.
Mr Judrae, in his account of his journey through the
forests in the Government of Olonetz, makes mention once
and acrain of the owners of saw-mills which he visited
complaining that the exploitation of the forests had become
unremunerative. This is attributable not to any falling
off in the demand for timber, or to reduction in the prices
obtainable, but to the increased expense in procuring
timber, while the other conditions remained the same.
And this increased expense is attributable not to a rise in
wages, but to the greater distance from which trees must
be brought to the mill in consequence of the exhaustion of
these in the immediate vicinity.
In accordance with the complaints reported by Mr
Judrae, by a gentleman who had for years been engaged
in another of the departments of the exploitations, I was
informed that no trees were allowed to be felled within six
versts, or four miles of the river; and that with a view to
the conservation of the river, as well as the conservation
of the forests, no tree was felled but such as would yield
a trunk free from branch or bend, 37 feet long and 7
vershoks, or 12 inches, in diameter at its upper extremity,
apparently free from shake and from decay, and such as
must be felled in order to the removal of the tree required.
JARDINAGE. 97
The trees were felled not more than 2H inches high, the
trunk of the required dimensions alone was removed, the
stump and the head were left to rot.
The trunks are subsequently examined and marked.
They are dragged over the snow, and launched on a
streamlet or river, and floated to a locality lower down the
river, where they are collected by a weir in a receptacle
calculated to hold from 1000 to 2000 trunks. When this is
full they are dragged out along an inclined plane of timber,
by a rope attached by the ends to a post in the land
beyond, the lengths being passed over the two ends of the
trunk, and attached by their extremities to a splinter bow,
and by horse-power they are rolled up to the land.
By steam-power and water-power they are sawn up into
planks and beams by sets of swing saws. A fire is con-
stantly burning to consume the debris ; and I have other-
wise ]ea,rned that the sawdust is sent off to peat bogs and
such like places to prevent its accumulation. It has been
found practicable elsewhere to use sawdust as fuel in steam
producing furnaces, but with the surplus of debris this is
there unnecessary.
In this case, and in many others, perhaps on all in which
the exploitation is carried on upon a large scale, and under
proper supervision by officials in the forest service of the
Government, the exploitation, though carried out in accord-
ance with the practice of Jardinage, is executed systema-
tically and with some regard to the requirements of the
future. But in many cases— I may almost say, in most
cases — this is done recklessly and without any considera-
tion of what may be required in the immediate future or
in that which is more remote, and the information I have
received from others is in accordance with my own obser-
vations.
By a forest inspector I was informed that there are
whole districts in which it cannot be said that any system-
atic management whatever of forests is observed —Unregu-
lated Jardinage is tlie only description which can be given
H
98 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
of what is done in the felling of trees ; and that in Siberia
there is not even a system of taxation or of charge for trees
that are felled : all which is in accordance with what I have
heard from others. One of my correspondents who had
occasion to travel extensively every year in the interior
told me it had frequently happened, when he asked in
regard to forests through which he was passing, to whom
did they belong, he was told they were free, by which he
understood that any one might fell trees without let or
hindrance. They may have been communal forests ; but it
happened too often and too far from villages to give coun-
tenance to the supposition that such was the case.
I have spoken of exploitation by Jardinage as being des-
tructive of forests, and have in illustration cited what I
have seen of its effects at the Cape of Good Hope. Similar
effects have been witnessed both in Germany and in France.
It was this which gave occasion for Colbert's oft-cited
saying, France perira faute de bois ! and for the celebrated
Ordinance of ] 669, known to, or known of by, most students
of Forst-Wissenschaft, or Forest Science, on the Continent
of Europe. And even in Ptussia, where forests cover regions
which in extent appear interminable, it is seen to be only
a question of time when forests will disappear, unless the
measures now being adopted by the Forest Administration
and patriotic landholders in various parts, or others, to
which these may give rise, shall avert the evil. An approxi-
mate estimate has been formed of the cubic measurement
of the annual growth or increase of wood in Russia, and an
approximate estimate has been formed of the cubic mea-
surement of the wood annually consumed as firewood,
building material, raw material of various manufactures,
articles of export trade, &c. ; and this has been found to be
so far in excess of the former, that, but for the remedial
measures referred to — the consumption continuing un-
diminished, while the production was every year becoming
less — in some 200 years Russia must be divested of her
forests.
JARDINAGE. 99
Yet the system has its advantages, in view of certain
results which may be sought. It is not a in) le of exploita-
tion producing in all places and in all circumstances
unmixed evil — evil, only evil, and that continually. The
object I have set before me in sitting down to prepare the
following report is not to condemn Jardinage, neither is it
to commend or to justify it, but to supply information in
regard to its details as carried out in the North of Russia,
leaving to my readers to make what use they may desire,
or be able to effect of the information oiven.
The object aimed at by the most advanced forest man-
agement of the day is to secure by the operations adopted
a sustained production of wood, a progressive amelioratiou
of the condition of the forests, and a continuous material
reproduction of the woods ; and this is called for in Germany
and in France.
But there are cases in which a great quantity of wood is
suddenly called for — cases in which a continuous supply
of fuel or small wood for other purposes is desired — and
cases in which the production of wood of a given bulk at a
period more or less remote is required. The treatment
given to a forest must be different in each of these cases.
There are also cases in which it is not wood, but the
money for which wood may be sold, that is wanted — money
coming in in instalments over a period more or less pro-
tracted, or money required at once ; and measures must be
adopted accordingly.
Again there are cases in which it is amenity and shelter,
or a covert for game, irrespective, it may be, of all besides,
or it may be along with one or more of the objects speci-
fied ; and again this must determine the course of action
followed.
And yet again it may be none of all these things which
is desired, but the ground ujDon which the forest grows
which is wanted for horticultural or agricultural purposes —
or the clearing away of the forest lor climatic effect, has
been resolved on ; and again a particular course of action
100 THE FOREST LAKDS OF KOETEEEK EUSSIA.
is called for, and this may be modified according as it may
be sought to secure along with this a supply of wood for
use or for sale.
It must be apparent that none of these advantages are
secured by Jardinage. But on the other hand, there may
be found, in climatic changes and extended facilities for
agricultural operations, for which such climatic changes
would be favourable, compensation for the destruction of
forests, resulting from this destructive mode of exploitation.
With regard to climatic effects, it may be stated that
while some countries have suffered in climate, as have
Spain and South Africa, from paucity of woods, and an
unequal distribution of what there are, there are countries
which suffer in climate from a superabundance of these, as
do Finland and the North of Russia. The humidity and
shade desiderated in the former, are in the latter in excess.
Though Russia is said to have a large portion of her area
forest lands, these are found chiefly in the Northern Zone.
Obsen-ations collected by the Agricultural Department of
the United States of America tend to .show th;it to secure
the orreatest climatic benefit from forests, the forests and
the arable land should bear a definite proportion to each
other, varying with conditions, not only over extensive
areas, but over limited divisions of the country ; and
students of Forest Science in Russia can contemplate with
calmness the possible disappearance of forests over exten-
sive areas of the Governments of Archangel and Olonetz,
provided adequate measures be adopted for the conserva-
tion of forests in the midland Governments of the Empire,
and for the extension of these by sylviculture in the south.
In the North of Russia Jardinage may lead as certainly
to the destruction of forests as <^artage, or the burning
down of the trees with a view to rearing cereals for two or
for three years on the ground fertilised with their ashes ;
but this, which in some circumstances would entail a curse,
may there bring a blessing; and meanwhile attention is
given to considering only how the mode of exploitation
followed may be carried on as advantageously as po.ssible.
CHAPTER III.
VIEWS ENTERTAINED IN RUSSIA IN REGARD TO
DIFFERENT METHODS OF EXPLOITATION.
According to a statement made by Mr Werekha, in a
Notice sur les Forets et lew Produits, &c., prepared by a
Special Commission charged with the collection of pro-
ducts of the forests and of rural industry for the Interna-
tional Exhibition at Vienna in 1873, ' in Russia the
systematic felling of forests was formerly dependent on
license or authority, and it is generally so even now. The
clearing of forests by systematic fellings by sections goes
no further back than to the time of Peter the First, and it
is not yet sufficientl}^ practised.
* The ancient Jardinage exists still in the greater number
of forests ; but this manner of arbitrary exploitation does
not now satisfy the sale and requirements in many places,
for some kinds of trees as necessarily predominate in the
forests of the north and the north-east of Russia; and it
gives way in the central and southern part of the Empire
in proportion to the development of the demand over the
whole extent of the forests to exploitation according to
the system of management by regulated fellings.
' The abundance of forests in the north of Russia, and the
little demand which there exists, are the cause why until
now many of the forests situated in the northern countries
cannot be exploited otherwise than by Jardinage to meet
the limited requirements of commerce and local need.
' It was only in the latter half of the last century that
they began to make special plans or charts of the forests
and to prescribe the extent of felling which was to take
place. According to these old plans, tliis was carried out
102 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
by dividing the great extent of forests, even of timber
forests, into narrow parallel zones across all the forest
masses, and in number eqnal to the number of years of the
revolution prescribed for exploitation.
' The physical inconveniences and the utter inequality of
the produce of these fellings, according to a tire et aire,
were the cause why these plans were carried out almost
nowhere, and that the forest continued to be exploited
arbiti'arily by Jardinage. The scientific system of exploita-
tion was not introduced into Russia and put in practice till
1841. At the present time over the whole of the Govern-
ment forests there are 11,872,500 hectares subjected to a
regulated exploitation, principally in the provincfis of the
south, of the centre, and of the south-west of Russia, where
the forests have acquired a great importance, because their
extent and their produce scarcely suffice to meet the local
wants of the population. And the forests belonging to the
mines and manufactories are all exploited according to a
definite plan of management, and this is why one may
reckon that in all these forests, which cover a space of
5,891,638 hectares, the fellings are in legalised proportion
with the annual increase of the trees.
'On the forests belonging to the appanages there are
3,728,346 hectares which have been subjected to a regu-
lated exploitation. In what relates to forests belonging to
private proprietors there exists no organ which combines
the technical data and statistics, and which contributes to
establish a useful principle and practice. Yet of late the
proprietors of forests, and especially the great proprietors,
are earnestly desirous to submit their forests to a regular
exploitation, and in acknowledgment of the advantage of
it, have taken to administer their forests special officials
who have previously received technical instruction on
forest administration. It is even possible to cite some
proprietors whose forests are managed rigorously, con-
formably to the rules of science, amongst others Prince
Paskevitch, proprietor of many extensive forests in the
Governments of Mohileff and of Riazan ; Count Ouvaroff,
DIFFERENT METHODS OF EXPLOITATION. 103
proprietor of forests in the Governments of Minsk, Vladi-
ner, and others ; Prince Yousoupoff, Count Tolstoie, Count
Strognot^', MM. Miiltzoff, Demidoti', Schatiloti', Scheremetief,
Countess Ribeaupierre, Count Apraxin, Baron Korff, and
some others. Even in forests belonging to the communes
of peasants there begin to show themselves here and there
some rare attempts at reasonable management. Amongst
the forests belon^ino- to towns tbose which belono- to Risfa
and to Pernau are well managed. But in by far the
majority of forests belonging to private proprietors they
fell according to Jardinage, and here and there to the system
of a tire et aire, and the system a hlanc etoc, without any
fixed plan of management, and solely according to the
demand, or according to the want of money. The prin-
ciples regulating the organisation of the management of
the State Forests are not rigorously defined, but the better
policy, proclaimed in 1841, has begun to prevail, that is
to say, an exploitation designed to obtain the greatest
material product, and that which will be most useful to
the general interest. Elaborate plans of management
determine the duration of the revolution of the fellinsfs
and the site of these, the estimate of the produce in
volume and in value of the fellings of the first decade, the
means of replenishing the timber forests, and the repro-
duction of copse woods, of reforesting of cleared spaces, void
places, and vacant lands, and the local measures to be
taken for the amelioration of the trees composing the forest
most advantageous to its exploitation.
' These works are entrusted to Commissions of forest
organisation, which, after having presented to the Forest
Administration the general plan of a forest, with specifica-
tion of the works of management for the first decade, pro-
ceed to the working out of analogous plans in another
forest ; and such a Commission towards the end of the first
decade return to control the execution of the works of
management of that first decade, and determine the special
site for the operations of the second decade.
* The system of exploitation of the forests prevailino" iu
104 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RDSSIA.
the central and southern jDortion of Russia consists in a
succession of fellings making a clean sweep, contiguous to
each other. The extensive replenishment of extensive
surfaces denuded by such fellings through seed cast from
the adjacent masses of forest is very rare, and one has tried
to introduce into the exploitation of timber forests (which
for the most part is very irregular) instead of a clean sweep,
a reserve of trees for sowing it ; but the number and the
quality of the trees left standing as a reserve do not corre-
spond with the rules of forest art, nor do they accomplish
the end designed. The execution of contiguous fellings
frequently renders it necessary to wait a long time till the
effective sowino- has been secured before beginnino- to fell
... . ...
the portion next adjoining. This delay in felling is often
injurious to the quality, and to the product of ripe wood,
or of trees too old and subject to deterioration ; all of these
inconveniencies have determined some foresters to take as
their guide the scientific views given in foreign works of the
last century, and to introduce the system of fellings by alter-
nate bands. But these also have rarely given satisfactory
results in the reproduction of the forests. The introduction
of methods of natural re-sowing by successive fellings
designed first to augment the production of the sowings,
and then to protect from the wind the seedlings during the
time necessary to their development without hindrance to
their growth, and, in fine, the final felling is desirable.
But this course of replenishing fellings, with the thinnings
or periodical fellings of improvement, are not met with in
Russia, excepting in rare circumstances ; because the appli-
cation of this the most rational method of replenishing
the forest by natural and cheap sowings, encounters serious
obstacles through the jDrevalent practice of giving to the
purchaser the whole charge of felling and trimming in the
forest.
' It is impossible to exaggerate the injurious influence
which this usage exercises in Russia over the development
of forest economy, and of sylviculture in genera), for the
superintendence of the woodman, during the felling of the
Different methods of exploitation. los
trees, and during the trimming of the felled wood by the
purchaser, who pays the woodman, will be always defective
and insufficient. The forest wardens of different grades are
powerless to remedy this, their influence and their authority
over the woodmen is infinitesimally small — almost nothing
— in all that relates to necessary cares for the good con-
servation and maintenance of the forests.
' It is impossible to subject to the conditions and require-
ments of forest economy him who exploits a forest which
he hath bought with a view to felling as quickl}^ as possible
that he may be able to profit by the speedy return of his
capital. The absence in Russia of the custom of conduct-
ing in the forests all felling and trimming by the local
administrators or official foresters, or by the proprietors
themselves, explains the extremely rare introduction of
coupes d' amelioration, or periodical thinnings, so useful in
the development of the growth of forests, the fertility of
which cannot be obtained but by the strict and constant
superintendence on the part of foresters, forest wardens, or
proprietors conversant with all the details of forest
economy. It is only by labours carried on thus that we
can hope duly to culture the trees ; and teach workmen
selected from amongst the inhabitants of the vicinity to
give themselves to the different departments of forest
work ; and to impart to them that interest and skill in the
management of forests, without which the depredations in
forests can never be diminished.
' In the Russian forests it is the natural wild reproduc-
tion by seed or by suckers and shoots which prevails ; the
artificial renewal by sowing or planting exists only in a
small number of localities in which, through exceptional
economic conditions, the management of forests takes a
more intensified character.
* The plantation of new forests in localities altogether
treeless is taking place chiefly in the steppes of Southern
Russia, where, since 1842, the success of this enterprise has
been secured by certain administrative measures. Accord-
106 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
ing to the reports of the Government Direction of forests,
in the Governments of the South the artificial plantation
has thus far progressed —
Deciatines of
forest
By Sowing.
By Planting
1866
Cultivated 4148
2088
2060
1867
„ 2772
1372
1400
1868
3007
1317
1690
1869
„ 3750
1447
2303
1870
,. 1230
255
975
* In what relates to the planting of forests on the proper-
ties of private individuals we possess very little information
indeed ; it is only known that with certain proprietors the
plantation of forests has taken place on extents of land
which are relatively considerable ; with Count OuvarofF in
the Government of Moscow, to the extent of 700 deciatines ;
with M. Schatiloff, in the Government of Tula, with M.
ISkarjinsky, in the Government of Cherson, to the extent
of 500 deciatines ; in the Colony of Mennonites, in the
Government of Taurida, and with some other proprietors.
' Works of improvements which consist in constructing
or improving forest ways for the leading out of fellings,
the drj'ing of marshes, the surrounding the borders of
forests with ditches or quick-hedges, and the purchasing
up in Courland of forest servitudes have only taken place
in what are relatively very restricted proportions.
' Conformably to the natural geographical distribution of
the principal forest trees in Russia (in the north they are
resinous woods which predominate, in the south they are
leaf-bearing trees), the management of the forests has
taken also two different principal fonns. In the north,
and in the northern portions of Central Russia, there pre-
dominate lofty forests with reproduction by seed ; in the
south, and in the central portion of Central Russia, coppice
woods predominate, with reproduction by shoots and
suckers. The success of this last system of exploitation
meets with a serious obstacle in the want of a strict organi-
iDIFFERENT METHODS OF EXPLOITATION. 107
sation of the use of pasturage iu the forests. Composite
exploitation, or that of coppice mixed with timber trees,
has extended witliout preconcerted plan, and solely by
isolated cases, into the western provinces of the region of
black soil.
' Besides these principal forms of forest management,
there is met with in the Russian forests the application of
some other varieties of exploitation relating rather to the
soil than to the forests. Sartage, not only of coppice, but
frequently of tolerably high perches of resinous trees,
for the most part without any system, exists in the
Governments situated in the north and in the north-east,
but it tends from day to day to disappear. Sartage* con-
sists in this, that on fields exhausted by the culture of flax
or of cereals, the poor soil, by its nature where impover-
ished by exhaustive culture, remains fallow during a very
long time ; but in the long run it covers itself with an
arborescent vegetation which, penetrating with its roots
into the unexhausted subsoil, makes rapid increase. When
nature has accomplished this process, the psasants, after
having cut the wood, burn it on the spot as they have no
sale for it, sow flax or corn for some years on the soil
enriched by the ashes, and when indications of exhaustion
appear on the ground so treated, they leave it anew in
fallow. This ancient mode of culture is still in use in the
southern and western countries of Europe. Traces of a
more regular organisation of alternative management con-
sists in utilising the soil, now as fields of labour, now as
soil covered with forest trees, and may be seen in som'fe
spots in the central portion of Russia, for example in the
district of Melenkoff, in the Government of Vladinir, in the
district of Mojaisk, in the Government of Moscow, wdiere,
after the removal of the fellings, the soil of these is put under
culture with rye, oats, buckwheat, and other plants used
in domestic economy during two or three years, and after
* Sartage has been brought undei consideration in a previous chapter [ante p. 85],
and the advantages and diPaSvanta5;es of this naode of exploitation have been described
iu a compauiou volume entitled FMand ; lU Foratt aiid Forest ilanagetnent.
Ids THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RlJSSlA.
that time it is re-wooded, most frequently by means of
sowing, and more rarely by help of planting ; besides, the
expenses occasioned by the re-foresting are generally
covered and even more than covered by the proceeds
obtained from the agiicultural cultivation of the soil in
the interval.
' The system of culture by pollarding, which consists in
cutting periodically the shoots from the stems of the willow
and other trees of underwood, is not met with but in excep-
tional cases, and more especially on spots exposed to
inundation, as for example, on the banks of rivers and of
ponds in the western and southern provinces. The system
of periodical pruning of lateral branches may also be met
with in the forests of the southern Governments, more
especially near villages, but it is only rarely applied, and
that in isolated places.'
In a notice of Russian Forests in the Journal of Forestry,
vol. ii., April. 1879, p. 881, it is said : — 'It is stated that
the newest financial project of Russia is in the form of a
concession for a term of years of all State forests to a
joint stock compan}^, which will have the exclusive right of
cutting and selling timber from these sources in return
for a stipulated royalty, to be paid annually to the Govern-
ment. Among other conditions of the concession the com-
pany is to be held bound to replant wood lands that have
been already denuded by injudicious forestry or by theft,
and to conduct their own felling operations with due
regard to the interests of the future.'
CHAPTER IV.
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE.
It is in the Governments of Olonetz and Archangel that
the export timber trade of Russia has attained its greatest
developments, and one of the most important marts is the
town of Onega, which is situated on the river of that
name at its embouchure into the Gulf of Onega on the
White Sea. It flows from Lake Latcha, takinof its
departure not far from Kargopol. The district was afore-
time annexed to the Republic of Novogarod, which granted
permission to Dutch and otlier merchants to cut wood and
dig iron and mica in the vicinity of the lake.
Lake Latcha is connected with Lake Woshe a little further
to the south. The river is a broad stream some four hundred
miles in length, flowing through some fine scenery, and
having its course varied by some fine rapids.
For many years a considerable exportation of timber
has been carried on by the English Timber Company, or
the Onega Timber Company, as it is generally called, which
has held a concession for the cutting and exportation of
timber from the district.
The most extensive timber operations in this district,
and they may be considered the most extensive operations
of the kind carried on by any one party in the empire,
are those of this company, which is understood to be a
company of British capitalists engaged extensively, if not
exclusively, in the timber trade. From a gentleman well
acquainted with the local administration I received the
following information : —
' Most of the trees cut down for timber grow within a
110 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
limited distance from some stream, or in some locality
whence they can easily be transported to some river or
stream. In these coLl sterile countries which cannot
grow graiu, timber trees grow to perfection ; and the long
winter facilitates operations, as during that season snow
covers the ground, and by the aid of sledges the peasant
can convey the timber to the banks of the river over
districts where no wheel can pass. When the snow melts
the rivers rise, and the timber is thus floated down at
small expense to the mills. Forests far away from rivers
are not valuable, the expense of the carriage of timber
beinof areat. The value of a fir tree averao'es 3s, the cost
of cutting is about Is, the floating to St Petersburg will
be about Is 9d. The branches are used for firewood, and
the bark is cleared away, buried, or burned. The suppW
has hitherto been maintained by the abundance of
the timber in the woods ; but latterly they have been
going deeper and deeper into the forests, and further and
further and further from the navigable streams ; and there
can be no doubt that in course of years the supply must
decrease unless certain restrictions are established.
' In our contract with the Government it is stipulated
that the timber shall each year be cut only in the district
pointed out by the forest officers. By this arrangement
the forests are not destroyed, but thinned out periodically.
With us large trees do not suit, as in them the centre is to
some extent decayed. We generally cut down trees mea-
suring from four feet to five feet in circumference.
' The Company have two saw -mills on the Ponga and one
on the Onga, both tributaries of the Onega.'
From another gentleman I received the followinof more
detailed information in 1874 : —
' The Onega Wood Company have made a contract with
the Russian Government to the effect that it has the rig-ht
during the space of twenty years to fell not less than 60,000
and not more than 200,000 trees in each year. The
datcha (districts) in which the Company may cut their trees
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. Ill
extend from the northern part of the Lake Latcha along
the river Oneofa, which flows out of this lake, to the small
village called Porog, where booms are placed across the
river to direct arii^ht the floatinor timber. This is the
first district and it is that from which the largest and best
trees are obtained. The second district, Podporog as it
is called, is from Poroo- to the town of Oneo^a. This
includes all the tributaries of the river Onesfa from its
source to its mouth. Kargopol is in the Olonetz Govern-
ment, 61° N. and 56^*^ E. of Greenwich. It is pro-
hibited to cut down any tree within six versts of the banks
of the river Onega or any of its tributaries ; this is in order
to prevent the earth along the banks of the rivers cramb-
ling away, and thus the rivers to shift their water-courses.
* The Onega Wood Company have to pay what is called
band-money, in a prepayment of 55 kopecs per tree for all
intended to be felled. Thus, if they intended to fell during
the following winter, for tliis always takes place by law
when the sap has gone into the roots and there is little
vegetable vital action in the tree, say 100,000 trees, they
wo\dd have to pa}'- 55,000 roubles.
* The Company make contracts with the peasants of the
various villages in their district to fell so many trees, this
being done not with a single individual, but with the whole
family, and this family have to get the trees from any
place in which they can find them beyond the prescribed
distance of six versts from the river, and to bring the log
to its banks : the only proviso made by the Company
being that the river, or rather rivulet, shall be able, when
the snows melt in the spring and the ice is gone, to float
the timber.
* The Government make the additional proviso that the
tree shall be felled not higher from the root than one
arshine, or 28 inches, under penalty of twice the value of
the tree. The log is to be IG arshines long, and by the
diameter at the smaller end the size of the tree is deter-
mined. The Company also make a stipulation with the
peasants that the log shall not have root-rot or Up, a place
112 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
where the bark has not closed over the wood, this being
considered a sign of rot ; also, that there shall be no
branches within these 16 arshines, or 37 feet 4 inches.
' The Ui? may generally be seen wherever the root-rot is
discovered by the sound the tree gives out when it is
struck with the back of the axe, which, when all is right,
should be a perfectly sound, hard, and somewhat deep note.
The Ujo is situated generally high up the tree, and it is
often the effect of a branch haviug died and fallen off,
leaving a bare place.
'These logs are carefully bracked, or approved and
assorted, by the bracker, who measures the breadth at the
top, marks the number of vershocks which it is in diameter
by certain chops on the edge, and then, by means of a
hammer cut with his initials, his initials are stamped in at
the top and bottom of the log.
' When a ten-vershock tree, or twelve inches in diameter,
is felled, sometimes another length can be taken off one
of seven vershocks, twelve and a half inches in diameter
at top, from the same tree. This, however, is seldom
done, and it does not pay, for neither is the bottom
length good nor the top of much value. The bottom
length is too broad grained and very liable to rot, the
top is generally full of knots.
' In the spring the Splavtchick, or floater, comes with his
artel, or company of men, and pushes the trees into the
rivers, and sees that they go down to the place destined
for their beiug counted by the Government official. If by
chance a tree runs ashore, he is bound to get it off. He is
provided with a boat-hook, and if it happens that he is on
one side of the river, and the tree is sh'anded on the other,
he gets on to a log which may be floating by him, and
though standing on this round surface in the water, he is
able by means of his boat-hook to paddle across the river
without losing his balance.
' When the logs come to Podporog, they are caught by
the booms stretched across the river; here they are
1
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. 113
counted by a simple process of sending a quattity into a
space which will just contain one or t^vo thousand. The
ingress is then closed, the trees are bound together in
gonki, floats, of from 300 to 1000, by means of branches
and ropes, and these prams are then carefully floated down
to Anda, the highest water-mills belonging to the Com-
pany, or straight down to Ponga, opposite the town of
Onega, where the steam saw-mills of the Company are
situated. I hear that Anda has now also a steam saw-mill,
so that the Onega Wood Company has three steam saw-
mills at work.
' Porog is the Russian for rapid, Podporog signifies below
the rapids ; up to this village the river is not influenced by
the tide ; lovver down, or below the rapids, it is.
* The trees are then hauled out of the water. This
process is done by the engine itself, or, when the trees are
to be stacked, by a couple of horses. The ends of a long
rope are attached to the stack, to the centre of this rope a
rope is fastened, this loop is then passed round the tree,
being slipped on over the trees when they are in the water
by the Yikatchick ; the horses are then driven forward, and
the tree rolls up the incline, held at its two ends by the rope.
* The sawing is a process of some nicety, and requires
great judgment. In an accompanying diagram I have
drawn the various dimensions of trees at the thin end, seven
to ten vershocks. The seven vershock trees produce only
French boards — these are only exported to France ; few in
comparison go to England. The 11-inch boards arc more in
demand in England. I said it is a matter of som-e nicety
to saw a tree up well. The heart-shake must lie in one
of the boards. If the mitick (heart-shake) runs parallel
through the tree well and good ; if, however, it has a twist
and is at the other end at right angles, that log is of no
use as timber, and can only be used for building. If a
board were sawn out of it it would fall to pieces. The
sawyer takes pains to choose his trees much of a size, and
so to arrange them as to get as many saws through the log
as he can.
I
114 THE FOREST LANDS OF NOETHERN RUSSIA.
* The slab is first cut into shape, and the parts thus
removed are thrown away and burnt, or given to the poor
people. This means of getting rid of wood, however, is
not sufficient, — a perpetual bonfire is kept near the works
to destroy these, and there are destroyed thousands of
pounds worth of wood. If that wood were only in England,
or if freight were not i.o very high, it would not be Avasted.
The two sides are then cut off from each slab by the circular
saw, thus leaving two boards of 9 by 3 in., and two ot 9
by IJ in., obtained from a seven vershock tree, are 12 in. in
diameter at the smallest end.
' Formerly in the water-mills there were no circular
saws, so these side pieces were first sawn off, and then the
boards were cut. Now, however, it is different. The
sawing by steam takes about tv\'elve minutes, that by
water fifteen to twenty minutes, to do an equal amount of
work.
' The timber trade is not so destructive to the forests as
is the firewood trade, for, of course, the finest trees are
only chosen, the rest are left. They cast their seeds, and
a young growth is always coming up, which in the course
of years will produce fine trees adapted for sawing up into
planks. The firewood trade, on the contrary, lays bare
whole districts of beautiful wood country, and exposes the
land to the eliects of tlie cold winds, and has a material
influence in changing the climate and soil of the country.
The wholesale destruction of forests has begun to be felt
by the people of St. Petersburg very severely. Formerly
wood cost 2 roubles 90 kopecs jier fathom, seven feet
square, now it co.its from 4 roubles 80 kopecs to o roubles
a fathom.
' One of the principal reasons w^hy the seven to eight
and a half vershock trees are best is, that not only
are the knots in the boards all sound and good, but that
the grain of the wood is far closer, and the inner or heart-
wood is greater in proportion than the outer or laburnum.
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. 115
This laburnum is more easily affected by the atmosphere,
and where it is exposed to water it iiiuch sooner rots.
' When the boards are sent out from the mills they are
stacked so as to allow as much air to get to them as
possible. One layer is put on the flat, the next is put on the
edge, and so on ; thus the air gets at them, and they season
and dry. In the spring they are all bracked or assorted,
1st, 2nd, and 3rd sort, battens and deal ends. The first
sort of deal ends only are exported, the other sorts are
retained for home use. Much judgment and a quick eye is
required, for often by cutting a piece off the board f may
pass as 1st sort, and the other make a 2nd sort deal end ; or
perhaps by cutting it in half, half may pass as No. 2 sort,
and half as No. 3 sort. Sometimes by merely cutting a few
inches out, the two lengths are good enough to pass into
the 1st sort. In the spring all the ends of the deals are
cut, this takes off the rough end left by the felling axe, and
as this process is only done after the boai'ds are bracked,
it ensures that each board ooes throuo-h the bracker's hand.
He writes the sort on each with a piece of red chalk, makes a
line where it is to be cut, and a cross on the place to be
thrown away, or a D if into a deal end, and 1, 2, or 3, if
into different sorts.
' They are then stacked into close stacks, all the boards
on the flat, and quite close together, or with merely
an inch between every two. They are then taken down
the river in crafts, and go down to a place called Ki Ostroff,
a little island at the mouth of the rivei, I miglit almost
say of the bay, some twelve miles off. Here they are again
stacked, and when the ships come they are loaded into
crafts, and are taken by the tug to the anchorage grounds
some three miles off". The loading is difficult, as the place
is open to the winds from the N.NW. Even with all these
difficulties, and the great distance it is from the civilised
world, the Onega Wood Company used to realise about
33 per cent, profit after having paid all expenses.'
The communication was accompanied with sections of
trunks drawn to scale, from which it appears that from each
116 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
trunk were obtained four boards of the following dimen-
sions : —
Trunks in diameter, 7 7i 8 8^ 9 9^ 10 vershs.
Two inner boards, 9 x 3, 11 x 3, 11 x 3, 11 x 3, 11x3, 11 x 3, 11 x 3 inches*
Two outer boards, 9-U, 11-U 11-H, 11-24,11-24, 11-3, 11-3
The charge, royalty, or tax, as it is called in Russia, is
about Is 4?Jd for every tree. Such is the charge throughout
Russia, subject to modification by agreement or Imperial
grant. And the tax, I was informed by the representative
of the Company, was paid by them, and that on the same
terms as any other purchaser. I was by another friend
given to understand that while the Company was by their
contract bound to fell or to pay for 00,000 trees, an J in
no one year to fell more than 200,000 trees, their annual
operations were always much nearer to the latter number
than to the former.
I had found in several of the annual reports of the
Imperial Forest Administration an entry of 5000 roubles
as paid by the Onega Company. This, I learned from the
representative of the Company, was in earlier years a rent
paid by the Company for the saw-mills, which were then
the property of the Government, and was a charge distinct
from that made for the wood ; but the saw-mills were
subsequently purchased from the Government by the
Company, and the charge for rent ceased. But when the
number of forest officials required to mark what trees
should be felled was increased the Company was required
again to pay 5000 roubles a year, to cover the expenditure,
and a charo^e for extra watchmen in the Oneoa district. 1
had remarked in later Government reports an annual entry
of charges for extra forest watchmen at Onega.
I was informed that oftener than once the Government
had attempted to carry out the exploitation there ; but it
was always with a loss, and the existing arrangement was
deemed more satisfactory.
By the Onega Wood Company sawn wood has been
supplied for the market in France, and this may still be
the case ; but their trade is almost entirely with Britain.
EXl>ORT TIMBER TEADE. Il7
When in St. Petersburg I learned that an enterprising
and successfid Russian timber nierchant, either with his
own capital or in combination with others, had completed
arrangements for exploiting the forests in the far north
upon a scale commensurate with those of the British
Onega Company. The saw-mill was to be erected on the
White Sea, and the necessary arrangements were being
made. In these it was contemplated that thirty years
would be required, and that thirty years would sutifice, for
their contemplated operations. Steam power was reckoned
to be more economical than water power, for reasons which
will immediately appear, and it was computed that tlie
sawdust would supply the fuel required. As fuel this is
preferred to the outside slabs of the timber, for this being
generally damper than the sawdust obtained from the
cutting-up of the timber, occasioned a waste of heat, and
the draft of the chimney suffices to keep the saw^dust in
active combustion, though there may be a bed of it three
feet thick under the boilers, The site of the saw-mill was
determined by the facilities for getting the cut timber
removed. The felled timber while uncut could be floated
to the mill, cut timber must be otherwise transported, and
there it could be shipped at once. There was water power
to be had for nothing at various places nearer to the fell-
ings ; but then the transport ot the cut material to the coast
would cost money. The engineer laughed at tlie idea of
portable or locomotive saw-mills, and said he had been
employed in the manufacture of such, and had read flaming,
advertisements of their adaptation for employment in
clearing out the timber in one district, and then being
moved on to a second ; and he showed the preposterousness
of supposing that such a thing could be done there. I know
forests in which it is otherwise ; but I refer to the subject
to show that facility of transport from the saw-mill is not
of less importance than facility of transport to the mill,
and may, as in this case, become a controlling element in
deciding upon the operations to be undertaken.
The general arrangement was understood to be that so
113 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RlJSSU.
much sboriLl bo paid to Government for every thousand logs
brought out of the forest, and something less for any felled,
but rej ected for defects subsequently discovered. A Govern -
meiit forest official superintended the delivery at the mill,
and frequently another official in the same service marked
what trees were to be felled. First, all trees above a speci-
tied girth at the upper end of a log cut 22 feet for 21 feet
long, within a specilied area of great extent, are first felled.
Then this is done in one or more other areas. After this
the same ground is gone over, felling trees of lesser bulk,
and this process may be repeated, some of the areas being
100, 200, or 300 versts— 70, 150, or 200 miles— from the
saw- mi 11, and the fellings are so arranged by the forest
official as to make the exploitation subservient to the pre-
paration of the forests being managed in accordance with
the most advanced forest science of the day, and the super-
seding of the method known as Jarrlinage by that known
in France as that of La Methode des compartiments, the
FacJiwerhe method of Cotta and Hartio-.
The trees to be felled are first stripped of bark as a
useless encumbrance, which is done roughly and speedily
with the axe. In felling, the boll takes naturally a rounded
form, but this is sawn across at the upper end, a foot being
allowed in measuring to allow of the rounded end being-
cut otf without encroaching on the required length of log,
and the mark of the Compan}^ is then put on the upper
end. The bark, branches, and other debris are left on the
ground. All this is done in the winter season, because
labour is then to be had. Arrangements are made with
the officials of some village commune for bringing out the
logs to the river side, also in the winter season. On the
river they are made into rafts, and floated to the mill.
Many of the village communes have specified rights of
felling trees in the forest for building purposes, for fuel,
and even for sale. In a more advanced condition of forest
economy, such rights acquired by usage or prescription are
found to interfere seriously with the most advantageous
management of forests, and they are being bought up
EXPORT riMBER TRADE. 119
in otlicr countries on the continent of Europe. Here, in
view of the I'utuie, they aie not extended ; and when an
aiTaugemeut satisfactory to ail parties can oe made, they
are being restricted or withdrawn ; but meanwhile they
are respected, and occasionally the officials of a commune
come and otter to deliver say a thousand logs of specified
dimensions at some specified point on a lake or river bank,
or at the mill, on such terms as may be agreed upon. And
such purchases are generally made in preference to felling
on the contract with Government. Each raft consists in
general of logs of uniform size, and thus the keeping of
different sizes apart at the saw-mill is facilitated.
Thither they are transported in summer, and the cutting
up is begun at once. Any taken out of the water and
remaining not cut up at the end of the season, are after-
wards returned to the water before being sawn, it being
easier to saw them damp than dry. When they are cut
up dry the teeth of the saw are often broken.
Of the forest operations of another company of timber
merchants 1 received the following account : — 'The mem-
bers of this Company, the Messrs Thornton, had the land
from the Government for the purpose of felling the timber,
and were obliged by their contract to cut down so many
thousand trees every year, paying so much per tree. It
was for the contractors to judge what trees should be cut,
and, • so far as my informant remembered, without any
Government supervision as to the trees.
* The timbers were dragged by horses to the nearest
watercourse, but it did not pay to drag a tree nine versts
to a stream. The trees were floated down to the mill,
and, in this particular case, a waterfcdl was in the course,
where many of the timbers were damaged, some even
reduced to splinters.
' The sawm-ill was on an island, and in such a
position that ships drawing about 25 feet could come
alongside the mill. But in the case of timber that went
by the River Onega, the mills were on the river, and the
120 THE FOKEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
sawn timbers had to be taken in barges to the ships some
distance out at sea. The mill was worked by steam-power
— fuel being abundantly supplied by the saw-dust and
wood unfit for shipping, with still enough remaining to
have supplied firewood enough for the town of Kem,
which was about six or seven miles distant.
' Tar is to some extent extracted from the debris of
felled trees, but it scarcely pays for the manufacture. As
a rule the debris is left to rot, as there no market for any
products that might be obtained from it.
' By the terms of the contract the debris was to be
removed from the ground, but the utter usefulness of it
makes it more profitable to pay the Government's inspector,
and keep on good terms with him, and then it rots where
it is left, and he does not notice it.
' As a rule the people will not cut any trees more than
12 vershocks in diameter, so that such trees wherever they
may be found are left standing. They seek for trees that
will give 11 inch, planks, 3 inches thick, 21 feet long.
Sometimes, I think frequently, they hew trees which will
give two such lengths. One reason for leaving the thicker
trees is that they are generally rotten at the heart,
another is that frames are not made to saw larger timber.
The wood was red pine. Their contract was only to fell
timber wherever they found it profitable over a very con-
siderable area. They had nothing to do with replanting,
nor do they know whether any means were taken for that
purpose. Nor did my informant know anything of how
the trees stood on the ground, as he never saw them, nor
did he see any on his journey to the place where the mill
stood. It is a very profitable speculation. The cost of a
tree at the mill might be about 1 or IJ roubles, but when
sawn up into planks would be worth on the spot from 4 to
5 roubles.
' One reason why this afiair did not turn out successful
was this : It is usual in these contracts for clearing the
ground for the Government to receive so much for each
taPORT TIMBER TRADE. 121
21 feet leugtli, but the friend who had led them into the
business had so manipulated the people who drew up the
contract that he paid so much per root. This made the
superiors of the Department grumble : and they became
suspicious, and put all possible difficulties in the way, and
then circumstances arose which led the principal partners
of the company to retire from the copartnery, and to leave
the business in the hands of the manager, with what
results I have not learned.
* On the River Mazeen one E-ysanov has a contract for
cutting the timber. He began five or six years back.
At first there was a difficulty in getting ships to go there,
but now they go readily. This is considered to be a won-
derfully good business for Rysanov, as the wood is of an
uncommon kind for that part.'
By another of my informants, not less conversant with
the work, I was told that in some cases the whole of
the wood belonging to several wood-cutters or dealers is
brought to one place on the banks of a stream, some as
logs, some in billets for furnace fires, 2J arschens in length,
some in billets for household use, or not marked as belong-
ing to different proprietors, but all carefully measured, and
the measurements of wood belonging to each carefully
noted, and all is floated away together to be re-collected
by a weir and proper appliances at a lower level, where it
is again divided in the proportions noted, and any defi-
ciency is borne by the whole in the same proportions^.
But the large timber is generally floated on the lower
rivers in rafts. Much of the wood is floated, and in some
parts, but not everywhere, a charge is made by Government
for license to float the timber.
By another gentleman, an engineer, I was informed that
he had not seen the cutting of trees for timber, but he had
seen a good deal of various saw-mills at the mouths of
rivers flowing into the Lake Ladoga. The timber, roughly
hewn, is floated down these rivers towards the lake. At
122 THE FOREST LANDS Ob NORTHERN RUSSIA.
rapids there are great works constructed for the shooting
of the timber, and lower falls near the mouths of the rivers
are utilised as a moving power for saw-mills erected there,
where the rough timber is cut up chiefly into three and
four inch planks, in three, four, and five fathom lengths,
seven feet being the length of a fathom. It is there
laden on Ladoga vessels, fitted with sails, and is then con-
veyed by the lake or by canal to the Neva, and by that
river to St. Petersburg or Cronstadt.
Wood and timber cutting, he added, is carried on
wherever there are means of water transport to the basin
of the Neva. The firewood thus obtained is conveyed to
the city in barges, which are made to be there broken up
and sold as coarse planking, and the timber is conveyed in
rafts. A good deal of Baltic timber is brought to St.
Petersburg from the lower ports, and some wood comes
from the Gulf of Finland, but the bulk of what is there
sold is brought down the Neva.
The same oentleman wrote to me in another letter : —
' On the north shore of the Lake Ladoga I saw an enor-
mous saw-mill, with timber enough in its structure to have
gone a great way in many different works in Britain. A
big, jolly-looking Russian peasant, after showing it all,
said, his face radiant with exulting satisfaction, " / made it
all myself." '
My Judrge says : — 'In connection with this subject, the
following statement may show approximately what are the
proceeds of the sawing of timber. From four logs are
produced three dozen of boards of different measurements.
Four logs, according to the present charge, cost 1'80 rs. ;
the transport to the river and flotage, sawing, shipment,
and freight to Cronstadt of these cost 10 rs. ; so the total
cost is 11"80 rs., and the three dozen boards at Cronstadt
are worth 18 rs. But the calculation, it must be borne in
mind, is only an estimate approximately correct.
M. Werekha, in the work already cited, says : —
' Most of the sawing is done by hand. The greater part
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. 123
of the machines are li ydraulic mills, but of late years the
number wrought by steam-power has considerably increased.
There are reckoned to be in Russia about a hundred great
saw-mills. We know of thirty driven by steam, and of this
number there are six in the Government of Archangel
which are occupied solely in sawing wood of wild pine for
the commerce with Endand. In the number of saw-mills
driven by water there are some which work only for the
supply of local requirements, and in small quantities ; but
there are thirty steam mills, and fifty water-mills, which
work chiefly for the foreign trade. In the whole of these
mills they cut up annually at least two millions of trees.
The cutting up of trees into planks, for local requirements,
is done often in the place itself, or where the exploitation
of the forest takes place. The Governments of Kostroma,
of Kazan, of Viatka, and the southern part of that of
Vologda, furnish planks to the less wooded countries situ-
ated on the lower course of the Volga and countries on the
Don. The Governments of St. Petersburg, of Olonetz, and
a portion of that of Novogorod, export planks by the port
of St. Petersburg, and furnish to this city logs to be sawn.
From the northern part of the Government of Vologda
logs, round or square, are exported by the ports of the
White Sea/
In the Ustaff Laesnoi, or Forest Code, are laid down
regulations for the administration of Crown forests. In this
Code No. 677 refers to saw-mills, private property, supplied^
with timber from Government forests on payment of rent;
and in the appendix it is stated that there were, in
1857, such mills situated in the following places in the
Government of Olonetz: at Gorsk, Tulodgsk, Vedlozersk,
Kotkezersk, Zadnenikiforsk, in Petrozavodsk, at Syvato-
zersk, Svyamozersk, Lindozersk, and Kijsk, in Novaenetz-
kom, and at some other places, at some of which a rent of
300 roubles for each saw is paid per month ; at the others,
250 roubles for each saw is paid.
In Rule 6 it is stated : Experience ba^ iihown that iu
l24 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
first-class mills, two frames, well-managed, and in full work,
will saw from 3000 to 3480 trees per month ; and in the
second class from 2000 to 2800 per month And in view of
this, the Forest Department of the Ministry of Imperial
Domains requires the holders of the saw-mills to state
beforehand how many frames they design to use, and a
license is given in accordance with his notice to fell, but
to fell only so much timber in advance as he can cut up in
a year or in a year and a half. And should he be found to
have felled more than his license allows, on proof of this
after due investigation, he shall be regarded as an inten-
tional depredator. Of trees in which the branches are
high, trunks twenty-two feet long, and six versbocks in
diameter, is the normal measurement. Of trees clothed
with branches to near the ground, the normal measure-
ment is a trunk fourteen feet long, and six and a-half
vershocks in diameter. Sixteen vershocks is equal to one
arshin, or twenty-eight inches.
The millowner is free to use timber for repairs of the
mill, but not for building a new mill.
In the list of changes made previous to 1863, appended
to the Code, it is stated that in 1860 an order was issued
that the wood should be disposed of to the owners of saw-
mills by auction, and that this arrangement, which was
experimental, should be carried out for a period of six
years, but this order was rescinded on 1st May 1861, and
was not again renewed.
In the list of changes made previous to 1868, it was
stated that in 1866 certain matters pertaining to the
Imperial Domains were, excepting in the Baltic Provinces,
transferred to the supervision of special administrations in
the several Governments, and amongst these was jurisdic-
tion in regard to this statute.
In the Code No. 773 prescribes permit tickets which
wood merchants must obtain. In the appendix are regu-
lations laid down in regard to permit tickets required for
the transport of wood by rivers, and in regard to the permit
tickets required for the transport of wood by land.
EXPORT TIMBER TRADE. 125
No. 1269 refers to the practice of wood-cutters leaving
a high stump standing, and enjoins upon the official in
command to see to the conversion of cleared forest into
arable land.
In the appendix regulations are laid down for the pre-
servation of Government forests from destruction in
connection with the working of the gold mines in the
Government of Vologod, enjoining that no more trees than
necessary shall be felled, and in mining to conduct opera-
tions as to allow the trees to grow on the surface. In the
list of changes made previous to 1871, it is stated that
this statute had been changed.
In the appendix to No. 1471 is given a tabular statement
of the fmes to be exacted for the felling of timber without
permission, graduated according to the length of the trunk
in sajeens, or fathoms, and the diameter in vershocks, and
ranging from 1 rouble, 60 kopecs for a tree three fathoms
long, and four vershocks in diameter, to 113 roubles, 80
kopecs for a trunk ten fathoms long and nineteen ver-
shocks in diameter.
The sajeen, or fathom, may be reckoned seven feet ; the
arsheen, 28 inches; and the vershock, If inches. The
desaiin, a land measurement, is equal to about 1 J acres ;
and a verst is equal to two-thirds of a mile.
CHAPTER V.
EXPORTS BY ARCHANGEL AND THE WHITE SEA.
While the timber cut in these regions, and in others adja-
cent to them, finds its way to St. Petersburg, and of this some
is exported thence, most is exported direct from the ports
in the White Sea. One of the most important export ports
is Archangel, situated on the Dwina, and the gulf known
as the Gulf of Archangel, but named by the Russians from
the river, the Dvines Kaia Gulf. Of this great outlet for
forest produce Hepworth Dixon supplies, in his account of
his approach to Russia, and entrance by that northern
haven, the following account : —
' At Cape Tutsi we pass from the narrow straits dividing
the Lapp country from the Samoyed country into this
northern gulf. About twice the size of Lake Superior in
the United States, this Frozen Sea has something of the
shape of Como ; one narrow northern bay, extending to
the town of Kandalax, in Russian Lapland, with two
southern bays, divided from each other by a broad, sandy
peninsula, the home of a few villagers employed in snaring
cod and hunting seal. These southern bays are known,
from the rivers which fall into them, as Onega Bay and
Dvina Bay. At the mouths of these rivers stand the two
trading ports of Onega and Archangel.
'The open part of this inland gulf is deep— from 60 to
80 fathoms ; and in one place of the entrance into Kan-
dalax Bay the line goes down to no less than 160 fathoms.
Yet the shore is neither steep nor high. The Gulf of
Onega is rich in rocks and islets, many of them only banks
of sand and mud, washed out into the sea from the uplands
of Kargopol; but in the wild entrance of Onega Bay,
EXPORTS BY ARCHANGEL AND THE WHITE SEA. 127
between Orlof Poiiit and the town of Kern, stands out a
notable group of islets — Solovetsk, Anzersk, Moksalma,
Zaet, and others : islets which play a singular part in the
history of Kussia, and connect themselves with curious
legends of the Imperial Court.
' In Solovetsk, the laigest of this group of islets, stands
the famous convent of that name ; the house of Saints
Savatie and Zosima ; the refuge of St. Philip; the shrine
to which emperors and peasants go on pilgrimage. . .
'BytheMaimax arm we steam through the Delta for
some twenty miles, past low green banks and isles, bright
with grass and scrub. Beyond them, on the mainland,
lies a fringe of pines going back into space as far as the
eye can pierce. The low island lying on your right, as you
scrape the bar, is called St. Nicholas, after that sturdy
priest, who is said to have smitten the heretic Arius on
his cheek
* On passing into the Maimax arm, your eyes— long
dimmed by the sight of sombre rock, dark cloud, and
sullen surf— are charmed by soft green grass and scrub;
but the sight goes vainly out through reeds and copse, in
search of some cheery note of house and farm. One log
hut you pass, and only one. Two men are standing near the
bank, in a little clearing of the wood; a lad is rolling in a
frail canoe, which the wash of your steamer lifts and laves ;
but no one lodges in the shed. The men and boy have
come from a village some miles away. Dropping down
the river in their boat to cut down grass for their cows,,
and gather up fuel for their winter fires, they will jump
into their canoe at vespers, and hie them home.
' On the banks of older channels the villages are thick ;
slight groups of sheds and churches, with a cloister here
and there, and a scatter of windmills whirling against the
sky
' On all these banks you notice a forest of memorial
crosses. When a sailor meets with bad weather he goes
on shore and sets up a cross. At the foot of this symbol
he kneels in prayer, and when a fair wind rises he leaves
128 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
his offering on the lonely coast. "WHien the peril is sharp,
the whole ship's crew will land, cut down and carve tall
trees, and set up a memorial with names and dates. All
round the margins of the Frozen Sea these pious witnesses
abound ; and thcv are most of all numerous on the rocks
and banks of the Holy Isles. Each cross erected is the
record of a storm
' Climbing up the river you come upon fleets of rafts and
praams, on which you may observe some part of the native
life. The rafts are floats of timber — pine logs, lashed
together with twigs of willowy capped with a tent of planks
in which the owner sleeps, w^hile his w^oodmen lie about
in the open air when they are not paddling the raft and
guiding it down the stream. These rafts come down the
Dvina and its feeders for a thousand miles. Cut in the
great forests of Vologda and Nijni Konetz, the pines are
dragged to the water-side, and knitted by rude hands into
these broad, floating masses. At the towns more sturdy
helpers can be hired for nothing ; many of the poor
peasants being anxious to get down the river on their way
to the shrines of Solovetsk For a passage on the raft
these pilgrims take a turn at the oar, and help the owners
to guide her through the shoals.
' In the praams the life is a little less bleak and rough
than it is on board the rafts. In form the praam is like
the toy called a " Noah's Ark ;" a huge hull of coarse pine
logs, rivetted and clamped with iron, covered by a peaked
planked roof A big one will cost from 600 to 700 roubles
(the rouble may be reckoned for the moment as half-a-
crown), and will carry from 600 to 800 tons of oats and
rye. A small section of the praam is boarded off to be
used as a room. Some bits of pine are shaped into a stool,
a table, and a shelf From the roof-beam swings an iron
pot, in which the boatmen cook their food while they are
out on the open stream, and at other times — that is to say,
when they are lying in port — no fire is allowed on board,
not even a pipe is lighted, and the watermen's victuals
must be cooked on shor j. Four or five logs lashed together
EXPORTS BY ARCHANGEL AND THE WHITE SEA. 129
serve them for a launch, by means of which they can
easily paddle to the bank.
. ' Like the rafts, the praams take on board a great many
pilgrims from the upper country ; giving them a free pas-
sage down, with a supply of tea and black bread as rations,
in return for their labour at the paddle and the oar. Not
nmch labour is required, for the praam floats down with
the stream. Arrived at Solaubola, she empties her cargo
of oats into the foreign ships (most of them bound for the
Forth, the Tyne, and the Thames) ; and then she is
moored to the bank, cut up, and sold. Some of her logs
may be used again for building sheds, the rest is of little
use except for the kitchen and the stove.'
* Like all great rivers,' says Mr Dixon, 'tlie Uwina has
thrown up a delta of isles and islets near her mouth,
through which she i^ours her flood into the sea by a dozen
arms. None of these dozen arms can now be laid down as
her main entrance ; for the river is more capricious than
the sea ; so that a skipper who leaves her by one outlet in
August, may have to enter by another when he comes back
to her in June.'
Interesting, amusing, and saddening narratives are
given relative to the arm by which he entered the river,
some of them illustrative of the difficulties of deaUng with
provincial authorities in Russia, both in relation to trade
and to matters of perhaps more importance ; and he goes
on to say : —
' In catching a first glimpse of the city of Archangel,
you are struck by the forest of domes and spires ; the
domes all colour and the spires all gold. . . . On
feeling for the river-side a captain finds no quay, no dock,
no landing-pier, no stair. He brings to as he can, and
drags his boat into position with a pole
Archangel is not a port and city in the sense in which
Hamburg and Hull are ports and cities, with clusters of
docks and sheds, with shops and waggons and a busy
private tra 52,585 roubles; in all, 150,944 roubles 59J
kopecs.
' Fi'om what has been Sciid it follows that the saw-mills,
which are the principal purchasers, are indispensable for
the sale ot limber; and that but for these there would be
])at a small sale of timber, more particularly in the
northern parts of the Government.'
This is irrespective of the expense of transport in regard
' The standard equivalent of the rouble is 3s 4d. It is generally, in accordance •with
the i-atc of exchaiiere, 28 6d. When I was in Kussia last year it was 23, and at one time
during the war it was Is lOd. The rouble is e'lual to 100 kojiecs.— J. C. B.
FOREST INDUSTRIES. 135
to which he makes some important statements, some of
which have been cited. Beyond all question the timber
trade is at present the most important throughout the
whole region. With increased facilities for transport there
may be drawn hence a large supply of fuel, so soon as the
rise in price occasioned by the diminishing supply in the
central and southern Governments of Russia may make it
remunerative to send firewood to the capital.
In regard to terms on which the permission to fell timber
is given, information is embodied in the accounts given by
me of the operations of diiferent companies engaged in the'
trade. On this point the following more general informa-
tion was obtained by me. Where wood is in demand as
an article of commerce, whether as timber or as firewood,
standing forests are sometimes, both by Government and
by private proprietors, disposed of at so much per tree
felled, or so much per fathom of firewood obtained. Some-
times the charge is made for permission to fell for a
specified time, embracing, it may be, several years. In the
arrangements made relative to felling, sometimes the trees
which it is permitted to fell are marked by a representa-
tive of the proprietor, but more frequently the licence
holder is allowed to fell what and where he pleases. In
the one case, and in the other sometimes, only such trees
as may be preferred are felled in accordance with the
method of exploitation known as Jardinage ; in other
cases a measured area is cleared entirely.
In the vicinity of the Urals, in the Government of Perm,
forests are exploited in accordance with the method known
in forest science as « tire et aire : in successive decades, sug-
cessive portions are cleared with the exception of baliiveaux,
or reserved seed bearing trees of mature age, and it may
be saplings, the forest being divided into such number of
sections that by the time the woodman may have gone
over the whole the first cleared section will be again ready
for the axe.
This is not practised here, but in some places there is
adopted systematically what is an approximation to it, in
136 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
accordance with a practice followed there and elsewhere in
the distribution of allotments of communal arable ground.
In this the ground is divided into long narrow strips or
lines from three to six fathoms broad, and from one hundred
to five hundred long, which strips are again sub-divided into
lots of equal size for allotment to the members of the com-
munity. Something similar may be seen in the vicinity
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, where lauds granted to the free-
men by James I. of England are allotted periodically to
individual members of the community.
In other cases in Russia, it may be for convenience in ihe
tillage of lands allowed to lie many years fallow, these are
cultivated in long strips, which, var34ng in colour with the
crop grov/n, or the years which have elapsed since they
were tilled, present to the eye of the passing traveller
what may suggest the idea of a corduroy of variously-
coloured rido'es. In fellinoj or clearino^ forests somethino^
similar is done — long straight strips being cleared, with
strips of forest between them, sheltering from destructive
storms the crops which are raised.
Sometimes the permission to fell the trees on ground to
be cleared is disposed of by auction, sometimes it is other-
wise. In sales by auction it is assumed — it may be the result
of what is known in forest science as taxation, survey and
measurement — that the whole area, or so many decatines,
is forest, and that each decatin contained so raanv trees,
or so mauy cubic fathoms of wood ; and, according to what
may be the terms of sale, the offer of the buyer may, or
may not be subject to deduction, either for deficiency in
extent, or deficiency in number or cubic contents of trees ;
but the buver has the benefit of any excess over what had
been assumed. But the whole of these conditions and
details p'^rtain more to private than to State forests, and
the mention of them is leadinor us awav from the remons
which are here more particularly under consideration.
Of several forest officials I enquired whether the annual
production of wood in the district equalled, exceeded, or
was less than the consumption by felling and fire and
FOREST INDUSTRIES. 137
waste. The general reply was that there had not yet
been so complete a taxation or estimate of the cubic con-
tents of existing trees, of their numbers, and of their
annual cubic increase of growth, as would warrant a definite
statement ; but the opinion of two was that the production
was equal to the consumption and destruction ; the opinion
of a third was that it was not, and consequently that the
mass of wood in the forests was being annually diminished.
Section B.— Tar, Turpentine, and Vinegar
Manufacture.
Besides the felling of timber for transport to a distance,
there are other forest industries carried on in this reoion.
There is wood felled for use as fuel, and for the manufac-
ture of vinegar, tar, and other products.
Mr Judrse, in his account of a journey fiom Vosnecenya
to Petrozavodsk, says : — ' The first thing which interested
me was the forest-product manufactory of }»lr Baelaeff,
Avell known in all these northern parts. It is situated
about seven versts from Yosnesenya.
' The lovely view presented by the Fabrique and build-
ings around leads me to conclude that it must be a profit-
able property, yielding a considerable revenue. It is built
in a situation very convenient for the sale of the products ;
near to Yosnesenya, where there is a great consumption of
tar in caulking vessels. Hitherto there could only be
obtained black burnt tar, which is not quite suitable for
the purpose, and the demand for it was not great; but
now they are constructing new brick furnaces for the pro-
duction of what is called red tar, from the sale of which
they will, without doubt, ol>tain considerable profits.
* There is not a scientific or special manufacturer em-
ployed, but the works are under the management of an
able workman ; by this arrangement it is supposed a great
saving is effected. The Fabrique contains at present
several furnaces, by which are obtained tar, turpentine,
and otiier products from pine wood. Besides these, there
138 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
are furnaces for rectifying turpentine and for making pyro-
lignous acid. The latter product is obtained from birch
wood by a process of dry distilhition. The greater part of
this product is taken to St. Petersburg, but the greater
part of the red tar commands a sale in the locality.
' The followino' are details relatino' to the manufacture
of such articles obtained on the spot. From a cubic fathom
ef wood are obtained 2o poods of black tar, equal to 900
lbs. English, and two poods or 72 lbs. of turpentine ; and
in the manufacture they consume half a cubic foot of fire-
wood.
' From a square fathom of birch they obtain 250 [?]
poods of pyrolignous acid.
' How far these fio-ures indicate the reasonableness and
propriety of the measures adopted may be determined by
a comparison of them with results obtained by scientific
operations, and with the returns made by other works of
the same kind elsewhere. The proprietor was desirous of
impressing on me that the establishment is not remunera-
tive, and hardly returns the working expenditure. The
quantity of acid manufactured is some hundred tons more
than suliices to meet the deujaud for it, and the turpentine
is scarcely equal in quality to what is required in the
market, and thus he accounted for the unremunerative
character of the works.'
I have visited this work, and the result of subsequent
years' experience seems to have proved that Monsieur B.,
the proprietor, was correct in his views. The place was to
some extent in ruins ; there were piles of pine-tree roots
for the production of tar, and piles of birchwood for the
production of vinegar, but no work had been done there
for years. A solitary workman lived there in charge of
the place. The apparatus for the manufacture of tar had
been removed, and the supports for the retorts were in
ruins. This may also be said of the vinegar works, but
there was a new retort ready for erection, and it was
intimated that the proprietor had some intentions of
FOl^EST INDUSTRIES. 139
resuming this industry. Tar is manufactured extensively
in the Govern meat of Archangel. The operation is of the
simplest character.
Spirits of turpentine are also manufactured there, and
this may also be reckoned among the small industries
of the peasants living in forest districts. The following
account of how this was done sixty years ago may be con-
sidered antiquated, but amongst a population such as they
are changes in rural industries are not frequent, or speedily
and extensively effected. It is extracted from a paper
published in the Transactions of the Higldand Society of
Scotland for 1820, entitled ' An Account of the Manufac-
ture of Turpentine from the Hinus Si/lvestris,as practised
by the Native Peasantry of the Interior of the Russian
Empire.' By William Howison, M.D.
'The second day after my arrival,' writes Dr Howison,
' I made an excursion in the neighbourhood of the mansion-
house, during the course of which 1 arrived at a wretched
building, situated upon the margin of the forest, at the
door of which two Russian boors were busily employed
with their hatchets in cutting into small chips the stumps
and dried roots of fir trees, which had been previousl}^ dug
from the earth, and were lying collected together upon the
surface of the snow. Upon going into the interior of the
wooden shed or building, there was a fine clear fire burning,
and two old boors distilling turpentine from the chips of fir
w^ood broken down, as already noticed, by their companions.
In the centre of the apartment there was a l)rick furnace,
with a clear fire burning in it, and a large iron boiler built
in above it. The boiler was completely filled Avith the cut
chips of wood, and a quantity of water ; the flame of the
fire reverberating upon its under surface. From the top
of the boiler, which was accurately and neatly covered up
with a close lid, a spiral iron tube passed out, and entered
a large wooden vessel placed within a short distance from
it, which originally had been completely filled with snow^
and ice, but which, by tliis time, were almost entirely con-
140 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
verted into warm water, 1)}^ condensing the heated tar and
vapour which passed from the boiler. Within the vat this
spiral tube formed a tortuous worm ; and again passing out
at the opposite bottom of the vessel, to the end of it a long
glass bottle was luted, which received the turpentme as it
dropped from the tube. One side of the house w^as filled
with the recent cut chips of the fir wood, wdiich had not as
yet been put into the boiler; whilst the other side con-
tained those which had come out from it, from which the
turpentine had been extracted, and which were now used
as fuel to supply the fire.
' A little after my arrival the distillation v.^as completed,
and the boors removed the bottle, which was rudely luted
by means of clay, from the tube. Upon examining its
contents I found that the under half of it contained w^ater,
whilst the upper one contained the empyreumatic oil of
turpentine, which, from its less specific gravity, naturally
rises towards the surface. In order to separate it from the
w^ater, these Russian boors took a very simple method,
and, at the same time, one very characteristic of a bar-
barous people. The bottle, which was of coarse green glass,
had a very minute hole bored in the bottom of it, which
was stopt up with a small wooden plug. They removed
this plug, and allowed the w^ater gradually to escape, until
the turpentine made its appearance at the hole, vrhen they
replaced the pin, and poured the turpentine into another
bottle for preservation ; which constituted the whole pro-
cess.
' Upon requesting to see the quantity of turpentine
which they had made in the course of the day, the old
Russian brought from the corner of the house a bottle,
which might contain from four to five pounds, if my
memory does not mislead me; and this, as already men-
tioned, was entirely procured from the stump and roots
which remained after the trunk was cut down, and which
could be applied to no other use.
' Distilling houses, similar to that now described, are to
be met with upon the estates of the different noblemen, or
FOREST INDUSTRIES. 141
landed proprietors, in the northern parts of the Russian
empire. Consequently, an immense quantity of tui'pentine
must be procured in this way during the course of the
year, both for public and private consumption. It pro-
duces a great advantage also in affording in-door work for
the boor during the severity of a long and dismal winter.'
Section C. — House Building and Carpentry.
Throughout the district, as is generally the case — I had
almost said throughout the whole of Russia —the houses
are built of logs laid one upon another, and caulked with
moss, those of adjacent sides crossing each other a little
way from the corner ; and wood is the only fuel used. I
have visited at houses elegantly furnished, which must
have been done at great expense, and where the dress,
accomplishments, rank, and bearing of the inmates and
their visitors wxre such as one might expect to meet with
only in the more fashionable resorts of Central Europe,
but where the houses were only such as I have referred to
— elegant and somewhat imposing in their external aspect,
for which the mode of structure offers facilities ; but inter-
nally even the public rooms had walls and partitions of
slightly hewn logs, without covering of paint, tapestry, or
paper.
In these the furniture was made to some extent of
imported woods — rosewood and mahogany — but largely of
the forest produce of the locality.
In Vologda, and in all the forest lands of the north-
eastern districts, all the world is plotiiik — a carpenter, and
these carpenters, who work in wood in every possible
fashion, manufacture the most delicate articles as well as
the rudest, with their hatchets alone, and hardly ever
using their saws. Their ability and cunning workman-
ship, remarks Wahl, are qualities not to be met with in
any foreign country, and must excite the admiration of
all beholders.
PART III.
PHYSICAL G E 0 G R A P H Y.
In geography there are discussed several matters pertain-
ing to different categories : mathematical, physical, and
political. To the first-mentioned category belong questions
relative to the earth as part of the solar system. To the
last-mentioned belong questions relative to the human
population in their relations as subjects of different king-
doms, or citizens of different states. Under the head of
physical geography are discussed questions relative to the
geological formation; the contour of divisions of a country,
more or less extensive ; the phenomena of tides and cur-
rents; modifications in the atmosphere with regard to
weight, temperature, humidity, and motion ; and, in con-
nection with this, the fiora, fauna, and ethnographical
relations of inhabitants of different countries.
In the following statement I shall follow generally the
division thus indicated ; but some of the matters are so
correlated that notices of matters pertaining, strictly
speaking, to one, may find its place amongst details given
of matters pertaining to another, where I find this con-
venient and justifiable; and what relates to the ethno-
graphy of the region I may afterwards bring under con-
sideration in a separate work.
CHAPTER I.
CONTOUR AND GENERAL APPEARANCE OE THE
COUNTRY.
From the account I have given of my voyage from St.
Petersburg to Petrozavodsk, and of ray trip thence to the
Falls of Keewash, and from the narratives given by Messrs
Judrse and Hepworth Dixon of their journeys throuo-h the
forests which they traversed, there may be gathered a pretty
correct idea of the contour and general appearance of the
western portion of the forest zone of Northern Russia, and
more especially of those of the Government of Olonetz.
To the east of Olonetz is the Government of Vologda,
extending thence to the Ural Mountains, between the
Governments of Archangel on the north, and those of
Perm, Yiatka, Kostroma, and Yaroslaf on the south, with
an area of 337,111 square versts, or 150,000 square miles.
The surface is generally flat. Mountains are rare, but a
succession of hill and dale is very common ; and in many
places these inequalities jDroduce scenery which is not
deficient in beauty. Nearly all the rivers belong to the
bason of the Arctic Ocean. The principal are the Dwina, ■
the Sukhona, the Louza, Vega, Vitchegda, Mezen, Pisega,
and Petchora. The Government takes its name from the
river Vologda, whicli, taking its rise from a marsh, flows
into the Sukhona on the right bank, after a course of 90
miles. The Louza, rising 90 miles east of Nikolsk, and
flowing north-east and west, passes Lalsk, and joins the
Joug, 18 miles south-east of Veliki-Oustioug.
A small portion of the Government in the south is
drained by affluents of the Volga.
144 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
In the northern parts of the Government the trees
lose their leaves in August, and the rivers are frozen over
froDi the end of October to the middle of April. ' In the
south there are large tracts occupied by forests, lakes, and
morasses. Agriculture is followed to a certain extent, but
the severity and changeable state of the weather render it
precarious, though a considerable quantity of wheat and
barley are grown. The produce of the pasture grounds, of
the chase, and of fishing, tend to compensate for this, and
the woods supply potash, tar, and other materials for
export as well as domestic use.
Of the general appearance of lands in the extreme north,
some idea may be formed from the details given by M.
Guillemard, and Mr Hepworth Dixon, cited in a preceding
chapter. To the north of the Government of Olonetz is
the Government of Archangel, stretching from Finland on
the west to the Ural Mountains and the Government of
Tobolsk in Siberia on the east, comprising thus the whole
northern part of Russia in Europe, and including the
island of Nova Zembla. Its northern continental shores
are washed b}^ the Arctic Ocean and the White Sea ; and
for a considerable distance from the coast they present a
desolate and sterile appearance, with few signs of vegetation.
The surface of the remainder is in general a continuous
flat, covered either with sandy and mossy wastes, or pine
and alder forests. The area, inclusive of that of the
islands, which has been spoken of as about a fourth of the
whole, has been estimated by Moller at 15,215 German, or
342,337 English square miles; by Koeppen it has been
estimated at 15,519 German square miles.
The river Onega is a large river rising in Lake Latcha,
to the east of Lake Onega, and flowing thence north-
west it falls into a gulf, in the White Sea, to which it gives
its name, as it does also to the town at its mouth, about
80 miles S.S.W. of Archangel. Its principal aftluents arc
the Voloshka and Mokha on the right bank, and the Kena
on the left.
CONTOUR AND GENERAL APPEARANCE. 145
There are several lakes in tlic Government of Onega.
Amongst others the Imancha, in the district of Kola,
which is GO miles in length from south to north, andahout
15 miles in breadth, and it discharges its waters into the
White Sea, — the Taposero, the Angosero, and the Koutno.
The principal rivers are the Onega, the Dwina and its
affluents, the Petchora, and the Mezen. The Dwina is
formed by the junction of the Sakhona and Joug, navi-
gable rivers coming, the former from the Scandinavian
Alps, and the latter from the Ural Mountains. The con-
fluence occurs a little below Yeliki-Oustioug, in the Govern-
ment of Vologda. They are subsequently joined by the
Solvytchegodsk, on which is situated a town of the same
name. And the united Avaters, in crossing the Government
of Archangel, pass Kohlmogori and Archangel, and flow by
several mouths into the gulf of the White Sea, which bears
the name of this town. The total course of this river, one of
the largest in Russia, is 420 miles, and its greatest breadth
is five miles. Its depth is considerable, but its navigation
is impeded by beds of mud which bar its embouchures, and
by the number of islands with which, throughout the
greater extent of its course, its channel is obstructed. The
tides extend to a distance of 30 miles above Archangel.
The Dwina was for a long time the only outlet for the
productions of European Russia. The country throuo-h
which it passes is low and level, and is to a great extent
laid under water by its inundations in the spring. Of the
numerous affluents the principal on the right bank are :
the Vytchegda, the Ourtiouga, the two Toima, the Vaengha,
Pinghicha, Poukchenga, Pinega, and Lodma ; and on the
left the Oustioumej, the Kodima, Vaga, Emtsa, and Laia.
The Vytchegda issues from a marsh in the district of
Oust-Sisolsk, in the east part of the Government of
Vologda, and after a total course of 450 miles, flows into
the Dwina a little below Solvytchegodsk. Its principal
affluents are the Yulva and Yarenga on the right bank,
and the Sisola on the left. It is at all times navigable.
L
146 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
The Pinecja, which o'ives its imme to a town situated
about 78 miles east by south of Archangel, flows into the
Dwina after a separate course of 250 miles.
Connections have been formed between the Dwina and
the Volga by means of canals, one of which joins the Kel-
tma, one of the head streams of the Vytchegda, with the
Kama ; and the other, known as the Lubiuski Canal,
unites the Sukhoma with the Neva by means of the
Cheksna.
The Petchora has its source in the Government of Perm,
on the west side of the Ural Mountains, and crossing the
Government enters that of Vologda, and that of Arch-
angel, and, after a tortuous course, flows into the Arctic
Ocean by numerous mouths after a course of upwards of
900 miles. The country through which it flows is low,
covered with wood, and nearly uninhabited. Its principal
affluents are, on the right, Ilicha and Oussa; on the left,
the Ijma and Tsylma. The Ijma rises in the Government
of Volosfda, enters the Government of Archano^el in the
district of Mezen, and flows into the Petchora on the left
bank, after a course of 240 miles.
The Mezen has its source in the district of that name ;
it afterwards enters the Government of Vologda, -but
returning and passing the town to which it owes its name,
after a total course of about 480 miles, it flows into the
Gulf of Mezen, an arm of the White Sea, 75 miles wide at
its mouth, and indenting the land to a depth of 60 miles.
The principal affluents of the Mezen are the Piema and
Peza on the right, and on tlie left the Vachka. The Peza
has its source in a marshy locality, and enters the Mezen
at Jerd, 36 miles above the town of Mezen, after a course
of above 180 miles. The Vachka takes its rise in the
Government of Vologda, in the district and to the north-
west of Jarensk, and joins the Mezen near Oust- Vachka
after a course of 225 miles.
The district of ^[ezen occupies the eastern part of the
Government. It is 600 miles in length from west to east,
and upwards of 300 miles in breadth on the mainland.
CONTOUR AND GENERAL APPEARANCE. 147
that is exclusive of Nova Zembla, which depends upon it,
and of the islands Kalgoner and Vaigatch. It has a level
surface traversed by the Petchora and Mezen, and contains
numerous marshes, and has on some parts good soil and
abundant pasturage, but the severity of the climate pre-
vents the culture of corn being anywhere successful. The
aborigines, who are chiefly Samoides, maintain large herds
of reindeer, and find their chief subsistence in the produce
of fishing and of the chase.- The town was formed in 1784
by the junction of the towns of Okladnikovo and Kouznet-
zova. It is situated about 162 miles north-east of Arch-
angel, on the right bank of the Mezen, which here divides
into two branches 18 miles above its entrance into the
White Sea. The rivers are frozen from October to ISIslj.
The only vegetables which are cultivated with any success
are hemp and flax, of both of which great quantities are
grown. The pastures are good, but neither horses, cattle,
nor sheep are numerous. The forests are extensive. The
wild animals are bears, wolves, foxes, ermines, and rein-
deer, with the birds common to such latitudes. Of the
population, estimated in 1829 at 263,000, and in 1838 at
253,000, 5000 families of Samoides live between the Ural
Mountains and the White Sea, and 2000 families of Lapps
between the west coast of the White Sea and the Arctic
Ocean. The inhabitants are largely employed in timber
felling, and in the manufacture of charcoal, potash, and
turpentine. The chief insular dependencies are Solo-
vetzk, Waigatz, and Nova Zembla.
Lapland is divided by Wahlenburg into five zones,
characterised by their vegetation. Professor Diiben states
that with regard to the extension of vegetation of different
kinds, there may be distinguished eight different zones, in
proceeding from the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia to the
centre of the country, and from the lowlands to the moun-
tain tops. The zone of the fir-tree, extending to 950 metres
below the snow region, with a medium temperature of + 3°
centigrade; the zone of the pine, extending to 831 metres
148 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
below the snow region, with a medium temperature of
+ 2oo; the zone of the birch (594 metres), of the willow
(416 metres), of the crowberry, Kmpetrum nigrum (236
metres), with a medium temperature of + 1° centigrade ;
the Alpine zone, with spots of permanent snow; the zone
of perpetual snow, extending from 920 to 1217 metres
above the level of the sea, with a medium temperature of
+ 0'4^ centigrade ; and lastly, the zone above this last. At
59 metres above the line, is the limit of vegetation.
The medium temperatures which have been stated
indicate that cold must predominate throughout this
vast region ; but vegetation is on many spots very rich ;
the flowers there have an extraordinary brilliancy of
colour, and vegetation developes itself with extreme
rapidity. From the end of ^lay the temperature may
be very pleasant, rising to 20*^ centigrade towards the
middle of the day. In the beginning of June occur
debacles in the lakes and rivers ; by the 20th there are
twenty-four hours of day, and the mean temperature of
the month rises to 9'70o. July is very warm, with a mean
temperature of 15"33°. By the 20th July barley is in ear;
the hay-harvest occurs at the same time; and the plague of
mosquitoes then attains its culmination. August is often
very rainy, with a mean temperature of 15*36°. The
harvest is generally terminated by the middle of August,
some ten or twelve weeks after seed-time. Towards the
middle of the month begin the long nights of autumn. In
September the days are short, and this month is charac-
terised by gales, accompanied by rain and snow. There is
then made the gathering of wild berries, especially those
of the cloud-berry (^Rubus chamcemorus), which constitutes
a very important article of food. The mean temperature
is 5"40°. The other months belong to -winter, with a mean
temperature in October of 2"5o ; in November of — 1*98'^ ;
in December of — 7'20° ; in January of — 17*50° ; in Feb-
ruary of — 18*60° ; in March of — ll'40o j and in April of
—3°.
A writer on Lapland in the Edinburgh Encyclopcedia
tells : —
CONTOUR AND GENERAL APPEARANCE.
I4d
'The temperature is remarkably similar tlirougbout the
whole extent of coimtry between the Botbnian Gulf and
the alpine ridge of mountains, about 69*^ of North Lati-
tude. But in those parts which lie between the Lapland
Alps and the Northern Ocean, the heat, excepting in some
of thf! valleys, is almost entirely regulated by the latitude.
In point of temperature, therefore, Lapland may be divided
into two regions, the inland and the maritime. In the
former the winter is very severe, and the summer very hot ;
in the latter the winter is comparatively mild, and the
summer cold ; the one being influenced by the tempera-
ture of the Frozen Ocean, and the other screened from its
action by the alpine ridge forming a circle round it. The
following table furnishes a comparative view of the mean
temperature in both regions, by Fahrenheit's thermometer.
At Enontekis,
about 685 degrees,
1429 feet above the
level of the sea.
At Mageroe,
North Cape. |
January, .
February,
March,
0° 41'
0 55
11 41
22° 08'
23 16
24 71
April,
May,
June,
26 02
36 56
49 49
30 02
34 07
40 14
July,
August, .
59 63
55 89
46 42
43 70
September,
October, .
41 78
27 44
37 62
32 00
November,
12 20
25 75
December,
1 01
25 74
26 85
32 13
* Though the mean temperature at Enontekis is nearly
6^ lower than at the North Cape, yet is the former place
better calculated for vegetation than the latter, and even
brings to maturity certain kinds of corn, which is quite out
of the question at the Cape. The reason is that the meap,
150 THE FOEEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
temperature during tlic summer months is much higher
at Enontekis than at the Cape ; and the power of vegeta-
tion is regulated more by the heat of summer than the
cold of winter. In those countries, also, where the ground
is long covered with snow, the temperature of the earth is
considerably higher than that of the air, and this preserves
it in a proper state for vegetation, in spite of the intense
winter cold of the atmosphere. Thus, at Enontekis the
ground is constantly covered with snow from the begin-
ning of October to the beginning of May ; while at the
Cape, in consequence of the vicinity of the sea, it is more
frequently exposed to thaws. Sometimes it happens in
the Lapland Alps, that, v/hen a colder summer than usual
occurs, the snow lies during the whole year, and all kinds
of vegetables are completely destroyed, except a few
lichens, Polytricha, and Feltidea crocea. This is an event
which occurs more frequently in Norwegian Lapland,
where there are greater rains during summer, which
reduce the temperature of the air, and prevent the disso-
lution of the snow, or even convert it into ice. The pro-
gress of the seasons may be readily perceived from the
following table of observations made at Utsjocki, upon the
river Tana, in 69*^ 53' North Latitude.
Jau. 21. The sun's half-disc seeu above the horizon.
May 5. First rain fell.
June 5. The ice disappeared upon the river Tana.
June 28. The lakes were free from ice.
July 15. Night frosts began.
Oct. IS. The rivers froze.
Oct. 25. The lakes froze.
Nov. 3. The ground covered with snow.
Nov. 20. The sun under the horizon.
' During the winter solstice, when the sun continues
during seven weeks together" under the horizon, instead of
a clear daylight, there is only a twilight of a few hours.
It is not so dark, however, but that a person might see to
write, or do any ordinary business from ten o'clock in the
forenoon to one o'clock in the afternoon; while the
superior brightness of the moon and stars at this season.
CONTOUR AND GENERAL ArPEARANCE. 151
with the aid of the aurora borealis, and the reflection of
the snow, supply iu a great measure the absence of the
sun. The cold, at this time of the year, is frequently so
intense as to freeze brandy and spirits of wine. The lakes
and rivers are cover 3d with ice of extraordinar}?" thickness ;
and the whole face of the country buried under snow to
the depth of at least four or five feet. In the alpine
regions the lakes have been known to be frozen to the
depth of a fathom on the 9th of July ; and the whole
range of these mountains utterly impassable in winter, on
account of the extreme cold ; the total want of subsistence
for the reindeer, and the violent gusts of wind which
overturn both men and sledges. The drifting of the snow,
when newly fallen, renders it impossible to go abroad till
a partial thaw has taken place, when a hard crust is
formed on the surface by frost, and enables the
natives to travel on their sledges with the utmost
celerity. During a thaw the atmosphere is sur-
charged with vapours ; but when the north wind
blows the air is clear and the sky beautifully serene.
Thunderstorms are not uncommon even in the depth of
winter. At the summer solstice the sun is as many weeks
continually above the horizon as below it in winter ; but
his light during the night is paler, and less brilliant than
during the day. The heat is then extremely oppressive,
especially in the valleys ; and the air is darkened by clouds
of troublesome insects, which the natives have no possi-
bility of avoiding, except by covering their heads with a
cloth, or smearing their faces with tar, or involving them-
selves in the smoke of a fire. " The degree of heat," say^
Acerbi, " was twenty-nine (on the thermometer of Celsius)
in the shade, and forty-five in the sun. The ground burned
under our feet ; and the few shrubs we met with in our
way afforded us little or no shelter. We were almost
suffocated with heat; and, to add to our sufferings, we
were under the necessity of wearing a dress of thick wool-
len cloth as a security from the insects, and to cover our
faces with a veil, which in a great measure prevented our
15^ THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
drawing breath." In many parts of Lapland the days in
summer are bright, serene, and warm, and the season,
though short, remarkably healthy and delightful. At
Altengaard, as observed by Baron Von Buch, in 79'^ North
Lat. the tliermometer generally stood at 70*^ or 72*^ in
July ; and the mean temperature of the month was
nearly 63^'
One consequence of the peculiarities of climatic condi-
tion is that most of the ports of the White Sea are frozen
in winter, while Norwegian ports of a much higher latitude
to the west of the White Sea remain open, and this not-
withstanding the temperature on land there being low^er
than it is along the northern coast of Russia.
On this subject an interesting paper by Professor Daa,
of the University of Christiana, was read at the Interna-
tional Congress of Students of GeograjDhical Science, held
in Paris in 1876. The following is a summary of this
paper : —
It is generally kuow^n that the navigation of all the
Russian ports on the White Sea is interrupted by ice
during man}" months of the year, while the Norwegian
coast remains open ; and this remarkable difference has
been attributed to the influence of the Gulf Stream, which
moderates the climate of the country, but has no influence
on that of the other. This opinion in regard to the con-
trast of climate in the two parts of the same sea is so
rooted in the public opinion, that it is found in quite a
number of publications, and yet, as a physical theory, it is
destitute of any foundation. The frontier separating the
two countries is altogether an artificial and arbitrary one.
The Gulf Stream does not terminate at that point ; it
flow^s on to Nova Zembla, and it moderates in this way the
climate of all these latitudes.
It is nevertheless the case that the Norwegian ports in the
Arctic Ocean — Tromsoe, Hammerfest, Sandoe, and Vardoe
— are never frozen during the winter, while the Russian
towns of K-ila, Kem, Onega, Archangel, Blezen, and Pusto-
zersk, are shut off by the ice for many months every year.
Contour and general APPEARANcfi. 15^
In 1867, in a journey made along these coasts, Professor
Daa traversed the interior from Kola to the White Sea
and the Gulf of Bothnia, and had an opportunity of obser-
ving the causes of these apparently contiicting phenomena.
These are sufficiently simple. The formation of ice on the
surface of the ocean depends on the concurrence of many
causes, amongst which the cold is one of but relative
importance. Ice is formed more easily in inland basins,
where the water is not so deep, is more mixed with fresh
water, and is less exposed to great ocean waves. It is
thus that the ice is formed in the Baltic, on the Zuyderzee,
and sometimes even in the Adriatic. It is then natural
that the interior parts of Norwegian fiords should also
freeze. The port of Christiana, for example, is for some
months closed by thick ice, which it is necessary to saw or
break up by means of powerful steam vessels. On the
contrary, on the margin of the ocean, the unceasing move-
ment of the waves hinders congelation. Again, the interior
waters offer the best protection for ships, and it is near to
them that are found the most convenient positions for
towns, and for communication with productive inland
lauds. The Russians, a people more especially agricul-
tural, have built all their towns in interior localities, in
order that communication may be had by rivers with their
richest and most productive provinces. Now in inland
seas the ice is formed for many miles on end, and naviga-
tion becomes impossible during winter. The Norwegians,
who find their principal resources in navigation and fishing,
have preferred building their towns on the shores of the
ocean. The inconveniences thence resulting are many,
and the ports are only of middling character. The Nor-
wegian Assembly has been obliged to vote a sum of about
two millions of francs to improve the port of Vardoe. But
on the other hand, by nature or by art, it has been brought
about that navigation can be carried on there continuously
without interruption. It would, however, be erroneous to
suppose that Norway constitutes an exception to the known
laws of temperature, or that no natural obstacles to navi-
gation exist there.
154 THE FOKEST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
According to the opinion of Norwegian navigators,
Russian Lapland possesses many excellent ports, for
example, Tertik, the port of St. Catherine, and Kilden,
but none of these are colonised or occupied by inhabitants
living by the produce of the sea. The only town in
Russian Lapland, Kola, has been built on the banks of a
river, at about sixty kilometres from the ocean. It is not
surprising then that this bay is covered with a sheet of
unbreakable ice during many months of the year.
In fine, the difference of the winter in Russian Lapland
and Norwegian Finmark is not the result, of physical
forces, but is attributable to differences in the habits of
the tw^o frontier nations.
CHAPTER II.
FLORA.
Section 1. — Chaeacteristic Vegetation.
We have found that the general appearance of the country-
is produced as much by its forests as by its general contour ;
but these, and the more lowly vegetation associated with
them, may be with advantage brought under consideration
apart, and the vegetation of the region throughout its
several districts will be found to be regulated greatly by
the climate, and more markedly so by the temperature,
— only vegetables which can grow Avith little heat existing
and dominating where the prevailing temperature is one
adapted to their vegetation.
By Mackenzie Wallace it is stated : — * If it were possible
to get a bird's-eye view of European Russia, the spectator
would perceive that the country is composed of two halves
widely differing from each other in character. The
northern half is a land of forest and morass, plentifully
supplied with water in the form of rivers, lakes, and
marshes, and broken up by numerous patches of cultiva-
tion. The southern half is, as it were, the other side of
the pattern — an immense expanse of rich arable land,
broken up by occasional patches of sand or forest. The
imaginary undulating line separating these two regions
starts from the western frontier about the 50th parallel of
latitude, and runs in a north- easterly direction till it enters
the Ural Range at about 6Q N. lat.' The northern half,
however, he represents in a map illustrative of vegetation
as divisible into two : the forest zone and the northern
156 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
agricultural zone, the 60th parallel, or that of St. Peters-
buro^, marking: orenerallv the line of division between them.
It is the former alone with which we are here concerned ;
nor does the whole of it come under our cognisance. We
have only to do with the forests in the Governments of
Olonetz, Vologda, and Archangel, embracing the central
and western portions of the zone.
With the forests of the Governments of Olonetz, Vol-
ogda, and Archangel, might be described the forests of the
Governments of Viatka and Perm, but the exploitation of
these, and more especially of the latter, is so affected by
the demand for fuel used in connection with mining opera-
tions in the Ural Mountains, that with perhaps equal pro-
priety they might be brought under consideration in
connection with those of Eastern Russia. From the men-
tion of this it will be seen that it is not in ignorance of
this fact that they are not brought under consideration
here.
It has been frequently remarked that if we note as we
ascend a lofty mountain range the vegetation through
which we pass, there are successive zones of these, varying
in the kinds of plants by which they are characterised. If
from the base of some lofty range of mountains in a
tropical land, which, notwithstanding the high temperature
in the plain, have their summits covered with perpetual
snow, we ascend to this cooler region, we shall find vegeta-
tion of one kind giving place by degrees — tropical plants
giving place to others, and these again to others, and such
changes repeating themselves till at length we meet only
with lichens and mosses and their allies. And like changes
in the vegetation might be observed if we journeyed from
the equator to either pole, representative of the successive
zones on the mountain. Of this successive disappearance
of different kinds of plants, as a mountain rises in altitude,
Lapland supplies many illustrations. Baron von Bucb
writes : —
' It is extremely entertaining to climb great and rapidly
FLORA. 157
ascending heights in these climates. The vegetation with
which we are familiar in the valleys gradually disappears
under our feet. The Scotch fir soon leaves us; then the
birches become shrivelled ; now they wholly disappear ;
and between the bushes of mountain willows and dwarf
birches, the innumerable clusters of berry-bearing herbs
have room to spread — blae-berries on the dry heights, and
mountain brambles on the marshy ground. We at last
rise above them ; the blae-berries no longer bear ; they
appear singly, with few leaves, and no longer in a bushy
form. At last they disappear, and they are soon followed
by the mountain willows. The dwarf birch alone braves
the height and the cold; but at last it also yields before
reaching the limit of perpetual snow ; and there is abroad
border before reaching this limit, on which, beside mosses,
a few plants only subsist with great difficulty. Even the
reindeer moss, which rises in the woods with the blae-
berry in luxuriance of growth, is very unfrequent on such
lieights. On the top of the mountains, which is almost a
table-land, there is no ice, it is true, nor glaciers ; but the
snow never leaves these heights ; and a few single points
and spots above the level are alone clear of snow for a few
weeks. It is a melancholy prospect ; nothing in life is
any longer to be seen, except perhaps occasionally an eagle
in his flight over the mountains from one fiord to another.*
On Akka Solki, one of these mountains on the western
coast, which is about 3392 English feei in height, the fol-
lowing limits of the different productions were accurately
marked : —
Eng. Feet.
Limit of snow in latitude 70°, . . . , . 3514
Eefula nana, or dwarf birch, ..... 2742
Salix myrsinitis, or whortle-leaved willow, . . . 2i50
Salix lanata, or downy willow, rises above the Betula
nana, and approaches the limit of perpetual snow.
Vaccinium niyrtilius, or blae-berry 2031
Betula alba, or birch tree, 1579
We should find following each other in the same order,
but in broader zones, in the tropical, sub-tropical, temper-
158 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
ate, and arctic or antarctic regions of the globe, many of
these zones being susceptible of well-defined sub-divisions.
According to a report published anonymously, but attri-
buted to Admiral Count Mordvinoff, Director of the
Agi'icultural Society of Russia some fifty years ago, who
laboured assiduously to develope the agriculture of his
country, Korthern Russia comprises four well defined
regions.
The first is the region of ice. The icy region may be
considered as including Nova Zembla, or more correctly,
Novaya Zemhia, or New Land, part of the Kolskaya dis-
trict, and the extreme northern point of land which pro-
jects into the Frozen Ocean. This region is distinguished
by a night of three months' duration, and by its total
destitution of vegetable productions, which circumstances
render it unfit for the permanent habitation of man and
domestic animals. The seal, the walrus, and fish of
various descriptions, which abound toward the pole, supply
the only means of sustenence for man, the Polar bear, and
its inseparable companion, the fox, except on Novaya
Zembia, where multitudes of a peculiar kind of mice
breed, and lay up heaps of roots for their winter store, and
these mice serve in their turn as food for the bears and
foxes.
The second is the region of moss. The mossy region,
where the ever- frozen ground is covered with a kind of
greyish moss, and towards the boundaries of the following
region with a kind of brushwood and fir. This tract is
endowed by nature with an animal which alone makes it
habitable for man — the reindeer. Its vast deserts streteh-
ing from Archangel along the shores of the White Sea to
the Eastern Ocean, are peopled by thinly scattered nomadic
tribes of LajDlanders, Samoyeds, Ostiaks, and other abori-
gines, whose numbers are gradually decreasing as they
come in contact with civilised nations In this
region, adjacent to the Frozen Ocean, at the mouth of
great rivers, and near certaio islands, are found astonishing
FLORA. 159
remains of antediluvian animals, particularly of the mam-
moth ; and here were discovered the bones of one of these
monsters still covered with flesh and skin.
To this there succeeds the region of forest and pasturage.
By degrees the dwarf trees and brushwood of the mossy
region increase in size, until we come to those immense
forests, where the hand of man has scarcely as yet dis-
turbed the majestic operations of nature. Along the banks
of the rivers, and in other spots unencumbered with wood,
the grass shoots up with astonishing rapidity ; but the
lingering fro.>-ts of spring, and the early appeai-ance of
those of autumn prevent the cultivation of corn. For this
reason the inhabitants of the northern part of this district
are principally occupied with the chase, especially that of
the squirrel, an animal which seems to be indigenous
there, and wliich forms the principal inducement for man
to take up his abode in this inhospitable clime. The
abundance of grass in the southern parts affords the
means of keeping cattle, while in some sheltered spots
appear a few corn-fields, as it were the out-posts of agri-
culture. The northern and eastern parts of this region
are inhabited by nomadic tribes, then follow the Finns or
Finlanders, a settled people, chiefly dependent on pastur-
age for support. It would be difficult to mark with pre-
cision the southern boundaries of this region, as it falls
gradually into the next.
This is designated by him ' the region of barley and the
bes^innino^ of ag^riculture.' The inhabitants of the recriun
extending beyond as well as within that portion of Russia
in Europe, which it includes, are Russians, Finns, Zirians,
and others having settled habitations ; but, from the insig-
nificance of their a^Ticulture, thev have recourse to orrazinsf,
fishing, and the chase, the floating of timber, Szc. ; and in
some parts of the Governments of Archangel and Vologda
are to be found a very superior breed of horned cattle.
The southern limits of this region may be said to extend
nearly to the town of Yarensk, in the Government of
Vologda, and the parts of a corresponding degree of lati-
160 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
tude, viz., G3°. Nature, as the author himself had an
opportunity of observing, here assumes an imposing aspect
— immense forests, vast rivers, beautiful meadows flourish-
ing in all the unexhausted luxuriance of primitive vegeta-
tion, make an impression on the traveller that can only be
adequately coLceived by those who have wandered through
the unexplored forests, and beheld the majestic streams of
the New World.
Thus do we pass from the Arctic Circle into the tem-
perate zone, finding each stage marked b}" a change in
the character of the vegetation. And the vegetation char-
acteristic of the several regions which have been so defined
may with interest be studied in its details.
It will be found that even the icy region of the Arctic
Circle is not without its vegetation ; marine algce of more
or less complex structure may be considered the primary
food of all orcranisms in that region belono^ino: to the
animal kingdom. Here, as in the study of fossils, the
existence of animals may be accepted as indicative of the
existence at the same time and place of vegetable organ-
isms; and here the abundant fauna speaks of a most
abundant flora.
With regard to the wide dispersion of fish, both in the
northern portion of the temperate zone and within the
Arctic Circle, it is stated by the author of The Arctic
World: its Plants, Animals, and Natural Phenomena'^ —
' The wealth of the Arctic and sub-Arctic seas is appar-
ently inexhaustible. In many parts cod are plentiful, and
supply the Greenlanders with a valuable article of food.
The capelin {Mullotus vitlosus), which in May and June
frequents the Greenland waters, is eaten both fresh and
dried ; in the latter case forming a useful winter pro-
vision. The halibut is found of a large size ; and ocean
also contributes the Norway haddock, the salmon-trout,
" Loudon : T. Nelson & Sons.
FLORA. 161
the liimp-fisli, and the bull -head. Nor are the Crustacea
unrepresented; long-tailed crabs being abundant, while
the common mussel may be gathered almost everywhere
at ebb-tide. The seas, however, grow poorer as we advance
towards the Pole, and many important species of fish do
not penetrate further north than the Arctic Circle.
' Yet even where these are wanting, the ocean-waters
teem with life; and a recent writer is fully justified in
remarking that the vast multitudes of animated beings
which people them form a remarkable contrast to the
nakedness of their bleak and desolate shores. The colder
surface-waters are, as he says, almost jDerpetually exposed
to a cold atmosphere, and being frequently covered, even
in summer, with floating ice, they are not favourable to
the development of organic life ; but this adverse influence
is modified by the higher temperature which constantly
prevails at a greater depth. Contrary to the rule in the
Equatorial seas, we find in the Polar ocean an increase of
temperature from the surface downwards, in consequence
of the warmer under-cnrrents, flowing from the south
northwards, and passing beneath the cold w^aters of the
superficial Arctic current.
* Hence the awful rigour of the Arctic winter, which
strikes the earth with a death-blight, is not perceptible in
the ocean-depths, where myriads of organisms find a
secure retreat from the frost, and whence they emerge
during the long summer's day, either to haunt the shores
or ascend the broad rivers of the Polar world. Between
the parallels of 74° and 80°, Dr Scoresby observed that the
colour of the Greenland sea varies from the purest ultra-
marine to olive-green, and from crystalline transparency to
striking opacity ; and these appearances are not transitory,
but permanent.* The aspect of this green semi-opaque
water, which varies in its locality with the currents — often
forming isolated stripes, and sometimes spreading over two
"* Scoresby calculated that it would require 80,000 persons, labouring continuouslj-
from the creation of man to the present day to count the number of organisms c«.)n-
tained in two miles of the green water.
M
162 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
or three degrees of latitude — is mainly due to small
medusae and nudibrancbiate molluscs Many thousands
of square miles must literally run riot with life, since the
coloured waters we speak of are calculated to form one-
fourth of the sea between the 74th and SOth parallels/
All of these animated beings tell of vegetation, for this
supplies the primary food by which they are sustained. It
is so on land : there we have herbivori and carnivori
animals feeding on the vegetable productions of the earth,
and beasts and birds, and insects innumerable w4iich prey
upon these, but they, too, are sustained by the grass and
tlie herb of the field, for by these have their prey been
nourished, and like to life on earth is life on the sea.
' On the Greenland coast,' says in continuation the writer
I liave quoted, ' where the transparency of the waters is
so grccit that the bottom and every object upon it are
clearly discernible, even at a depth of eighty fathoms, the
ocean-bed is covered with gigantic tangles, so as to remind
the spectator of the ocean-gardens of the Tropical Zone.
Alcyonians, sertularians, acidians, nullipores, mussels, and
a variety of other sessile animals incrust every stone, or
congregate in every fissure and hollow of the rocky ground.
A dead seal or fish flung into the sea is soon converted
into a skeleton, it is said, by the myriads of small crusta-
ceans which infest these northern waters, and, like the
ants in the equatorial forests, perform the part of scaven-
gers of the deep.'"*^
* lie adds : — ' It is evident from the observations of Professor Forbes, that de2)th has
a very considerable influence in the distribution of marine life. From the surface to
the depth of 13S0 feet eight distinct zones or regions have been mapped out in the sea,
each of which has its own vegetation and inhabitants ; and the number of these regions
must now be increased, after the astonishing results of the dee]j-sea soundings of Dr
Carpenter and Professor Wyville Thomson. The changes in the different zones are not
abrupt ; some of the creatures of an under region always ap;-jear before those of the
region above it vanish ; and though there are a few species the same in some of the eight
zones, onl}- two are common to all. It is to be observed that those near the surface
have forms and colours analogous to the inhabitants of southern latitudes, while those
at a greater dejith are analogous to the animals of northern waters. Hence, in the sea,
depth corresponds with latitude, as height does on land. Mrs Somerville adds, in lan-
guage of much terseness, that the extent of the geograjihical distribution of any species
is proportioned to the depth at which it lives. Consequently, those which live near the
surface are less widely dispersed than those inhabiting deep water.
' The larger and more active inhabitants of the seas obey the same laws with the rest
of creation, though their provinces, or regions, are in some instances very extensive .
FLORA. 1G3
But it is the land with which we are more concerned,
and even within the limits of pei-petual snow there is
found upon the surface of the frozen covering of the earth
and sea a minute vegetable organism, which was early
designated, in ignorance of its structure, ' Red Snow/
' This so-called " red snow " says the author of The
Arctic World, ^Y2i^ found by Sir John Ross, in his first
Arctic expedition in 1808, on a range of cliffs rising about
800 feet above the sea-level, and extending eight miles in
length (lat. 75° N.) It was also discovered by Sir W. E.
Parry in his overland expedition in 1827. The sno^y was
tinged to the depth of several inches Moreover, if the
surface of the snow-plain, though previously of its usual
spotless purity, was crushed by the pressure of the sledges
and of the footsteps of the party, blood-like stains instantly
arose ; the impressions being sometimes of an orange hue
and sometimes more like a pale salmon tint.
' It has been ascertained that this singular variation of
colour is due to an immense aggregation of minute plants
of the species called Protococcus nivalis ; the generic name
alluding to the extreme primitiveness of its organisation,
and the specific to the peculiar nature of its habitat. Ii
we place a small quantity of red snow on a piece of white
paper, and allow it to melt and evaporate, there will be
left a residuum of granules -sufficient to communicate a
faint crimson tint to the paper. Examine these granules
under a microscope, and they will prove to be spherical
purple cells of almost inappreciable size, not more than
the three-thousandth to one-thousandth part of an inch in
diameter. Look more closely, and you will see that each
cell has an opening, surrounded by indented or serrated
Above the 44th parallel the Atlantic species frequently correspond with those of the
Pacific. The salmon of America is identical with that of the British Isles, and the
coasts of Sweden and Norway ; the same is true of the Gadidae, or cod. The Cottas, or
bull-head tribe, are also the same on both sides of the Atlantic ; incrcasinp: in numbers
and specific differences on approachin','- the Arctic seas. The same law holds good in the
North Pacific, but the generic forms differ from those in the Atlantic. From the pro-
pinquity of the coasts of America and Asia at Behring Strait, the fish on both sides are
nearly alike, down to Admiralty Inlet on the one side, and the Sea of Okhotsk on the
other.'
164 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
lines, the smallest diameter of which measures only the
five-thousandth part of an inch. When perfect, the plant,
as Dr Macmillan observes, bears a resemblance to a red-
currant berry ; as it decays, the red colouring matter fades
into deep orange, which is finally resolved into a brownish
hue. The thickness of the wall of the cell is estimated at
the twenty-thousandth part of an inch, and three hundred
to four hundred of these cells might be grouped together
in a smaller space than a shilling would cover. Yet each
cell is a distinct individual plant; perfectly independent
of others with which it may be massed : fully capable of
performing for and by itself all the functions of growth and
reproduction; possessing '' a containing membrane which
absorbs liquids and gases from the surrounding matrix or
elements, a contained fluid of peculiar character formed
out of these materials, and a number of excessively minute
granules equivalent to spores, or, as some would say, to
cellular buds, which are to become the germs of new
plauts."' Dr Macmillan adds: "That one and the same
primitive cell should thus minister equally to absorption,
nutrition, and reproduction, is an extraordinary illustration
of the fact that the smallest and simplest organised object
is in itself, and, for the part it was created to perform in
the operations of nature, as admirably adapted as the
largest and most complicated."
' The first vegetable forms to make their appearance at
the limits of the snow-line, whether in high latitudes or
on mountain-summits, are lichens ; which flourish on rocks,
or stones, or trees, or wherever they can obtain sufficient
moisture to support existence. Upwards of two thousand
four hundred species are known. The same kinds prevail
throughout the Arctic regions, and the species common
to both the Eastern and Western hemispheres are very
numerous. They lend the beauty of colour to many an
Arctic scene which would otherwise be inexpressibly
dreary ; the most rugged rock acquiring a certain air of
picturesqueness through their luxuriant display. Their
i'LOiRA. 165
forms are wonderfully varied ; so that they present to the
student of Nature an almost inexhaustible field of inquiry.
In their most rudimentary aspects they seem to consist of
nothing more than a collection of powdery granules, so
minute that the figure of each is scarcely distinguishable,
and so dry and so deficient in organisation that we cannot
but wonder how they live and maintain life. Now they
are seen like ink-spots on the trunks of fallen trees ; now
tliey are freely sprinkled in white dust over rocks and
withered tufts of moss ; others appear in gray filmy patches ;
others again like knots or rosettes of various tints ; and
some are pulpy and gelatinous, like aerial sea-weeds which
the receding tide leaves bare and naked on inland rocks.
A greater complexity of structure, however, is visible in
the higher order of lichens— and we find them either
tufted and shrubby, like miniature trees ; or in clustering
cups, which, Hebe-like, present their " dewy offerings to
the sun."
' In the Polar world, and its regions of eternal winter,
where snow and ice, and dark drear waters, huge glacier
and colossal berg, combine to form an awful and impressive
picture, the traveller is thankful for the abundance of
these humble and primitive forms, which communicate the
freshness and variety of life to the otherwise painful and
death-like uniformity of the frost-bound Nature.
* A lichen which is discovered in almost every zone of
altitude and latitude, which ranges from the wild shores of
Melville Island in the Arctic to those of Deception Island
in the Antarctic circle, — which blooms on the crests of ihe
Himalayas, on the lofty peak of Chimborazo, and was
found by Agassiz near the top of Mount Blanc, — is the
Lecidea geograpMca, a beautiful bright-green lichen, whose
clusters assume almost a kaleidoscopic appearance.
' A lichen of great importance in the Arctic world is the
well-known Cladonia rangiferina, or reindeer moss, which
forms the staple food of that animal during the long Arctic
winter. In the vast tundras, or steppes, of Lapland, it
flourishes in the greatest profusion, completely covering
166 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
the ground with its snowy tufts, which look like the silvery
sprays of some magic plant. According to Linnaeus, it
thrives more luxuriantly than any other plant in the pine-
forests of Lapland, the surface of the soil being carpeted
with it for many miles in extent ; and if the forests are
accidentally burned to the ground, it quickly reappears,
and grows with all its original vigour.
* When the ground is crusted with a hard and frozen
snow, which prevents it from obtaining its usual food, the
reindeer turns to anotherlichen, called rock-hair (/1/ectona
jubata), that grows in long bearded tufts on almost every
tree. In winters of extreme rigour the Laplanders cut
down whole forests of the largest trees, that their herds
may browse freely on the tufts which clothe the higher
branches. Hence it has been justly said that "the vast
dreary pine-forests of Lapland j^ossess a character which
is peculiarly their own, and are perhaps more singular in
the eyes of the traveller than any other feature in the
landscapes of that remote and desolate region. This
character they owe to the immense number of lichens
with which tliey abound. The ground, instead of grass, is
carpeted with dense tufts of the reindeer moss, white as a
shower of new fallen snow ; while the trunks and branches
of the trees are swollen far beyond their usual dimensions
with huge, dusky, funereal branches of the rock-hair, hang-
ing down in masses, exhaling a damp earthy smell, like
an old cellar, or stretching from tree to tree in long
festoons, Avaving with every breath of wind, and creating a
perpetual melancholy sound."
' In the regions furthest north are found various species
of lichens belonging to the genera Gyroijhora and Umhili-
caria, and known in the records of Arctic travel as rock
tripe, or tripe de roche ; a name given to them in conse-
quence of their blistered thallus, which bears a faint
resemblance to the animal substance so called. They
afford a coarse kind of food, and proved of the greatest
service to the expeditions under Sir John Franklin ; though
FLOKA. 167
their nutritious properties are not considerable, and, such
as they are, are unfortunately impaired by the presence of
a bitter principle which is apt to induce diarrhoea. In
Franklin and Richardson's terrible overland journey from
the Coppermine River to Fort Enterprise it was almost
the sole support, at one time, of the heroic little company.
Dr Richardson says they gathered four species of Gyro-
'phoro.^ and used them all as articles of food ; " but not
having the means of extracting the bitter principle from
them, they proved nauseous to all, and noxious to several
of the party, producing severe bowel complaints." Frank-
lin on one occasion remarks: "This was the sixth day
since we had enjoyed a good meal ; the tri'pe de roche, even
when we got enough, only serving to allay the pangs of
hunger for a short time." Again, we read : " The want of
tripe de roche caused us to go supperless to bed."
' Dr Hayes, in the course of his " Arctic Boat Journey,"
was compelled to have recourse to the same unsatisfactory
fare. The rock-lichen, or stone-moss, as he calls it, he
describes as about an inch in diameter at its maximum
growth, and of the thickness of a wafer. It is black exter-
nally, but when broken the interior appears white. When
boiled it makes a glutinous fluid, which is slightly nutri-
tious.
' " Although in some places it grows very abundantly,"
writes Dr Hayes, " yet in one locality it, like the game,
was scarce. Most of the rocks had none upon them ; and
there were few from which we could collect as much as a
quart. The difficulty of gathering it was much augmented
by its crispness, and the firmness of its attachment.
' '' For this plant, poor though it was, we were compelled
to dig. The rocks in every case were to be cleared from
snow, and often our pains went unrewarded. The first
time this food was tried it seemed to answer well, — it at
least filled the stomach, and thus kept off the horrid sen-
^ So called from its circular form, and because the surface of the leaf is marked with
curved lines.
i6S THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
sation of liuugcr until ^ve got to sleep ; but it was found
to produce afterwards a painful diarrhoea. Besides this
unpleasant effect, fragments of gravel, which were mixed
with the mosses, tried our teeth. We picked the plants
from the rock with our knives, or a piece of hoop-iron;
and we could not avoid breaking of some particles of the
stone."
' These lichens are black and leather-like, studded with
small black points like " coiled wire buttons," and attacked
either by an umbilical root or by short and tenacious
fibres to the rocks. Some of them may be compared to a
piece of shagreen, while others resemble a fragment of
burned skin. They are met with in cold bleak localities,
on AljDine heights of granite or micaceous schist, in almost
all iDarts of the world, — on the Scottish mountains, on the
Ancles, on the Himalayas; but it is in the Polar world
that they most abound, spreading over the surface of
every rock a sombre Plutonian vegetation, that seems to
have been scathed by fire and flame, until all its beauty
and richness were shrivelled up.'
In Sweden, while several of the lichens produced in
tliese regions are employed as dyes, others are used as
medicine, and some as poisons for noxious and dangerous
animals which are found annoying.
' The only lichen which has retained its place in modern
pharmacy is the well-known "Iceland moss." It is stiU
employed as a tonic and febrifuge in ague ; but more
largely, when added to soups and chocolate, as an article
of diet for the feeble and consumptive. In Iceland the
Cetraria Islandica is highly valued by the inhabitants.
AVhat barley, rye, and oats are to the Indo-Caucasian races
of Asia and Western Europe ; the olive, the fig, and the
grape to the inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin ; rice
to the Hindu ; the tea-plant to the native of the Flowery
Laud ; and the date-paloi to the Arab, — is Iceland moss
to the Icelander, the Lapp, and the Eskimo,
It is found on some of the loftiest peaks of the Scottish
FLORA. 169
Highlands ; but in Iceland it overspreads the whole
country, flourisliing more abundantly, and attaining to a
larfjer growth on the volcanic soil of the western coast
than elsewhere. It is collected triennially, for it requires
three years to reach maturity, after the spots where it
thrives have been cleared. We are told that the meal
obtained from it, when mixed with wheat-flour, produces
a greater quantity, though perhaps a less nutritious
quality, of bread than can be manufactured from wheat-
flour alone. The great objection to it is its bitterness,
arising from its peculiar astringent principle, cetraria.
However, the Lapps and Icelanders remove this disagree-
able pungency by a simple process. They chop the lichen
to pieces, and macerate it for several days in water mixed
with salt of tartar or quicklime, which it absorbs very
readily ; next they dry it, and pulverize it ; then, mixed
with the flour of the common knot-grass, it is made into
a cake, or boiled, and eaten with reindeer's milk.
' Mosses are abundant in the Arctic regions, increasing
in number and beauty as we approach the Pole, and
covering the desert land with a thin veil of verdure, which
refreshes the eye and gladdens the heart of the traveller.
On the hills of Lapland and Greenland they are exten-
sively distributed ; and the landscape owes most of its
interest to the charming contrasts they afford. Of all
the genera, perhaps the bog-mosses. Sphagna, are the
most luxuriant ; but at the same time they are the least
attractive, and the plains which they cover are even
drearier than the naked rock. In Melville Island these
mosses form upwards of a fourth part of the whole flora.
Much finer to the sight is the common hair-moss {Pohj-
trichum commune), which extends over the levels of Lap-
land, and is used by the Lapps, when they are bound on
long journeys, for a temporary couch. We may mention
also the fork-moss (Dicramwi), which the Eskimos twist
into wicks for their rude lamps.
170 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
' Of other cryptogams fungi extend almost to the very
limits of Arctic vegetation. The Greenlanders and Lapps
make use of them for tinder, or as styptics for stopping the
How of blood, and allaying pain. In Siberia they abound.
Frequently, in the high latitudes, they take the form of
" snow mould," and are found growing on the barren and
ungenial snow. These species are warmed into life ouly
when the sun has grown sufficient to melt the superficial
snow-crust, without producing a general thaw, and then
they spread far and wide in glittering wool-like patches,
dotted with specks of red or green. When the snow melts
they overspread the grass beneath like a film of cob-web,
and in a day or two disappear.
' During Captain Penny's voyage in search of Sir John
Franklin he picked up two pieces of floating drift-wood,
far beyond the usual limit of Eskimo occupation, which,
from their peculiar appearance excited a lively curiosity.
The one was found in Robert Bay, off Hamilton Island,
lat. 76° 2' north, and long. 76*^ west— that is, in the route
which Franklin's ships, it is supposed, had followed, — and
was plainly a fragment of wrought elm plank, which had
])een part of a ship's timbers. It exhibited three kinds of
surface — one that had been planed and pitched, one
roughly sawn, and the third split with an axe. The second
piece of drift-wood was picked up on the north side of
Cornwallis Island, in lat. 75° 86' north, and long. 96"^' west.
It was a branch of white spruce, much bleached in some
places, and in others charred and blackened as if it had
been used for fueh
* On both fragments traces of microscopic vegetation
were discovered; and as it was thought they might, if
carefully examined, afford some clue to the fate of Frank-
lin's expedition, they were submitted to Mr Berkeley, a
well-known naturalist. In the report which he addressed
to the Admiralty he stated that the vegetation in both
cases resembled the dark olive mottled patches with which
wooden structures in this country, if exposed to atmospheric
influences, are speedily covered. The bleached cells and
FLORA. 171
fibres of the fragment of elm were filled up with slender
fungoid forms, mycelia ; whih; on its different surfaces
appeared several dark -coloured specks, belonging to the
genus Phoma. As it was not probable that plants so
minute could have retained, through the terrible severity
of an Arctic winter, their delicate naked spores in the
perfect condition in which they were found, Mr Berkeley
concluded that they must have been developed through
that same summer; while from three to four years, in
those high latitudes, and amid the rigour of stormy ice-
covered seas, would suffice to produce the bleached appear-
ance of the wood. Hence he inferred that the plank had
not been long exposed.
* On the other fragment of drift-wood he discovered
some deeply-embedded minute black fungoid forms, called
Sporidesmium lepraria. Unlike the phomas, which are
very ephemeral, these plants possess the longevity of the
lichens, and the same patches last for years unchanged on
the same pieces of wood, while their traces are discernible
for a still longer period. From their condition Mr Berke-
ley concluded that the fungi on the drifted wood had not
been recently developed, but that, on the contrary, they
were the remains of the species which existed on the
drift-wood when used for fuel by the unfortunate crews of
Franklin's ships, the Erehus and the Terror.
* There can be no doubt whatever, as Dr Macmillan
remarks, considering the circumstances in which they were
discovered, and the remarkable appearances they presented
— there can be no reasonable doubt that both fragments
of drift-wood belonged to, or were connected with, the lost
ships ; and the curious information regarding the course
they pursued at a certain time, furnished by witnesses so
extraordinary and unlikely as a few tiny dark specks of
cryptogamic vegetation on Heating drift-wood, was con-
firmed, in a wonderful manner by the after-discovery of
the first authentic account ever obtained of the sad and
pathetic history of Franklin's expedition.*
* In Siberia grows the fly-agaric {Agariciis miiscarius), from which the inhabitants
obtain an intoxicating liquor of peculiarly dangerous character. It has a tall white
172 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
By Arctic voyagers mention is occasionally made of the
scurvy grass, a species of Coc/dearia, of the medicinal proper-
tics of which some of the undaunted explorers of the Polar
rcsfions were fain to avail themselves.
The shores of the Polar Sea, with a severe temperature
modified by proximity to the ocean, are not destitute of
terrestrial vegetation. In Spitzbergen, with a latitude
of 77*^ to 81°, besides delicate mosses which clothe the
moist low lands, and hardy lichens which encrust the
rocks up to the remotest limits of vegetation, and which
are very numerous, there have been found about ninety-
three species of phanerogamous, or flowering plants, amongst
which are the Arenaria hiflora, the Cerastium alpinum,
and the Ranunculus glacialis, found on the Alps at alti-
tudes varying from 9,000 to 10,000 feet above the level of
the sea. The only esculent plant is the Cochleavia
fenestrata, which here is devoid of the bitterness of which
Arctic explorers complain, and may be eaten as a salad ;
and several grasses supply, along with the Iceland moss,
food for the reindeer.
And thus it is also with the dreary wastes of the
tundras. 'Though not rich in bud and bloom, even
these dreary wastes are not absolutely without floral
decoration. Selinum and cerastium, as well as the poppy
and sorrel, andromeda, and several species of heath, are
mentioned by Dr Kane as blooming in the neighbourhood
of Smith Strait. On the south coast of the Polar Sea
Dr Richardson found a considerable variety of vegetation.'
stem, surmounted by a dome of rich orange scarlet, studded with white scaly tuberules,
and in some parts of Kamtschtka and the northern districts of Siberia is so abundant
that the ground sparkles and shines as if covered with a scarlet carpet. Tlie natives
collect it during the hot summer months, and dry it. Steeped in the juice of the
whortleberr3", it forms a powerful intoxicating wine ; or rolled up like a bolus, and
swallowed without chewing, it produces much the same effect as opium. On some,
however, it acts as an excitant, and induces active muscular exertion. A talkative
person, under its influence, cannot keep silence or secrets ; one fond of music, sings
incessantly ; and if a person who has partaken of it wishes to step over a straw or
small stick, he takes a stride or jump sufficient to clear the trunk of a tree !
The Koriaks and Kamtschatkans personify this fungus, under the name of Mocho
Mow, as one of their penates, or household gods ; and if they are impelled by its
effects to commit any dreadful crime, they pretend they act only in obedience to com-
mands which may not be disputed. To qualify themselves for murder or suicide, they
driuk additional doses of "this intoxicating product of decay and corruption."
FLOKA. 173
'We noticed,' he says/about one hundred and seventy phaner-
ogamous or flowering plants ; being one-fifth of the num-
ber of species which exist fifteen degrees of latitude
further to the southward. He adds : The grasses, bents,
and rushes, constitute only one-fifth of the species on the
coast, but the two former tribes actually cover more
ground than all the rest of the vegetation. The crucijerae,
or cross-like tribe, afford one-seventh of the species, and the
compound flowers are nearly as numerous. The shrubby
plants that reach the sea-coast are the common juniper,
two species of willow, the dwarf birch, the common alder,
the hippophae, the gooseberry, the red bear berry {arbutus
uva ursi), the Labrador tea-plant, the Lapland rose, the
bog- whortleberry, and the crowberry. The kidney-leaved
oxyria grows in great abundance there, and occasional!}^
furnished us with an agreeable addition to our meals, as it
resembles the garden-sorrel in flavour, but is more juicy
and tender. It is eaten by the natives, and must, as well
as many of the cress-like plants, prove an excellent correc-
tive of the gross, oil}^ rancid, and frequently jDutrid meat
on which they subsist. The small balls of the Alpine bis-
tort, and the long, succulent, and sweet roots of many of
the astrag?Jese, which grow on the sandy shores, are eat-
able ; but it does not seem that the Eskimos are acquainted
with their use. A few clumps of white spruce-fir, with
some straggling black spruces and canoe-birches, grow at
the distance of twenty or thirty miles from the sea, in
sheltered situations on the banks of rivers.
' It has been pointed out that the principal characteristic
of the vegetation of the Arctic regions is the predomin-
ance of perennial and cryptogamous plants; but further
southward, where night begins to alternate with day, or
in what may be called the sub-arctic zone, a difl't rence of
species appears which greatly enhances the beauty of the
landscape. A richly and vividly-coloured flora adorns
these latitudes in Europe as well as in Asia during their
brief but ardent summer, with its intense radiance and
174 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHEEN RUSSIA.
intense warmth, — consisting of potentillas, gentians, starry
chickweeds, spreading saxifrages and sedums, spiraeas,
drabas, ai temisias, and the like. The power of the sun is
so great, and the consequent rapidity of growth so extra-
ordinary, that these plants spring up, and blossom, and
germinate, and perish, in six wrecks. In a lower latitude
many ligneous plants are found, — as berry-bearing shrubs,
the glaucous kalmia, the trailing azalea, the full-blossomed
rhododendron. The Siberian flora differs from the Euro-
pean in the same latitudes by the inclusion of the North
American genera, phlox, mitella, and claytonia, and by the
luxuriance of its asters, spiraeas, milk-vetches, and the
saline plants goosefoot and saltwort.
' In Nova Zembla, and other northern regions, the vege-
tation is so stunted that it barely covers the ground, but a
much greater variety of minute plants of considerable
beauty are aggregated there in a limited space than in the
Alpine climes of Europe where the same genera occur.
This is due to the feebleness of the vegetation ; for in the
Swiss Alps the same plant frequently usurps a large area,
and drives out every other, — as the dark-blue gentian, the
violet-tinted pansy, and the yellow and pink stone-crops.
But in the far north, where vitality is w^eak and the seeds
do not ripen, thirty different species, it has been observed,
may be seen " crowded together in a brilliant mass," no
one being powerful enough to overcouie its companions.
In these frozen climates plants may be said to live between
the air and the earth, for they scarcely raise their heads
above the soil, and their roots, unable to penetrate it, creep
along the surface. All the woody plants — as the betula
nava, the reticulated willow, andromeda tetragona, with a
few bacciferous shrubs— trail upon tlie ground, and never
rise more than an inch or two above it. The SaKv lanata,
the giant of the Arctic forests, is about five inches in
height ; while its stem, ten or twelve feet long, lies hidden
among the moss, and owes shelter, almost life, to its humble
neighbour.
* In the wooded zone the thermometer does not rise
FLORA. 175
above zero until the month of May. Then, under the
influence of a more genial temperature, the breath of life
passes into the slumbering, inert vegetation. Then the
reddish shoots of the willows, the poplars, and the birches,
hang out their long cottony catkins ; a pleasant greenness
spreads over copse and thicket ; the dandelion, the bur-
dock, and the saxifrages lift their heads in the shelter of
the rocks ; the sweet-brier fills the air with fragrance, and
the gooseberry and the strawberry are put forth by a
kindly nature ; while the valleys bloom and the hill-sides
are glad with the beauty of the thuja, the larch, and the pine.
' On the southern margin of the wooded region, as in
Sweden, Russia, and Siberia, extend immense forests,
chiefly of coniferous trees. As we move towards the
north, these forests dwindle into scattered woods and
isolated coppices, composed chiefly of stunted poplars and
dwarf birches and willows. The sub- alpine myrtle and a
small creeping honeysuckle with rounded leaves are met
with in favourable situations. Continuing our northei-ly
progress, we wholly leave behind the arborescent species ;
but the rocks and cliffs are bright wdth plants belonging
to the families of the ranunculaceas, saxifragacese, cruci-
ferjB, and gramineae. To the dwarf firs and pigmy willows
succeed a few scattered shrubs — such as the gooseberry,
the strawberry, the raspberry, pseudo-mulberry {Euhus
cliamcemorus) — indigenous to this region, and the Lapland
oleander {Rhododendron laponicum.)
' Still advancing northward, we find, at the extreme
limits of the mainland, some drabas {Cruciferae), potentitlas
(Eosaceae), burweeds and rushes [Cyperaceae), and lastly a
great abundance of mosses and lichens. The commonest
mosses are the Splechnum, which resembles small umbels ;
and, in moist places, the Sphagnum, or bog-moss, whose
successive accumulations, from a remote epoch, have formed
with the detritus of the Cijperaceae, extensive areas of peat,
which at a future da}" will perhaps be utilised for fuel.'"^
* The Arctic World: Its Plant^;, Animals, and Natural Phenomena. London: T.
Nelson & Sons. 1ST6.
176 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Section II.— Forests.
The forests in the central portion of Archangel may
be considered as bounded on the north by the Arctic
circle, but on the north-western extremity of the Govern-
ment they extend a considerable way beyond that circle,
and on the north-eastern part of the Government they
stretch, by a tapering projection, still further within the
circle. Beyond this curved boundary we meet only with
dwarf trees and brushwood, and fewer and fewer of these
till only moss is seen, and this at length covered exten-
sively w^ith snow, till finally we reach the region of per-
petual snow enclosed within the embrace of a frozen
ocean.
In the Government of Archangel there is an area of
30,312,002 deciatins of forests, of which 38,549,270 dec,
belong to the Crown, equivalent to 46 dec. of forests, or
43.2 dec. of Crown forests to eveiy square verst. The
annual fellings in the Crov/n forests yield 1.2 cubic feet,
and the revenue is 0.2 kopecs per deciatin.
In the Government of Olonetz the area of forests is
11,461,00 deciatins, of which 10,497,250 dec. belong to the
Crown, equivalent to 99.6 dec. of forest, or 91.2 dec. of
Crown forests per square verst. The annual fellings in
the Crown forests yield 1.2 cubic feet, and the revenue 0.2
kopecs per deciatin.
In the Government of Vologda there are 33,470,000
deciatins of forests, of which 39,346,037 belong to the
Crown, equivalent to 95 dec. of forest, or 86.2 dec. of
Crown forests per square verst. The annual fellings in
the Crown forests yield 2.7 cubic feet, and the revenue is
1.1 kopec per deciatin.
A description of one of the forests, superadded to the
descriptions which have been given of the forest lands of
these Governments^ may suflQce to convey a general idea
what may be seen in these.
Of the forest estate of Vuig Mr Judrae gives the follow-
FLORA. 177
ing account : — ' The Viiig forest estate covers an area of
530,000 deciatins. It lies to N.N.E. of the district of
Povonetz, and in its northern part it abuts on the Govern-
ment of Archangel. Within its area there are about 2100
inhabitants of both sexes, so that there are more than 250
deciatins for each person. The soil of this estate is sand
in some places it is damj) and covered with a deep layer of
moss ; and there are a great many bogs, marshes, and
small lakes in low-lying places ; but withal there are along-
side of these dry meadows and undulating ridges, and even
hills of rock, consisting of granite and other primitive for-
mations, partly covered with drift-sand and partly bare ;
stones cover the ground everywhere. The climate is very
severe ; there is scarcely any spring ; sometimes in the end
of May the lakes and rivers are free of ice ; and after that
the heat sets in with scarcely an intervening period.
'The absence of darkness during the summer, and, in
consequence of this, the greater and continuous action of
the solar rays, allows of continuous vegetation ; and growth
proceeds very rapidly. ^But even at mid-summer, with
the constant north winds, there are frequent frosts. The
grain ripens in August, and by the end of that month
autumn begins. The first snow falls generally in October,
but sometimes it does not till November ; and not till this
month, and sometimes not till the month of December, do
the lakes freeze. The lateness of the freezing of the lakes
is attributed to the autumn being warm in places adjacent
to the ocean. ^The prevailing winds, partly in autumn
and in winter, are northern : the midnight or mid-winter
wind blowing from the N.N.E. These winds are very con-
stant and continuous. In consequence of the abundance
of waters and woods, the difference between the tempera-
ture of the day and night is very considerable in summer.
Frequently after a hot day, there is so much frost during
the night that in the marshes the water freezes.
* All of these peculiarities, characteristic as they are of
the soil and of the climate, could not fail to have an influ-
ence on vegetable and animal life there, and give au
N
ITS THE.FOKEST LANDS OF KOETHIIiK EUSSIA.
impress to the occupations, manners, and mode of life of
the population.
' With animal life in this country I am but little
acquainted, having given little attention to zoology ; but
researches devoted to the fauna, and more especially to
the fishes of this district, could not fail to bring to light ,
many interesting facts. There is one kind of fish called
the irdea, belonging principally, if not exclusively, to these
northern lakes, which has not had its natural history
studied, or been itself scientifically described. Amongst
herbivorous animals, the foremost places must be assigned
to the elk and deer, and to the brown bear, and perhaps to
the wild boar. Besides these in the woods, wolves, foxes,
and hares are met with, and water-fowl, but no flies or
fleas !
' The Vuig forests consist mainly of pines, firs, birches,
aspens, the mountain ash, hoary-leaved alder {Alnus incana)
elder, dwarf birch {Betula nana), and some dwarf willows,
cherry trees, honeysuckle, the sloe, and the wild rose. Of
the suffruticose bushes, which constitute what may be
called an under-covering of the soil, the following are met
with — blaeberries, cranberries or Brousniha, crowberries,
stone brambles, &c., and the groimd is almost everywhere
covered with marsh moss {Sphagnum palustris), or reindeer
moss {Cladonia rangiferina) ; the former on marsh or bog
land, and low damp places, forming a layer of great depth ;
the second covering higher lying places, hills, and fre-
quently growing on bare granite. Sometimes along with
the sphagnum there grows another moss called Kijkum, or
flax.'
Mr Judrae did not meet with any hardy or broad-leaved
tree besides those named, although there is reason to
believe that some grow in the northern part of an adjacent
district. From the result of his inquiries at the peasants,
he was satisfied that there were none here, as they seemed
to have no idea of such trees as he described. ' For the
first appearance of such,' says he, 'they must be looked
for in the eastern, not in the northern, part of the Govern-
FLORA. 179
ment of Olonetz. They have been found in the districts o
Pondoj and Kargopol, lying t(^ the east, and under a lower
latitude than the forest of Viiig.
* On becoming acquainted with the distribution of differ-
ent kinds of trees in these forests, ^ve come unconsciously
to the conclusion that the true primitive and aboriginal
trees must have been the pines and firs. Broad-leaved
trees appear as if by chance accident in places which have
been burned, or which have been otherwise cleared, and
having once gained a footing, they have in a time more or
less protracted at length gained the mastery over the coni-
fers. The distribution of the conifers, I have had the
opportunity of obsei'ving on so many estates, under so
many varying conditions, that I cannot but make this bold
deduction."'^
* Wherever the birch comes into collision with the pine,
the latter, having a less rapid growth and comparatively
limited means of reproduction, gives place to its more
favourably conditioned competitor for possession of the
ground. I once had an opportunity, while in charge of a
forest estate in another Government further to the south,
of noting the progress of this death-struggle between
different kinds of trees. Over an area of 1000 deciatins,
birch trees, along with a smaller proportion of aspens, have
in forty years entirely superseded the pine, though within
the memory of the older inhabitants their place was occu-
pied by large pine trees, and I must add that the soil was
not particularly good for the grosvth of birch ; but in this
case nature was aided by the unwise way in which the
pine trees were cut down.
' On the Yuig estate the process is not perceptible, but
nevertheless it is going on, though very slowly. I a the
neighbouring villages one sees more of the birch and
aspen than in those parts of the forest which are less
* My difficulty is to account, in accordance with this supposition, for the presence of
seeds of broad-leaved trees in the ^I'ound. In Finland I found the opinion existing that
the seeds had not been lyings dormant there, but had been blown thither after the coni-
fere had been burnetl. But I am not satisfied that it is so. — J. C. B.
ISO THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
populous. This is in accordance with the view I have
advaijced, that in the struggle for existence these broad-
leaved trees always remain master of the field, wherever
man begins to destroy the primitive forest.
* The forests are virgin forests, but these virgin forests
cannot be compared with the luxuriant v(3getation of the
tropical forests, where the favourable condition of soil calls
forth a proper growth, which, unchecked, makes the equa-
torial forests unapproachable by anj'thing seen here, where
on the contrary, there is a poor soil and a severe climate.
These make growth a slow process ; and, on the other
hand, storms, gales, frosts, and fires destroy an immense
number of trees, which with difficulty have attained in the
course of centuries considerable size. Under ruins of
forests thus produced there frequently accumulates water,
creating marshes, which are met with in every direction.
I Everywhere in traversing these forests one meets with
fallen decaying trees, overturned by stomis, or reduced
near the ground by fires. Everywhere are these met with ;
and everywhere also are seen masses of stones and bare
granite boulders, while peat and moss bogs cover exten-
sive areas, in a word, it may be said, moss and lichens,
bogs, stones, fallen wood — these are the characteristic
features of the Northern forest. The virgin forests of the
tropics are characterised by profuse and luxuriant vegeta-
tion ; those of the Polar regions are the products of nature
which here is poor, and often destroys her own progen}^ in
their early or unspent life, and provides but little nourish-
ment for them as they grow up, and accordingly we find
in the forests of Vuig that tlie growth of trees is slow. A
pine tree does not attain its exploitable maturity of ten
vershoks in thickness at a height of ten arschins, or 23^
feet from the ground in less than from 150 to 170 years,
and a critical age with the trees appears to be that extend-
ing from 50 to SO years. Trees of larger dimensions are
generally trees of from 800 to 350 years' growth ; but
these have often such defects as unfit them for use.
Defective trees, which are extensively disseminated over
FLOllA. 181
these forests, may have these defects attributed generally
to one or other of two causes — 1, External injury from firo,
wind, frost, &c. ; 2, Imperfect growth from the hard, stony
soil, preventing the full and regular development of roots.
' The following are defects which I have frequently
observed : trees broken by the weight of snow, or killed
partially or completely by frost; trees with stag-horned
crowns, often the consequence of fires; trees split through-
out their entire lens^th, the effect of their haviuQ- been
bent by the wind ; trees with knots of different kinds,
each of which has its local name; trees rotten or decayed
in the heart. The last-mentioned defect is often mani-
festly traceable to injury sustained by the tap root. The
defect, however, is not such as Avill make the forester or
the trader reject the tree ; very often it does not penetrate
far up into the tree, and with the lower portion of the
trunk sawn off, the remainder is faultless.
' From what has been stated, it may be seen that these
woods do not present us with exhaustless treasures, as
many rashly think. We are not merely consuming the
annual produce, or a justifiable percentage on our
capital ; but, on the contrary, we are destroying and using
up capital which nature has, with immense labour, accumu-
lated in the course of many centuries.
* In regard to official work, I may state that this con-
sists in selecting and designating districts for all forest
operations. Under the name of Vuig forests are now
included all the forests lying on the river Vuig and its
affluents. The principal terms of sale are the following :
' 1. They include pine wood from the forest estates of the
Government of Archangel, in the district of Kem, and also
from the forest estates of the Government of Olonetz, in
the district of Polonetz, on the declivity towards the White
Sea.
' 2. The contractor is bound to prepare, in the course o€
fifteen years, not less than 450,000 or more than 750,000
logs, from 10 to 16 arschins, 23J to 37J feet long, and of
the thickness of six or more vershocks.
1S2
TEE FOEEST LANDS OF NOETHERN RUSSIA.
' 3. The wood so prepared may be exported, and the
contractor has liberty to erect sawmills, to build ships, to
navigate the same on the White Sea, and to erect his own
wharfs.
' The Vuig forest being of great extent, and not having
heretofore produced any revenue, it is now of great
importance.'
The Russian term for a forest is Metsa ; for a wood,
Finta.
The following are the names of some of the common
trees in Russ Endish : —
English.
Ash,
Euss.
Yaseen.
Alder,
Olha.
Apple, .
Aspen, .
Beech, .
Yablone.
Oseena.
Book.
Birch.
Bereza.
Cherry, .
Chestnut,
Beeshna.
Kashtan.
Elder, .
Buseena.
Elm,
Fir,
Vyass.
Hanka,
Mountain Ash,
Rabcena.
Oak,
Doob.
Pear,
Grushna.
Plane,
Yavor.
Sycamore,
Willow,
Leekaya.
Eva.
The Russian vershok is equal to about If inches ; the
arshin to about 28 inches j the sajeen - 7 feet ; the deci-
tin = 60 X 40, or 2,400 square sajeens, or 2*69972 English
acres ; a verst = two-thirds of a mile.
Section III.— Classified List of Plants.
The following is a list of plants found in the vicinity of
Lake Onega,, supplied to me by Forst-Meister Alexander
K. Guenther, of Petrozavodsk, in charge of State Forests
in the district : —
FLOHA. 1S3
Phanerogams.
Angiosperms — Dicotyledons.
Ranunculaceae. — Atragene alpina L. Thalictrum aqui-
legiaefolium L. T. llavum L. T. angustifolium L. T,
simplex L. ADemone nemorosa L. A. ranunculoides L.
Myosurus minimus L. Ranunculus polyanthemos L. R.
repens L. E.. acris L. R. auricomus L. R. cassubicus
L. R. lingua L. R. flammula L. R. reptans L. R.
sceleratus L. Batrachium trichophyllum Cliaix. B. (con-
fervoides Fr. var?) adniixtum W. Nyl. Ranunculus aqua-
tilis, var. succulentus Koch? R. confusum Gren et Godr.,
R. heteropliyllum Fr. R. var. peltatum Fr. R. flac-
cida Trtv. R. capillacea D. C. Ficaria ranunculoides
Fr. Galtha palustris L. Trollius europaeus L. Aqui-
leqia vulgaris L. Delphinium consolida L. D. elatum
Aconitum septentrionale Kolle. Actaea spicata L.
Nymphaeaceae, — Nymphaea alba L. N. var. minor D.
C. Nuphar luteum, Sm. N. intermedium Ledeb. N.
pumilum D. C.
Papaveraceae. — Chelidonium majus L.
Fumariaceae. — Corydalis solida Sm. Fumaria officinalis
L.
Cruciferae. — Nasturtium amphibium L. N. palustre
D. C. Barbarea stricta Fr. Arabis sagittata D. C. Tur-
ritis glabra L. Cardamine pratensis L. C. amara L.
Sisymbrium sophia L. S. thalianum Gay. Erysim-um
cheiranthoides L. E. hieraciifolium L. Brassica campes-
tris L. Farsetia incana L. Draba memorosa L, Came-
lina sativa Fr. C. foetida Fr. Subularia aquatica L.
Capsella bursa pastoris Monch. Thlaspi arvense L. Lepi-
dium ruderale L, "^^Neslia paniculata L. Bunias orientalis
L. Raphanus raphanistrum L.
Droseraceae. — Drosera longifolia L. D. rotundifolia L.
Parnassia palastris L.
Violaceae, — Viola palustris L. V. epipsila Ledeb. V.
umbrosa Fr. V. collina Bess. V. mirabilis L. V.
184 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
sylvatica Fr. V. arenaria D. C. V. canina L. V.
tricolor L. Y. var. arvensis Murr.
Pol ij galeae. — Polygala amara L.
Silenaceae. — Dianthus superbus L. D, deltoides L.
Gypsopbila muralis L. Silene inflata Sm. S. nutans L.
S. tatarica Pers. Melandrium vespertinum Fr. Lychnis
viscaria L. L. flos-cuculi L. Ao^rostemma saceae. — Trichera arvensis Schrad. Succisa pratensis
Mbnch.
C'oTWjwstVeae,— Tussilago farfara L. Petasites frigida Fr.
Solidago virgaarea L. Erigeron acris L. E. MuUeri
Lund. Inula salicina L. I. helenium L. Bideus
tripartita L. B. cernua L. Filago montana L. Anten-
naria dioica L. Gnaphalium sylvaticum L. G. uligno-
186 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
siam L. Artemisia vulgaris L. A. absinthium L. Tana-
cctum vulgare L. Achillea millifolium L. A. ptarmica
L. A. cartilegiuea Ledeb. Anthemis arvensis L. A.
tinctoria L. Pyrethrum corymbosum Willd. Matricaria
iuodora L. Crysanthemum leucaothemum L. Senecio
vulocaris L. Li^ularia sibirica Cass. Cirsium lanceolatura
Scop, C pakistre Scop. C. oleraceum Scop. C.
lieterophyllum Scop. C. arvense Scop. Carduus crispus
L. Lappa tomentosa Lam. L. minor D. C. Carlina
vulgaris L. Saussurea alpina D. C. Centaurea jacea L.
C. phrygia L. C. scabiosa L. C. cyanus L. Lapsana
communis L. Leontodon autumnalis L. L. hispidus L,
Var. vulgaris Ascher, Yar. hastilis L. Picris hieracioides
L. ilypochaeris maculata L. Taraxacum officinale Web.
Mukedium sibiricum Less. Sonchus arvensis L. S.
oleraceus L. S. asper L. Crepis tectorum L. C.
biennis L. C. paludosa Monch. C. sibirica L. Hiera-
cium pilosello L. H. auricula L. H. Blyttii Fr. H.
flammeum Fr. H. jDraealtum Vill. H. dubium L. H.
cymosum var. pubescens Lindl. H. murorum L. H.
caesium Fr. H. bifidum Kit. H. vulgatum Fr. H.
praenanthoides, Till. H. umbellatum L.
Lobeliaceae. — Lobelia Dortmanna L.
Campanulaceae. — Campanula giomerata L. C. cervicaria
L. C. latifolia L. C. ranunculoides L. C. rotundi-
folia L. C. persicifolia L. C. patula L.
Vaccinieae. — Vaccinium uliginosum L. V. myrtillus L.
V. vitis idaea L. Oxycoccus palustris Pers. 0. micro-
carpus Turcz.
Ericineae. — Arctostaphylos uva-ursi L. Andromeda poli-
folia L. Cassandra calyculata Don. Calluna vulgaris
Salisb. Ledum palustre L.
Pyrolaceae.—Vy voldi uniflora L. P. rotundifolia L.
P. chlorantha Sw. Pyrola media Sw. P. minor L.
P. secunda L. Monotropa multiflora Scop.
Gentianeae. — Menyanthes trifoliata L. Gentiana ama-
rella L.
Polemoniaceae. — Pulemonium coeruleum L. P. pul-
chellum Bunge.
FLORA. 187
Convolvulaceae. — Convolvulus arvensis L. Cuscuta euro-
paca L.
Boragineae. — Lycopsis arvensis L. Lithospermum arvense
L. Palmonaria officinalis L. Myosotis palustris With.
M. lingulata Lehm. M. Stricta Link.
Lahiata. — Mentha arvensis L. Lycopus europaens L.
Origanum vulgare L. Thymus serpyllum L. Calamintha
aoinos Clairv. Clinopodium vulgare L. Scutellaria
galericulata L. Prunella vulgaris L. Glechoma herder-
aceum L. Dracocephalum Ruyschiana L. D. thymi-
florum L. Stachys sylvatica L. S. palustris L.
Leonurus cardiaca L. Galeopsis ladanum L. G.
versicolor Curt. G. tetrahit L. Lamium album L, L.
purpureum L. L. amplexicaule L. Ajuga reptans L.
Solaneae.. — Solanum dulcamara L. Hyosciamus niger L.
Scrophularineae. — Verbascum thapsus L. V. nigrum L.
Scrophularia nodosa L. Linaria vulgaris Mill. Veronica
longifolia L. Y. officinalis L. V. beccabunga L.
V. chamaedrys L. V. Scutellata L. V. serpyllifolia L.
V. arvensis L. V. verna L. Limosella aquatica L.
Odontites rubra Pers. Euphrasia officinalis L. R,hinan-
thus major Ehrh. K. minor Ehrh. Pedicularis palustris
L. P. sceptrum-carolinum Melampyrum cristatum L.
M. nemorosum L. M. pratense L. M. sylvaticum L.
LentihulaMaceae. — Utricularia vulgaris L. U. intermedia
Hayn. U. minor L. Pinguicula vulgaris L.
Primulaceae. — Androsace filiformis Retz. Primula offi-
cinalis L. Trientalis europaea L. Lysimachia vulgaris L.
L. thyrsiflora L. L. nummularia L.
Plcmtagineae. — Plantago major L. P. media L. P.
lanceolata L.
Polygoneae. — Rumex maritimus L. Rumex hippolapa-
thum Fr. R. domesticus Hartm. R. acetosa L. R.
acetosella L. Polygonum bistorta L. P. viviparum L.
P. amphibium L. P. lapathifolium L. P. persicaria.
L. P. minus Huds. P. hydropiper L. P. aviculare
L. P. convolvulus L. P. dumetorum L.
Chenopodeae. — Chenopodium album L. Blitum glaucum
L. B. rubrum Rchb. Atriplex patula L.
ISS THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Thymeleac. — Daphne mezereum L.
Eiiipetreae. — Empetrum nigrum L.
EupJwrhiaceae. — Euphorbia helioscopia L.
Urticeae. — Urtica urens L. U. dioica L. Humulus
lupulus L.
Uiniaceae. — Ulmus montana Sm. U. effusa Willd.
Salicineae. — Populus tremula L. Salix pentandra L.
S. amygdalina L. S. lapponum L. S. caprea L. S.
cinerea L. S. aurita L. S. depressa L. S. rosmari-
nitblia L. S. myrtilloides L. S. nigricans Sm. S.
rcpens L. S. phylicifolia L. S. myrsinites L.
Betulaceae. — Betula verrucosa Ehrh. B. glutinosa WaUr.
B. fruticosa Pall. B. intermedia Thorn. B. nana L.
Alnus incana Willd. A. pnbescens Taush. A. glutinosa
Willd.
MOXOCOTYLEDONES.
Hydrocharideae. — Stratiotes aloides L. Hydrocharis mor-
sus-ranae L.
Alismaceae. — Alisma plantago L. Saggittaria sagittae-
folia L. S. alpina W. Butomus umbellatus L.
luncagineae. — Scheuchzeria palustris L. Triglochin
palustre L.
Potameae. — Botamogeton natans L. P. rufescens
Schrad. P. gramineus L. P. f. helerophyllus Schreb.
P. lucens L. P. perfoliatus L. P. mucronatus Schrad.
P. obtusifolius M. et K. P. pusillus L. P. rutilus
Wolfg. P. pectinatus L. P. marinus L.
Naiadeae. — Naias flexilis Rostk.
Lemnaceae. — Lemna trisulca L. L. polyrrhiza L. L.
minor L.
Ariodeae. — Calla palustris L.
Typhaceae. — Typha angustifolia L. Sparganium ramo-
sum Huds. S. simplex Huds. S. fluitans Fr. S
natans L. S. minimum Fr.
Orchideae. — Orchis maculata L. O. var. angustifolia
Hartm. 0. Traunsteineri Saut. 0. var. curvifolia W.
FLORA. 189
Nyl. 0. latifolia L. 0. incarnata L. Gymnadenia
conopsea L. Coeloglossiim viriJe Hartm. Platantbera
bifolia Rchnb. Opbrys myodes L, Epipogium apbyllum
Gm. Epipactis latifolia Sw. E. atrorubens Hoffm. E.
palustris Crantz. Listera ovata R. Br. L. cordata R.
Neottia Didus-avis Eicb. Goodyera repens R. Br. Malaxis
paludosa Sw. M. monopbyllos Sw. Corrallorrbiza innata
R. Br. Calypso borealis Salisb. Cypripedium calceolus
L.
Irideae. — Iris pseudacorus L.
Asparageae. — Paris quadrifolia L. Maiantbemum bifo-
lium D. C. Convallaria majalis L. C. polygonatum L.
Liliaceae. — Gagea minima Scbulz. Allium oleraceum L.
Do. scboenoprasum L.
Nartheciaceae. — Tofieldia borealis Wblnb.
Juncaceae. — Juncus conoflomeratus L. J. filiformis L.
J. alpinus Vill. J. compressus lacq. J. bofonius L.
J. stygias L. Liizula pilosa L. L. multiflora Lej.
L. var. pallescens Wblnb.
Cyperaceae. — Scboenus ferruginens L. Rbyncbospora
alba Vahl. Scirpus palustris L, S. acicularis L. S.
caespitosa L. S. pauciflorus Ligbtf. S lacustris L.
S. sylvaticus L. Eriopborum alpinum L. E. vaginatum
L. E. angustifolium L. EriojDborum latifolium Hoppe.
E. gracile Koch. Carex dioica L. C. capitata L. C.
pauciflora Ligbtf. C. cbordorrbiza Ebb. C. teretius-
cula Good. C. paradoxa Willd. C. stellulata Good.
C. leporina L. C. beleonastes Ehrb. C. canescens L.
C. loliacea L. C. tenella Scbk. C. vulgaris Fr. C.
uncella Fr. C. caespitosa L. C. stricta Good. C.
acuta L. C. Buxbaumii Wblnb. C. irrigua Sm. C.
limosa L. C. ericetorum Poll. C. globularis L. C.
digitata L. C. sparsiflora Wbnb. C. pallescens L.
C. capillaris L.- C. Oederi Ehrb. C. flava L. C.
filiformis L. C. vesicaria L. C. ampullacea Good.
Gramineae. — Anthoxanthum ordoratum L. Hierachloa
borealis Scbrad. Digrapbis arundinacea Trin. Alopecurus
geniculatus L. A. fulvus Sm. Settaria viridis P. B.
190 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Phleum pratense L. S. alpinum L. Milium effusura L.
Agrostis stolonifera L. A. vulgaris With. A. can-
ina L. A. spica-venti L. Calamagi'ostis arundinacea
Roth. C. epigeios Roth. C. phragmitoides Hartm.
C. lanceolata Roth. C. stricta Hartm. Phragmites
communis Trin. Melica nutans L. Aira flexuosa L.
A. caespitosa L. Fluminia arundinacea Fr. Enodinm
coeruleum Gaud. Glyceria remota Fr. G. spectabilis
M. K. Glyceria fluitans R. Br. Poa annua L. P. alpina
L. P. nemoralis L. P. trivialis L. P. sudetica
Haenke. P. pratensis L. Briza media L. Bromus
arvensis L. B. secalinus L. Scolochloa festucacea Link
Dactylis glomerata L. Festuca ovina L. F. rubra L,
F. elatior L. Lolium perenne L. Elymus arenarius L
Triticum repens L. T, caninum Schreb. Nardus stricta
L.
Gymnospermae.
Ahietineae. — Pinus Cembra L. P. sylvestris L. P.
abies L. P. var. medioximae W. Nyl. Larix sibirica
Ledeb.
Cu2:tressin€ae. — Juniperis communis L.
Cryptogamae.
Equisetaceae. — Equisetum arvense L. E. pratense Ehrh.
E. syivaticum L. E. limosum L. E. hieraale L. E.
scorpioides Michx. E. variegatum Schleich.
Mai'siliaceae. — Isoetes lacustris L. I. echinospora Dur.
Lycopodiaceae. — Lycopodium selago L. L. annotinum
L. L. clavatum L. L. compianatum L. Selaginella
spinulosa Al. Br.
Opdioglossaceae. — Botrychium lunaria Sw. B. lanceo-
latum Gm. B. virginianum Sw.
Polypodiaceae. — Polypodium vulgare L. P. phegopteris
L. P. Dryopteris L. P. Robertianum Hoffm. Woodsia
ilvensis R. Br. P. hyperborea R. Br. Cystopteris fragilis
Bernh. Polystiohum thelypteris Sm. P. filix-mas Roth.
FLORA. 191
P. cristatiim Sw. Aspidium spinulosum Sw. Asplenium
filix femina Sni. A. crenatum Fr. A. trichomanes L.
A. viride Hiids. A. ruta-muraria L. A. septentrional e
Hoffm. Pteris aquilina L. Struthiopteris germanica
Willd.
Mr Guenther, in a pamphlet entitled Materialee K. Flora
Ohonechshago Kran^ has supplied a good deal of information
in regard to the distribution and natural history of many of
the plants, and he has referred to the following notices as
supplying more : —
(1.) W. Nylandei\ Collectanea in Floram Karelicam p.
109. Continuatio p. 183 (in Noii&er ur JcillskajMs pro fauna
et flora Fennica, pars II., 1852.)
(2.) J, P. Norrlin, Om Onega-Karelens vegetation 1871.
(3.) J, P. Norrlin, Flora Kareliae Onegensis, par. I.
(4.) J. P, Norrlin, Flora Kareliae Onegensis, par. II. (in
Meddelanden Societas pro fauna et flora Fennica 1876.)
(5.) Fred Elfving, Anteckningar om vegetationen kring
floden Svir, p. 113 (in Meddelanden Societas pro fauna et
flora Fennica, 1878.)
Section IV. — Vegetation in Lapland.
In Lapland, as has been mentioned, ' Wahlenberg's
edi\i\o\i oi i\\Q Flora Lapponica describes 1087 species of
plants found in Lapland, more than double the number
observed hy Linnoeus. Of this number only 496^ are
perfect plants ; the remaining 591 are cryptogamous. Of
grasses there are 102 species; of algae, 55 ; of fungi, 94 ;
of musci, 200 ; and of lichens, 207. Of the perfect plants,
the snowy Alps contain Oy species; the subalpine region,
125 ; and the woody region, about 313. Of trees
(reckoning the salices) there are 26 kinds ; consisting of
the Scotch fir, spruce fir, birch, alder, poplar, mountain
ash, bird-cherry, and nineteen species of willows. There
are no fruit trees in the country, but a variety of berries
are spontaneously produced, such as black currants, rasp-
192 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHREN RUSSIA.
berries, crowberries, juniper-berries, bilberries, and the
Norwegian mulberry, which grows upon a creeping plant,
and is greatly esteemed as an antiscorbutic* In the
gardens towards the south are raised cresses, spinach,
onions, leeks, chives, orache, red cabbage, radishes, mus-
tard ; currants, barberries, elder-berry; wild -rose, colum-
bines, rose-cam pioDS, carnations, sweet-williams ; potatoes
about the size of jDoppy-heads ; French beans, broad beans,
and tobacco when carefully managed ; but neither white
cabbage nor pease come to any perfection ; and apples,
pears, plums, and cherries scarcely grow at all, though cul-
tivated with the greatest attention. The most abundant
native vegetables are sorrel, which is of great service on
account of its antiscorbutic properties ; angelica, which is
highly relished as an article of food ; and the lichen rangi-
ferinus, which furnishes the chief subsistence of the rein-
deer during winter, and which the Laplanders frequently
boil in broth for their own use. Of the indigenous fruits,
the most delicious is the berry of the rubus articus ; which,
when sufficiently ripened, is said to be superior in fragrance
and flavour to the finest raspberries or strawberries. A
small plateful fills an apartment with a more exquisite
scent than the finest perfumes ; and it is preserved in
Sweden as one of the finest sweetmeats.'
On the tundra, land between the forest zone and the sea
we find where the soil is pretty dry that lichens abound j,
on moister land these are varied with the Iceland moss.
and in the southern stretches this is succeeded by grasses,
crnciters, saxifrages, carophyls, and compositae and marsh
plants varying the scene, but it is a dreary waste.
In Swedish Lapland there ripen rye, barley, the rasp-
berry, the strawberry, the red gooseberry, the cowberry,
and whortleberry, and the delicious Arctic bramble {Ruhus
tircticus) ; but neither fruit trees^ wheat, or pease come to
maturity.
* The plants on the western part of Lapland, towards the sea, are analogous to those
of Scotland and Iceland ; while the most abundant productions of Swedish Lapland
more nearly resemble those of Siberia.
FLORA. 193
Section V. — Palaeontological Botany.
By the study of debris of vegetation found preserved
from ancient times in peat bogs, much may be learned in
regard to the state of the earth and the climate, in the
place of their production, at the time of their growth;
and thus may much be learned in regard to the state of
the earth in these localities in times long preceding what
is called the historic period, or that in regard to which we
have notices, more or less explicit, preserved in historical
records, and it may be long anterior to the times in which
these records were made, and to earlier times to which these
records may allude ; and by the study of fossil plants
much may in like manner be learned in regard to the
state of the world in even pre-adamic times, in times
much more remote from the present than the so-called
tertiary and post-tertiary periods of the geologist. By the
study of these we may be carried back to what may seem
to be the beginning of the creation of the organic struc-
tures, vegetable and animal, with which the earth is now
clothed and peopled.
Through including within the range of our observation
and study the outlying islands of Nova Zembla and the
lands beyond, we have been introduced to a region which,
according to the rules of study in palaeontology, has been
— or, if it be required of us to speak more guardedly — may
have been that first site of vegetation upon the earth, from
which it w^ent forth to multiply and replenish the earth as
man went forth from his first home to fulfil what was his
mission in the providence of God ; and the facts upon
which this conclusion is based will be found well deserving
of consideration.
Large and valuable collections of fossils found in the
Polar regions have been made. These have been studied
with much care and attention by students of fossil plants,
and pre-eminently by Dr Oswald Heer, Professor of
o
194 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Botany in the University of Zurich, and Director of the
Botanic Garden in that city, whose decease we now deplore,
and of the importance of whose work it is impossible to
speak in too high terms. ^ Feeble in body, bedridden for
years, but indefatigable in despite of his infirmities, apply-
ing his clear vision and his extensive and varied know-
ledge to the pursuit of an object, the great value of wliich
was apparent to him from the commencement of his inves-
tigations, he has become like the Pole, the covered secrets
of which he has unveiled — the immobile point towards
which, during the last ten years and more, have gravi-
tated the pioneers of the North, the illustrious navi-
gators, the skilled explorers, men of science, and men of
action — when occasion called for it, men of suffering — who
have traversed in all directions the Arctic solitudes, to
survey their coasts, to search into their cliffs, to sound
their depths, and lastly, to bring back as trophies cases of
fossils and minerals, which have become the possession of
the museums of Dublin, of London, of Copenhagen, and of
Stockholm, but at the cost of unceasing deeds of courage.'
Such are the terms in which he is spoken of by one who
has followed him in his special studies.
Results of these studies have been embodied by him in
a work entitled Die Fossile Flora der Polarlaender .
We may find our interest in a story marred by our
being told by another, whilst we are engaged in reading it,
what is the plot and what is the issue of it ; but I believe
it will be otherwise if I pause to state what are the con-
clusions at which Dr Heer arrived from the study of
these and other fossils, and indicate the course of reasoning
by which these conclusions have been attained. His con-
clusions, stated briefly, are, that vegetation may have first
made its appearance in the vicinity of the North Pole, and
thence spread southwards towards the southern hemi-
sphere: the indications of this having been the case
being, amongst others, these: remains of plants, more
especially of arborescent plants and trees, similar to those
FLORA. 195
of which remains have been found in tho Arctic regions,
have been found occurriiifj asfain and ag^ain in the direction
indicated, and this up to the Equator, if not beyond it.
These occur in deposits of the same antiquity everywhere,
and with only such modifications as can be most satisfac-
torily accounted for on the supposition that the first
appearance of the type was in the Polar regions. The
modifications are such as altered conditions of growth
mio^ht induce — it beino- more in accordance with what is
known of the laws of morphology to suppose the tropical
form of the plant to be a modification of the polar one,
than the polar form of the plant to be a modification of
the tropical one.
With this exposition of the matter I resume my state-
ments : — ' The discoveries so happily brought to a focus
by Dr Heer,' writes Count Saporta, ' have been acquired
for science by the successive efforts of a multitude of
travellers and at a cost of unheard of fatigue. Many of
the treasures, after having been examined, or even after
having been collected and carried off by force of arms, it
was found necessary to abandon in whole or in part. Dr
Heer cites the collections of Nierstsching in the seas about
Behring's Straits, of Dr Armstrong, of Sir L. M'Clintock
at Melville Island and Prince Patrick Island, and those of
Dr Kane in Greenland, as having been of necessity
abandoned. But others have been more happy. The
American Arctic archipelago has furnished not only coal
plants, collected by Sir L. M'Clintock in Melville Island
and Bathurst Island, and deposited by him in the museum
of Dublin ; but this museum has also received from
Captain Maclure cones and fossil woods from Banks' Land.
The British Museum possesses fossil plants of a locality
near the Polar Circle, situated on the 65th° of North lati-
tude, near the mouth of the Mackenzie River, collected
by Dr Richardson. The Alaska Territory in America,
which formerly belonged to Russia, has supplied its con-
tingent. Specimens published by Dr Heer, collected by a
Finlander M. Hjalmar Turuhjelm, of Helsingfors, is only
196 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
a small portion of the original collection, lost in the wreck
of the vessel by which they were being conveyed — some
supplied from the isle of Kugu, near Sitka or New Arch-
angel—others from Cook's Bay on the peninsula of Alaska,
080 and 59'^ of North latitude. The fossil plants of Iceland
have been principally collected by Professor Strenstrup of
Copenhagen; they belong, like those of Alaska and of
the Mackenzie River, to localities situated beyond the
Polar Circle, bat too close to that limit to forbid that one
should seek to utilise them in a work of so comprehensive
a character.
' With regard to the carboniferous flora of Bear Island,
Professor Heer has received, through the medium of the
Academy of St. Petersburg, rich collections of Siberian
fossil plants, some come from the Island Sakhalin, at the
mouth of the river Amour on the east coast of Manchooria ;
others are Jurassic plants from the Government of Irkutsk.
These are, it is true, stations situated well beyond the
Polar Circle, towards the 55th° of North latitude, in nearl}'
the same parallel as Dantzic and Copenhagen, but the
ancient flora of them should contribute necessarily to
clear up vividly the history of Polar vegetation, properly
so called.
'The two countries in the northern region which are the
most rich in fossil plants are Greenland and Spitzbergen.
The ancient ve^-etable wealth of these centres is indicated
by the numerous beds of coal which have been met with,
and have repeatedly been exploited, on the places which are
accessible ; they belong to many epochs, and consequently
they mark the repetition of the same phenomena through
an extent of successive ages. The characteristics of the
Polar land strikes forcibly the observer who seeks to exploit
them as a geologist ; on the one hand the ground dis-
appears almost everywhere as one goes to a distance from
the coast, under a thick layer of ice, which limits access
to the interior to a few kilometres ; on the other hand,
the reefs, the declivities, the high beaches, and the precipi-
tous summits of the litoral zone^ wherever the action of
FLOE A. 101
glaciers lias left them exposed and devoid of vegetable
earth, show naked their imcovered skeleton, and enable us
to follow with invaluable distinctness all the details of
stratification and superposition, which are sometimes so
difficult to verify on the continent covered with alluvial
deposits, and upturned by cultivation.
* In Greenland, it is especially on the Island of Disco and
along the coast stretching to the peninsula of Noursoak,
that are situated the principal beds, towards the 70th^ of
North latitude, a little south of Upernavik, on the western
coast of the region. It is there that Captain Inglefield,
and Lieutenant Colomb, his second in command, on the
return of their expedition in quest of Franklin, and after
them Sir L. M'Clintock, and Drs Torelly and Lyell, and
in the summer of 1867 M. Whymper, made successively
their collections. These were submitted by their present
possessors to examination by Dr Heer. But an important
part of the unveiling of the Greenland plants pertains also
to the Swedish scientific expedition of 1870, and to Pro-
fessor Nordenskjoeld, of Stockholm, whose name is more
especially associated with Spitzbergen, which was visited by
him, not only in connection with the two Swedish expedi-
tions of 1868 and 1870, but previously in 1858, 1861, and
1869, and again later, in 1872.' Of this indefatigable and
successsul explorer, Count Saporta, whose statement I am
quoting, wrote inl875;— 'M. Nordenskjoeld is a young
savant, already famous, a true Frenchman of the North,
who combines with the vivacity and sympathetic amenity
of our race the spirit of thorough investigation, penetra-
tion, scientific erudition, and perseverance of purpose, in
which we are too often deficient. Familiar with the
nature of the North, struggling against it and subduing
it, not without an effort, he has explored, at the risk of
life, a land bristling with ice-peaks, almost inaccessible,
but from which he has known how to bring back cargoes
of minerals and of fossils. Thanks to him and to MM.
Malmgren, Torrel, and others, the past of Spitzbergen is as
well known to us as thai: of any country in Europe, it
198 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
matters not wliat that country may be. Nothing has
escaped the penetrating eye of M. Nordenskjoeld ; he has
found and collected thousands of specimens of fossil plants,
of coals of Jurassic, cretaceous, tertiary, and even of recent
production, in a desolate archipelago, which is altogether
devoid of roads, of means of transport, of means of access
to places, and almost of the possibility of living.'
Like the greater part of the lands in the extreme
north, Spitzbergen is deeply cut up ; it bristles with ice-
peaks, whence the name has been given. Besides the
principal land, which has an outline whereby that it forms
two peninsulas named respectively Eastern Spitzbergen
and Western Spitzbergen, two other lands are associated
with the first of these peninsulas : the first of these is
North-East Land, separated from Eastern Spitzbergen by
Hinlopen Straits ; the other, Wiche's Land, situated to
the south ; while separated from this by Olga Straits, and
from Spitzbergen by Stoer Fiord, is Edge Island. The
entire archipelago extends over at least four degrees, from
Cape South to the Seven Isles, almost touching the 81sto
of latitude,
* The explorations, for which we are indebted to M. Nor-
denskjoeld and the Swedish expeditions, have had prin-
cipally for their object the western coast. Along this
coast, slashed with immense bays and deep fiords, there is
no lack of fossil plants belonging to all the formations
which have been specified ; and from an examination of
these there are obtained indications of those remote lands
having formerly been continuous with Nova Zembla and
Northern Russia, if not with a vast continent stretching
from the Pole to the Equator and beyond it, and compris-
ing the lands of America as well as those of Europe and
Asia, and, it may be, Africa besides. The indications
referred to are these : —
' As the terrestrial floras belonging to each of the for-
mations which have been named, when observed at syn-
chronic points, far remote from one another, manifest
FLOKA. 199
generally a great uniformity of aspect and composition,
the conclusion is irresistible that after the emergences from
the ocean of dry land upon a considerable scale, which
followed the palaeozoic times, the Arctic lands, now cut
up into archipelagos, must have formed part of a Polar
continent of sufficient extent to allow of fresh water having
been able there to play a predominating part, and of deep
lakes and important rivers having become established
there ; and we are shut up to the conclusion that one and
the same vegetation, without other divergencies than any
arising from slight local diversities, occupied the whole
extent of this continent, under each of the ages in which
these fossils were deposited/
At an International Congress of Students of Geographi-
cal Science, which was held in Paris in the autumn of
1875, a paper on this ancient Polar vegetation, based on
the discoveries of the Swedish explorers and the Avork of
Dr Heer, was read by Count G. de Saporta.
In this paper, referring to the views advanced by
ButFon, at a time when as yet geological ideas were merely
speculative without any basis of such observations as have
since been made, in which he alleged that the earth in
cooling must have cooled most rapidly in the Polar
regions, and that lands in the extreme north ' must have
enjoyed the same temperature which is enjoyed now by
lands further to the south,'* he says that this is substan-
tially correct, though facts present themselves to geologists
differently from what they did to the mind of Butfon.
For the information of those to whom such studies may
be altogether new, and I anticipate that such there may
be amongst my readers, who may reside far from towns
and libraries containing books in which they may find
the information pre-supposed to be in possession of readers
* Button Des Epoques do la Nature ; Hist. 2fat. Gen. et Part. 1773. Suppl. T, ix»
p. 86.
200 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
of the statements which follow, I may be allowed to intro-
duce the following statements. According to what was
advanced by Laplace as a hypothesis, but which has come
to be extensively accepted as a theory, the material of
which the earth consists was once floating in space in
widely separated masses, amongst which was in operation
what is known as the force of gravitation, under the influ-
ence of which, once and again and a thousand times told,
two or more of these separate masses, reciprocally attracted,
would coalesce, and if they happened to approximate^ each
other in a line divero^infj in the slio'htest deo^ree from that
of a straight line between their centres of gravity, which
would occur in the vast — inexpressibly vast — majority of
cases, they would begin to rotate around each other in a
curve which would most likely lead to their conjunction,
when the movement would issue in a rotary motion of
the composite mass. This composite mass would in like
manner come under the reciprocal attraction of other
masses, single or composite, until the whole, or the greater
part of the whole, mass of matter within the sphere of
attraction would be condensed into a large rotating mass ;
from this as the floating mass became further condensed,
portions un the outer circumference would be thrown off
by circumfugal force, as is a stone from a sling, or drops of
water from a mop which is made to rotate rapidly; but
these again would be gathered into smaller rotating
masses, which would revolve around the central mass,
which would finally be condensed as .is the sun, while
these smaller bodies would be ccndensed as are the planets,
each rotatins^ at the distance from the sun at which it was
thrown off; and they, in the course of their condensation,
would throw off lesser masses, condensing into satellites or
moons, or into elono-ated masses, like the rino^s of Mercurv.
Again, not to do more than merely mention the pheno-
mena of volcanos, there are in many rocks appearances
which have led careful observers of them to conclude that
what is solid of the earth is a mere crust around a mass
of molten matter ; and modern science tends to show that
I^LOiRA. 201
the mere act of condensation which has been referred to,
might suffice to produce a development of heat sufficient
to have brought the whole mass into a state of fusion.
If this did happen, a film of crust would be formed
through the cooling of this mass ; and as the process of
cooling advanced this crust would become thicker and
thicker. By the combination of oxygen with hydrogen,
whencesoever these had come, and in what way soever
the combination was brought about — most probably by
fire — there came into existence an immense body of
water, probably at first in a state of invisible vapour, but
thereafter condensed into a state of mist or cloud, and
subsequently into a liquid mass constituting the ocean
now covering a great extent of the earth's surface, and at
places miles deep. By the movements of this, large por-
tions of the remaining solid mass mechanically severed,
or chemically decomposed, were carried about and ultima-
tely deposited ; but at first often to be again fused by
the heat of the molten mass enclosed in the crust ; and thus
were produced the so-called secondary or transitionary
rocks, the gneiss and schist, and metamorphic rocks, the
last named rocks to some extent crystallised or otherwise
changed by the action of fire.
The correctness of the opinion that the earth is at
present a molten mass of matter enclosed in a solid crust
has been called in question. But the granite or primitive
rock defies all attempts to penetrate it to any thing like
the depth which would enable us to determine the .fact
by observation and the thickness of this crust, if crust only
it be ; though the strata overlying this which have been
deposited from water, and afterwards fused, have been so
fractured and dislocated that the measurement of the
thickness of some of these has been proximately determined.
In these are no remains of organic structures of animal or
of vegetable origin, nor could such have been expected to
survive the fusing heat to which these strata have been
subjected ; and from the fact mentioned, however it has
been brought about, they have been characterised as azoiCi
202 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
devoid of all indications of life. With the strata super-
imposed upoQ them it is otherwise, and at this point
the subject is taken up by Count Saporta in the paper
cited.
Above the azoic strata are superimposed the Silurian^ a
desicjnation orig^inatinor with Sir Roderick Murchison,
derived from Silures, the name of an ancient tribe which
inhabited a district of country between England and
Wales, in which the rocks so designated are very distinctly
developed, but a deposit which is very widely diffused ;
the Devonian, so named because it happens to be very
extensively preserved in Devonshire, but w^hich also is
very widely diffused, and is known also as the Old Red
Sandstone, in contradistinction to a later formation desig-
nated the New Red Sandstone; the mountain limestone,
so called in contradistinction to cretaceous and chalk
deposits of a later date ; and carboniferous strata, otherwise
known as the coal measures, which are generally found
superimposed upon, but sometimes alternating with,
deposits of the mountain limestone.
hi reference to the great extent of azoic strata, gneiss,
and crystalline schists, during the deposit of which the
water still covered extensively the earth. Count Saporta
alleges that the ocean did not then present conditions
requisite for the support of animated structures even of the
lowest order ; that it must have been only in the sea, when
reduced to a temperature which, though still high, would
not coagulate albumen, that such could be expected to
appear ; that this appearance would occur in basins com-
paratively calm, suitable for the development and subse-
quent maintenance of such organisms ; that there is
nothing known at variance with the supposition of Buffon
that this must have occurred first in proximity to the
Pole ; and, moreover, that there terrestrial vegetation first
appeared, when vegetation first ceased to be exclusively
aquatic, and appeared on land still immersed in vapours,
and bathed by the tidal wave ; and he goes on to say : —
* In these the earliest formations must have been humble
FLOKA. 203
and feeble, as is tlic case with all beginnings. We cannot
tell what the temperature which first admitted of this may
have been, nor what were the first forms which presented
themselves. Coincidences which are but of rare occur-
rence would have been necessary to give us fossil remains
of that early period ; nor are all organisms capable of
leaving tangible remains. We may infer from what we
know of existing organisms, that most probably these
primitive organisms were of a soft consistency, integuments
and skeletons being the result of later development of the
primary types.
* The primitive strata, notwithstanding their thickness,
supply us with few means of studying by these fossils the
character of the few widely separated vegetables and
animals inhabiting the waters during their deposit, but
the absence of these is no proof that vital organisms were
then non-existent. There are many remarkable geological
facts which are of such a nature as to give rise to the
thought that life had its first home, if not at the Pole
itself, at least in the neighbourhood of it, and that once
developed, it remained for a long time more active and
more reproductive in the countries which border on the
Polar Circle and the higher latitudes. The most ancient
fossiliferous deposits, which are, at the same time, those
most rich in organic remains, are found comprised within
the Northern Zone. They abound, moreover, in the cold
portion of that zone, from the oOtli to the 60th degree of
North latitude, and still further to the north. We meet,
it is true, with Silurian formations in the south of Spain,
and in America, at a latitude corresponding nearly to tlie
35th degree of North latitude; but the most celebrated
localities are situated more to the north, in Bohemia, in
England, in Scandinavia, and in the United States. The
Laurentian system acquires its greatest development in
Canada ; and the palaeozoic rocks associated with crystal-
line masses cover a considerable portion of the Polar lands
which stretch away to the north of the American lakes.
It is evidently the same with the parts of the ocean widch
204 THE FOREST LANDS O'F NORTHERN RUSSIA.
begird Baffin's Bay, and one portion at least of Greenland
and of Spitzbergen. The Upper Devonian, the diflPerent
stages of the carboniferous system, especially the mountain
limestone, which represent the marine deposits immedi-
ately anterior to the era of the coal, are equally exten-
sively spread over the regions bordering on the Pole. The
Parry Archipelago, beyond the 76th degree of North lati-
tude, Bathurst Island, Spitzbergen, towards the 79th
degree of North latitude, and Bear Island, situated
between Spitzbergen and the North Cape, under 70^^ 30'
North latitude, supply repeated proofs of this, based on
the observation of the characteristic features of each of
these stages, in which nothing distinguishes either the
minerological aspect or the fossils from what they are in
Europe and in America thirty degrees further to the south.
For a long time the professor of palaeontology has
remarked that while the deposits of coal become excep-
tional in the direction of the south beyond the 35th
degree, they show themselves continuously in the north
under the highest latitudes. It must follow that the
climatic conditions, or simply the geographical ones,
belonging to the production of coal, which most observers
agree in considering as having been formed in vast peat
bogs, have not, during the carboniferous period, manifested
themselves everywhere, but only in a zone, the southern
limits of which can be traced approximately, whilst towards
the north it must stretch itself very far, and extend jDro-
bably even to the Pole.'
In the coal formations we have reached the remains of
a period subsequent to the deposit of the great bulk of
the mountain hmestone. Dr. Heer thus, in Flora Fossile
Artica (par. ii.), describes the vegetation of that age : —
' Towards the end of the Devonian period the dryland
notably increased in the northern hemisphere ; it was
there an epoch of elevation from the depth of the sea.
After this extension of continental land having proceeded
on a vast scale, there began a new period, that of the
FLORA. 205
coal formation. We have designated under the name of
Ursien stage the first sub-division of this period ; with
this coincides the appearance of the most ancient terres-
trial vegetation sufficiently rich to give us an idea of the
appearance presented by the vegetation at this primitive
epoch. This flora was perhaps in fact spread across the
northern hemisphere, both in the old and in the new
continent from 47° to 7-t^ or 75° of northern latitude ;
and everywhere it shows the same character. Everywhere
appeared the calamites racUatus which covered with its
high columnar stems the marshy lowlands, whilst it great
rhizomes penetrated everywhere into the boggy soil.
Everywhere also made themselves to be seen associated
with them the wonderful Knorria, the Lepidodendron,
with stems ramified dichotomously, and leaves united in a
compressed plume. The Cijclostigma which we find both
in the south of Ireland and in Bear Island, are also rarely
awanting in the bosom of the layers formed on an emerged
soil ; and these plants must have composed in^ part the
forests under the shade of which the Cardiopteris and
Palaeopteris stretched their stout fronds.
' This flora comprised already a pretty considerable
number of species ; and many of them showed themselves
at the same time in regions so remote from one another,
that their repeated presence warrants us to suspect the
existence of a vast continent, stretching out both into the
temperate and the arctic zone. The Russian carboniferous
region prolonged itself probably to Bear Island ; and -the
vegetation of this island would then have made an integral
part of the lower carboniferous flora of Russia, of which it
would mark the continuation towards the north — the proof
that the Ursien stage must have been formed along the
coasts of a great continent, resulting from the presence of
fresh water animals, and pondal shells, and nervopters,
which could not have lived but in a land sufficiently con-
siderable to contain lakes and to give birth to rivers.
' What was the duration of this period V That is a
point which one would fain determine ! Then began a
206 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
new sinking of the land ; the formations found in brackish
water, and formations purely marine recommenced; the
carbonaceous schists and the mountain limestone again
covered the ground, previously submerged with their vege-
table imprints. The great extension of mountain limestone
over different points in Europe and North America, and
the small number of deposits of continental origin which
it contains, shows to us that this lowering of the lands
must have been the result of a general submeroence. The
Northern hemisphere must then most certainly have pre-
sented an entirely different aspect from what it had done
during the Ursien stage. But then one sees renewed the
same phenomenon as occurred at the beginning of the
carboniferous period. We find that at the end of a subse-
quent reclothing of the ground, effected on a vast scale,
the continental formation of culm, and subsequently that
of the middle carboniferous strata, which marks the time
when these kinds of deposits attained their greatest exten-
sion and their complete development. The flora, viewed
as a whole, had changed but little during so long a period.
Many of the dominant species remained such till even
after this time, and they thus furnish a proof that in the
mountain limestone epoch the land had never been entirely
submerged, but that there remained always a certain
continental emerged space sufficient to afford an asylum
to these species of plants, so that, as soon as the culm by
its emergence had preseuted to them a new space, they
profited by this to extend themselves and propagate them-
selves more and more.
' We cannot question the great length of time which
must have passed from the commencement of the Ursien
stage to that of the culm ; and during the long series of
ages which then succeeded each other, the vital conditions
of organised beings doubtless did not remain unchanging.
It is a remarkable fact to establish, that, notwithstanding
these changes, the species which w(;re so numerous tra-
versed the whole duration of this age, and penetrated
beyond it, without experiencing any appreciable modifica-
FLORA. 207
tion. The multiple forms which clothed the CaJamites
radiatus in Bear Island all reappeared in the more recent
stage of the lower carboniferous strata — I would say in the
superincumbent schists (dachsch'ffer) — of Moravia ; but
then this type lost itself, without our being able to cite
instead of it any form which would be analogous to it in
the middle carboniferous strata. And it is the same with the
Knorna, the Cardiopteris, and Palaeoi^teris. These are facts
which decidedly protest against the doctrine of the incessant
and gradually progressive transformation of species which
the partisans of that theory ought not to ignore. Their
importance here is so much the greater that manifestly the
plants of Bear Island had to live under other conditions of
light than those of the Yosges, or of Ireland ; as they have
had to su23port a long winter night. It is indeed surprising
that evergreen trees, as in all probability were the Lejndo-
de?idro7i, and the plants so amply leaved as the Cardiop-
ieris frondosa, should have accommodated themselves to
so prolonged a darkness ; but in regard to this we must
take into consideration the circumstance that the flora of
Bear Island is composed almost entirely of cryptogams,"^
which could pass from the light more easily and for a
longer time, than could phanerogams have done. Beyond
this the climate of Bear Island must have been as favour-
able to the growth of vegetables as was that which pre-
vailed in Ireland and in the Vosges, and that, although
this island is situated twenty-six and a half degrees further
north, since the species which they include are decidedly
as large and as luxuriant in appearance, and that they have
produced a layer of coal as thick as any found anywhere,
besides at a corresponding level but in less high latitudes,t
the heat was then still at this time distributed in an
* Two Carpolithes, according to Dr Heer, alone belonged to the jihaneroganis.
t The yellowish sandstone grit of Ireland presents only some thin beds of carbon in
the immediate neighbourhood of the plants. In the Vosges, and generally in all the
inferior carboniferous strata, we meet in no part with layers of coal of great magnitude.
Such layers begin to show themselves only from the point of departure at the n)iddle
carboniferous strata, which have in consequence been designated as those of the period
of the productive formation of coal.
208 THE FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
equal manner over the surface of the globe, whilst from
the miocene period there exists in this respect a well-
marked inequality which has become still more pronounced
in the present day. A comparative study of the marine
fauna collected at Bear Island leads to similar results.
' The Productus giganteus, P. stnatus, P. pimctatus, and
P. hemisphericus, which we know to have existed in the
mountain limestone of this island, have been found almost
everywhere in the mountain limestone, and possessed an
extension equivalent to that of the Knorria imbricata, of
the Lepidodendron Velthrimianum, and of the Calamites
radiatus. Further, two moluscs of the mountain limestone
of Spitzbergen, Spirifer Keilhauii and Productus costatus,
have been found also in India; and another species, the
Productus Humboltii, in South America, so that the Polar
species stretched then to the tropics. The presence at
this epoch of a climate not only equal, but also warm, is
further proved by the banks of coral which were formed
at Spitzbergen, and also by the great dimensions of the
arborescent cryptograms, and by the ferns with large
fronds preserved in Bear Island.' Thus far Dr Heer.
Count Saporta remarks on this : — ' A picture so vivid,
and so complete, beyond the interest which attaches to
itself, is well fitted to suggest some reflections. M. Heer
does not admit, and that with reason, that the entire earth
has ever been submerged during the epoch of maritime
invasion represented by the mountain limestone. He
perceives the necessity there is for the supposition of one
or more continents having existed, serving as an asylum
for the plants driven back from the invaded portions,
which then reappeared at the time of the culm, and
of the coal, properly so called, the one class under the
same form as before, the others represented by allied
forms, though distinct. But M. Heer expresses astonish-
ment that certain types were lost after the culm without
again reappearing, although they had traversed without
any modification the long period which just elapsed since
the extreme base of the inferior carboniferous strata/
FLORA. 209
And there follow some important remarks bearing upon
the subject of evolution and development, after which
are discussed the coal formations.
The beds of coal are often found underlaid and overlaid
and intermixed with layers of schists, rocky matter
capable of being split into thin divisions like slates, and
so named from the Latin schistus. The accepted opinion
is that coals are the remains of accumulated masses of
woody matter, leaves, twigs, stems, and trunks of herba-
ceous and arborescent vegetables, in depressions which
were alternately dry or nearly dry, and filled with water
from which was deposited the schisty matter, the whole
being subsequently submerged for ages by the sea, from
which, in the course of these protracted ages, deposits far
exceeding them in thickness Avere superimposed upon
them, while subsequently they were under the pressure of
these subjected to intense heat, whereby was effected a
partial decomposition of them which resulted in the
formation of the coal.
In view of this being a generally accepted opinion.
Count Saporta goes on to say : —
* The most ancient land plants of w^hich w^e have any
knowledge have left their imprint on the schists which
generally accompany the beds of coal. It does not follow,
however, that beyond the submerged basins, or peat bogs,
which supply a place for the deposit of the schists or of
leafy sandstone girts rich in vegetable imprints, the land
elevated above the level of the sea, — that is to say, the
crystalline masses which represented the continents of the
period, were devoid of vegetables. Far from that being
the case, it is on the contrary shown by silicified seeds
embedded in the gaps of the carboniferous age, that there
existed then a forest vegetation, composed especially of
prototypical conifers and different from that of which the
coal beds have preserved the remains. The former
occupied the interior of the land and the sloping portions
of the soil which had been for a long time emerged j the
P
210 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSvSIA.
latter frequented the low-lying places, and more especially
the littoral depiessions, where the fresh water coming from
the interior accumulated, and f:^ave rise to lagfoons as vast
in extent as they were shallow in depth. The Arctic
lands, which did not then difter in heat or climate from
those of our latitudes, produced, beyond all doubt, both of
these two kinds of vegetables, of which the one is well
known to us, thanks to the multitude of imprints which
the coal deposits have preserved, though the other has
scarcely left itself visible through the extreme rarity of
cl^bris capable of attesting its ancient existence.
' J he carboniferous age must have been one of enormous
duiation, although we cannot for one moment suppose this
to have equalled that of the Silurian. The Devonian
period serves as a transition between them, and leads by
insensible degrees from one to the other. The ocean was
then immense in its area, and the emerged land, more
extensive than one is at first disposed to admit, composed
only primitive crystalline regions. Without being strongly
marked in profile, or offering an ossatnre established on a
very large bcale, these palaeozoic lands had, however, a
certain elevated contour ; and the coast-line must have
been marked out with some measure of distinctness. It
is to emersions produced from man}" reprisals in such a
way as to draw each time from the waters a low girdle
around the continents of the epoch, that are due in reality
the formations of coal, and the deposits in which these are
found. Elsewhere it is always along the shore-line, and
most frequently on the marine formations immediately
anterior to their production, that these coal basins have
established themselves. And in this respect we see well,
by the descriptions of Dr Heer, and by the indications
given by the celebrated Swedish explorer, Nordenskjoeld,
that the Arctic localities differ in nothing, so far as their
conditions can be determined, from those which have been
observed on Europe belonging to the same period. The
most remote in time of these emersions following deposits
of cnal and of carbonaceous s<^hists, with vegetable imprints,
FLORA. 211
occur towards tbe Upper Devonian, and it is there that are
found the most ancient land plants of which we have any
knowledge ; but that is not to say that these were really
the first. So far from that it is in fact easy to establish
that the vegetation, already far removed from the point of
original departure, contained nearly the same elements as
that of the carboniferous land, properly so called, save for
the variations and partial modification to w^hich the flora
continued to be subjected in passing through this pro-
tracted period. The Devonian plants are rare everywhere ;
and they have not yet been met with in the Arctic regions ;
but in the upper portion of the Devonian between this
formation and that of the mountain limestone, with its
characteristic Productus and Spirifer, there is seen on a
pretty great number of points both in Europe and in the
Polar Zone, a primitive coal-bed \Nith terrestrial plants,
which testifies everywhere to a great uniformity of vege-
tation. It is to this lower coal-bed that M. Schimper has
recently applied the name of Pcdeanthracitic stage, and M.
Heer that of the Ursien staoe, so namino^ it from Bear
Island, L'Ue des Ours, where it appears more developed
than elsewhere. This, moreover, is embedded between two
marine deposits, which proves that the sea had retired
during the deposit of the carbonaceous beds Avhich enclose
the imprints it contains, and then returned to cover again
the deposit after it had been formed, a deposit conse-
quently littoral, as well as one certainly made under fresh
water. The distinctive plants of this Ursien layer reappear
not only in the Parry Islands and in Spitzbergen, but at a
greater distance from Bear Island, in Iceland, near Aix-
la-Chapelle, and in the Vosges, where they have furnished
Professor Schimper material for an impoitant memoir on
the flora of the transition land of the Vosges.
'It happens, then, that not from a mere local accident,
but from a vegetable period long anterior to that of the
coals, and coincident with a series of simultaneous emer-
sions elsewhere, the result has been obtained of making us
acquainted 's\Hth the principal forms which then predomi-
212 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
nated among vegetables, but only within the perimetre ot
a littoral zone of rather limited extent/
The productus and spirifer spoken of are bivalves like
the cockle and mussel, the shells of which are found
with many others in the mountain limestone, and in it
alone. What is so called is, as has been stated, a series of
limestone strata lying immediately below the coal measures,
and, in some cases, alternating with them. They extend
over great part of Central and Northern Europe; they
are found again in the lake district of America, and they
extend to the borders at least of the Arctic Ocean, extend-
ing between the parallels of 60° and 70«, stretching
towards the mouth of the Mackenzie River. The nature of
the organic remains found in them, as well as the con-
tinuity of the calcareous beds of homogeneous mineral
composition and the great thickness of the deposits, concur
to prove that the whole series was formed in a deep and
extensive ocean, in the midst of which, however, there
were many islands. Amongst other characteristic fossils
are the encrinites, popularly known in some localities as
St. Cuthbert's beads and ammonites, and the bivalves
mentioned.
After tracing the relations of numerous allied plants,
and the characteristics of those found in different localties,
and the successive changes observable in strata of succes-
sive formation, he states that the primseval type, or pala3-
zoic stock, of the ^alishurias and their allies appears to be
the Psygmophyllum of Schemper, and that in all the cir-
cumstances of the case it might have been expected that
some remains of plants possessing the same characteristics
would be found in Bear Island. Such he considered
remains figured by M. Heer under the name of Cardiop-
ten's poJymorpha et frondosa.^
Count Saporta then gives some details in regard to the
" Kohlen fl. d. Bnren. Ini5el. ; tab. xiv., fi?. 1-4.
FLORA. 213
geography and geognosy of the Pular region in regard to
the explorers and the different beds or deposits found
there; andj resuming his palaentological narrative, he
says : —
' It appears to us to be indubitable from the studies of the
Arctic flora by M. Heer, that at the time of the coal for-
mations no influence of nature acting on the climate, and
through it on the vegetation can be attributable to lati-
tude, the effects of which, difficult to determine at this
distance of time from the events, are found to have been
entirely neutralised, if not annulled.
' We have no facts obtained from the Permian, of which
we have not indications all the way up to the Pole.
* The Trias exists at Cape Thordsen in the basin of
Isfiord, where M. Nordenskjold has collected not only the
plants of this deposit, but marine fossils characteristic of
it, and amongst them remains of the Enalosauriens, of the
genus Ichthyosaurus, the presence of which testifies that the
great swimming reptiles, then so diffused in the seas of
Europe, were not excluded from the circum-polar seas.
This is an important indication of the equality of climate ;
and this climatic equality among the terrestrial zones is
further established by an examination of the Jurassic
vegetables of Cape Boheman.' These, theugh not yet
published at the time Count Saporta's paper was read, had
been described by Professor Heer, and drawings of them
had been sent to the Count, who goes on to say : —
' An immense interval pf time has elapsed : since the
time when the plants of Bear Island lived ; the vegetation
is entirely renewed ; it has completely changed its aspect.
The species, the genera, to some extent even the families,
are no longer the same ; but the changes have evidently
been brought about conformablv to what was ofoinsf on in
Europe in the same direction, and by the same process of
evolution. As in Europe, the vegetation, taking its depar-
ture from the same point, has led by degrees to the same
results, and presents at the time at whicli we find it again
the same characteristics as in the heart of our Gontineut
2U FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
and iu France. Tliere are the ferns with a foliage often
meagre and leathery, equisetaceae of the genera eqaisetuni
and. phyllotlieca, cycads, conifers, and lastly some rare
monocotyledons. There are there also the forms which
are the most generally diffused in England and France, in
the Bathonian, the Oxfordian, and the Coralline, and
which is seen at Scarborough in Yorkshire, at Maniers iu
France, and at St. Michael, near Verdun. The resem-
blance to those found at Scarborough and A\dth those
found at St, Michael is very striking.
' The flora of Cape Boheman contains thirty-two species;
a third, about ten of them, have been found, moreover,
and always in the inferior oolite, or the brown jura of the
Germans. Amongst the ferns, the Scleroptens pomelii
Sap., a species of St. Michael, is especially characteristic, as
it denotes the presence of a genus whicli is essentially
oolitic. The genus Phyllotheca, a t3^pe of equisetacese
which has been for a long time extinct, has been found,
first in Australia, and thereafter, by Professor Zigno, in
the Oxford strata of the Venetian Alps. It was then
there, a genus of which the extension was immense. And
the Polar species Phyllotheca lateralis, described by Phillips
and Lindley under the name of Eqaisitum laterals, has
just been found in Siberia. We have here, then, a most
curious type, the sheaths of which, split in segments,
distinguishes it from the true Equisitum, and approximates
to the schizoneuva of the Trias, which is found towards
the centre of the jura spread ovei' the whole land, though
everywhere pretty rare.
* This was doubtless a type in a state of rapid decadence,
but one which, from that circumstance, seems well fitted
to throw light on the equality of temperature which was
still general at that moment from one end of the globe to
the other. The cycads alone number eight species out of
the thirty-two, more than a fourth part of the whole ; and
in regard to frequency of occurrence they hold the first
rank. The genus Podozamites predominated amongst
them : this genus distantly recalls the Zanila of the
FLOKA. iJlS
present day, and better still the Ceratozamia of Mexico,
but it presented more modest proportions than the last.
The fructiferous cones of these plants, which have just
been discovered, it appears, by a savant of Stockholm,
companion of M. Nordenskjold, M. Nathorst, confirm this
relationship ; they remind one, moreover, of the first of
the two genera of the present, which have been men-
tioned. In Europe the Podozamites are often frequent at
the base of the lias in the rhetieii ; but they reappear in
the oolite, and even further up in the wealden. One of
the most characteristic species of these in the deposit at
Scarborough, the Podozamites lanceolatus, Lindl., consti-
tuted also a part of the fiora of Cape Boheman.
' Other forms of the Bathonian deposit of Scarborough
show themselves almost as abundantly as the preceding,
at Cape Boheman ; these are the Gyclopteris Huttoni,
Sternb., and G. digifafa, Brongn., the place in the classified
list and the peculiarities of which cannot be passed over
in silence. Long considered as ferns analogous to the
Schizoca, or by others as rhizocarps of a lost type, the
Cyclojyteris and the Baiera of Schimpui', have been recog-
nised quite lately, and with perfect ju>tice, by M. Heer, as
representing in reality the Salishuria {Ginko L.), being in
reality, notwithstanding tlieir antiquity, congeners of the
unique species of the present day, Salisharia adlantifulia^
Sm. {Ginco hiloha L.)'
The ^alisburia adiantifolia, or 'maiden-haired Salis-
burnia * — so named after a distinguished modern botanist
— is a native of Japan, but now common in Europe. It is
a, tree of great beauty, attaining a height of about twenty
feet. It is remarkable for its fan-shaped leaves, cloven
like some of the species of adianthum, from which circum-
stance it has received its specific designation. It belongs
to the same order as the yew, which order is intermediate
between that of the joint-firs, the gnetaceae, and the pines.
While resembling in some points the ferns, the fruit, like
tbat of the yew, is juicy, and resembles a berry or rather
a damson, which it also resembles in size. It is of a pale
216 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSStA.
brovvii colour, but becomes yellow when ripe. The pulp
i.s white and fleshy, adhering closely to the drupe, which
is like that of the apricot. It is in taste both resinous
and astringent, and is exposed for sale in the markets in
China and Japan. The kernel is white, rather firm, and
sweet, with a mixture of austerity or bitterness when raw,
but agreeable when roasted, and is thought by the
Japanese to prom^ote digestion.
Count Saporta considers that the primaeval type, or
original palaeozoic shoot of the entire group of Salisburias,
was the genus Psygmophyllum of Schitnper, and he adds :
' If this opinion shall be confirmed, the point of departure
of the Salishurias will fall to be placed in the palaeanthrac-
tic vegetation of the extreme north. An immense inter-
val or gap, comprising the Permian, the Trias, and the
Lower Jurassic formations, forbids that we should say
anything of the Ginkophyllum, the Trichopitys, the Chirop-
teris, and the Jeanpaulia, which represent in Europe, in
these different stages, the successive forms of this group of
primitive Salishurias. But we find it again on coming to
the Arctic Jurassic flora of Cape Boheman.'
'Besides the mountain limestone underlying the coal
formations, we have mountains of chalk, from the littoral
cliffs of which England, it is said, got its name of Albion.
This is a much later formation than the mountain lime-
stone, and the organic remains preserved in the strata
show a decided advance upon pre-existing races of animals.
We find in it Zoophytes more like existing species than
were those of the mountain limestone and silurian rocks ;
star fishes and sea urchins resembling those of the present
day ; Annulosa like the common Serpula and land-worm ;
Crustacea resembling the lobster tribe; insects like the
beetle and dragon-fly ; fishes belonging to the Ganoidia,
of which the sturgeon and the bony pike of the North
American lakes are representative in the present day ;
reptiles allied to the tortoise and to the crocodile, though
differing from these in external form; and two or three
FLORA. 2it
Small mammalia allied to the opossums. Of plants, besides
some previously found, and allies of these, we find plants
allied to the cycus revoluta — the sago-plant — and the
pine-apple; conifers resembling the pine, as well as
yew-like and lily-like plants ; and other iindescribed
genera. In this system of strata the arenaceous are
no longer sandstones, but loose unsolidified sand ; the
argilaceous bedg are generally soft and marly clays ;
and the calcareous, instead of being compact or
crystaline limestones, present that soft earthy texture
which prevails in chalk. All this speaks a comparatively
recent formation, with freedom from great pressure, long-
continued chemical actions, or the indurating effects of
heat. The lower cretaceous strata found in the north,
according to Professor Heer, are elevated by but a very
slight deo^ree above the Wealden. It has been met with
by M. Nordenskjoeld in a series of elevations along the
northern coast of the peninsula of Noursoak, at 70° 37'
43" of North latitude. These are the black schists and
the grits, which alternate with each other a great many
times, and repose directly on the gneiss. The total thick-
ness of the formation attains to 1500 feet without changing
sensibly in character, and the summit is found covered
with overflowings of basalt. The vegetable imprints
abound chiefly in the schistose beds, and more ordinarily,
but not exclusively, towards the base of the formation,
which it appears should be carried back in its entirety to
only one and the same period. The principal collections are
at Kome, at Pattorfik, at Avkrusak, at Karsok, and at
Ekkorfat. The localities in the order of their richness are
Kome, Avkrusak, Ekkorfat, and last Pattorfik. These
localities present each of them a peculiar character : Kome
abounds in ferns, but repeatedly occurring vestiges let us
see between them, quite near, a forest of fir trees. Pattor-
fik has quite the aspect of a wood of Sequoia, tapestried
with ferns. Ekkorfat comprises especially Cycads, asso-
ciated with Sequoias and with fir trees, the combination
of which created a great forest. All these localities,
218 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
evidently contemporaneous, have furnished together sixty-
five species, a considerable number, superior to that of the
greater number of the European local floras of the same
period. Nothing can be more curious to examine closely
than this collection of forms then reassembled in the
bosom of the same coantrv in the neighbourhood of the
Pole.
* Time has passed since the Jurassic ; and it has put its
impress on this new flora, and has led to many changes
from the aoterior state of it ; but as changes have an
importance almost always proportional to the time passed,
and as the interval which stretches from the Bathonian,
probably the level of Cape Boheman, is infinitely less than
that which separates the plants of tliis last from those of
the lower carboniferous strata, it is quite a simple matter
to establish the less profound modifications in the nature
at least of the constituent elements of the Arctic vegeta-
tion in looking at it towards the commencement of the
chalk period. Ferns, cycads, and conifers, compose always
the principal groups ; the ferns dominate in their entirety,
the conifers come next. The cycads hold only the third
rank in number, as well as in frequency of occurrence.
'But we have established in this respect very sensible
local differences : the cycads scarcely show themselves,
excepting at Kome and Ekkorfat, and always associated
with ferns and with conifers ; whilst at Pattorfik there are
only ferns and conifers, and at Avkrusak these two groups
have only by the side of them some remains of cycads;
the monocotyledons do not show themselves but in a
restricted number, and they have nothing conclusive about
them ; there were no palms as yet, as there were in
Europe at the same age, but probably screw-pines rather
ill-defined as yet — in fine, with scarcely a single excep-
tion, no dicotyledons ; and that exception was special to
Pattorfik, where the beds with vegetable imprints occupied
the extreme base of the formation, which is all the more
curious. It constitutes of itself an occurrence of which I
shall, in a little, enquire into the exact significance**
FLORA. ild
He proceeds lu specify coincidences, such as tlie contem-
poraneous appearance in Greenland and in the Carpathian
Mountains, separating Bohemia and Hungary, of the same
characteristic types of cycas-like plants. Older forms of
ferns seemed to die out ; but of those which now appeared
their representatives must be sought in the present day in
the vicinity of the tropics, or in the warmer parts of the
temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres.
Thirteen species of Oleichenia have been identified by
Professor Heer as similar to those growing at the same
time in other parts of Europe. The Gleichenias of the
present day are diffused over the tropics and the islands
of the South Sea. But one species, bearing fronds once
or repeatedly divided dichotomously, and generally pro-
vided with a bud situated between the branches of the
dichotomous division, has advanced so far north as Japan.
And the Polar Gleichenias, which present a physiognomy
absolutely the same, must h*ve sought the same conditions
of warmth and humidity as their congeners of the present
day.
* The conifers of this epoch divide themselves naturally
under several categories, having each its peculiar signifi-
cation. It is beyond contradiction the most important
group of the period now under consideration ; and amongst
the types comprised in it may be remarked many which
show themselves for the first time, and of which it seems
that the cradle should decidedly be placed in the interior
of the Arctic zone. It is there that these types, after
having remained a long time confined to it, and after
having there given rise to a certain number of forms, went
out to spread themselves further towards the south in
distinct rays, some later, in such a way as to gain access
to the two continents, and there to make good their
footing, and maintain it, a long time after they had dis-
appeared from the flfcnd of their origin.
' We have spoken of the Salishurtas — they continue to
show themselves always divided into two groups, that of
2^0 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
the Ginko properly so called {Salishuria Arctica and S.
grandis), and that of the Baiera and JeanpauUa with
lanceolate leaves with narrow segments, represented here
by the ScIerojyhT/llina cretosa, Schenk., and >S'. dichotoma,
Heer. But alongside the Salishurias appears for the first
time a veritable Taxad — the Torreya Dicksoniana, Heer — a
remarkable species precisely determined, which proves
that the group of Taxineas proper had its cradle in the
north, and that, after having dwelt a long time there, it
passed thence into Europe, into America, and into Asia.
Europe does not possess, it is true, the genus Torreya, but
this genus has certainly lived there aforetime ; and, in
concert with Professor Marion, I have latelv determined it
in the pliocene tuffas of Meximieux under a form which it
is difficult to separate from the .7'. ?iucifera, Sieb. and
Zucc, of Japan. The Glyptostrobus and the Sequoia have
followed a course in every respect alike. The Glyptos-
trohus Groenlandicus, Heer, is indeed the direct ancestor
of G. Ungeri, Heer, and G. Europaeus, Brongn., which
abounded in the Arctic zone in the time of the Lower
Miocene ; these two sister forms — forms slightly modified
from the same type, spread themselves in Europe, and
without doubt throughout the whole temperate zone in
the course of the Miocene. Subsequently they disappeared
from our continent, where, however, the G. Europaeus still
lived towards the middle of the pliocene times. But
to-day Southern China possesses, under the name of G.
keterophyllusj a descendant scarcely modified from the G.
Ungeri of the tertiary period.
' The chalk is veritably the age of the Sequoia. The S.
Reichenbachii, Gein., obtained then an immense extension ;
it is found everywhere in Europe in the middle chalk and
in the superior chalk. It approaches, as does the S.
gracilis, the 'S'. gigantea, which is met with in the tertiary.
But by the side of this Sec[uoia there may be distinguished
yet others, and amongst them the S. Smithiana, which, with
the help of an intermediate series, connects itself without
any gap to the S. sempervirens of California. It is then
FLORA. 221
really in the north that we find the cradle of this genus
also. There, after their birth, tlie Sequoias multiplied
themselves, and after a first diffusion of their cretaceous
species, the tertiary polar flora shows us, under forms
differing little from the preceding, that these spread
themselves in their turn, and invaded the whole northern
hemisphere, until the time when there began to be a
definite decline of the group. It is known that in our
days there do not exist any other indigenous Sequoia than
those of California, represented by two species reduced to
a most restricted area of habitation, the last vestiges of a
long train of forms and of subtypes.'
Similar details are given in regard to representatives of
the several orders of pines, firs, cypresses, and poplars
found there in the lower cretaceous deposits; and in a
similar way are treated remains found in the upper
deposits, including a genus Deivalquea, which represents in
a prototypic state the Hellebores of the present. And
having given details of specimens found in Bohemia and
found in Dacota and Kansas, he goes on to say : —
' If we transport ourselves into Greenland at the epoch
of the upper chalk, and look upon the collection of
dicotyledons, passing over the more uncertain forms, we
see that this large class comprises everywhere the poplars
with leathery leaves, Pojmlus Bergreni and P. Hyperhorea,
Heer ; the Ficus, the fruit of which has been recognised,
and the leaves of which were thick ; the gale worts; the
magnoliads, the Credneria, the arales, the diospyrads, the
myrtaseas {inyrtophyllum), and lastly, the leguminosae.
One sees also that certain families inevitably reappear at
this epoch. Let one place himself in Bohemia, in Kansas,
or in Greenland, &c., and the effects of latitude, so far as
they make themselves appreciable, find themselves still
restricted within the narrowest limits. The frequency of
poplars, the absence of laurineae with persistent leaves,
and the presence of one laurineae with caducous leaves,
still doubtful, it is true {Sassafras arctica, Heer) — such are
222 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
the only indices upon which one can rely in admitting
the influence of a climate already colder in the extreme
north, in Europe, or in America, since the upper chalk.
But the dilYusion of the Magnolia^ then present everywhere,
the abundance of plane-trees, and the presence of a beech
tree in America, Avould seem rather to favour the supposi-
tion of a very gi^eat equality in what are precisely those
the floral parts of which have experienced least of reduc-
tions and adhesions of parts ; in them the primitive axis,
the contraction of which has given birth to the floral
formation, is still recognisable, and the phyllotaxis, or
order of arrangement of the accessoiy elements of this
axis is still perceptible, at least, partially in the spiral
disposition affected by the sexual organs, and even by the
modified leaves w^hich surround them. The greater part
of dicotyledonr, not the first doubtless, but at least the
more remote from the point of original departure, have
stipules ; and the sheathing petiole of the arales, the long-
prolonged limb of the petiole of the Credneria, and the
frequency of the palminerved arrangement, or a tendency
towards this arrangement, are in our eyes so many indices
of an anterior state of the foliaceous organs towards which
the phylloid floral formations of certain types are perhaps
only a partial recuiience ; so that the stipules appear to
constitute a last vestige of these. It is then probable
that the dicotyledons, at the time when we encounter
them for the first time, had already been subjected to a
long series of modifications. Many of them have taken
upon themselves in the course of this progression, abor-
tions and adhesions, secondary variations, tTie effacement
of certain characteristics and conditions of climate to the
north, as to the south, of the Polar Circle.
* It is certain that the immense extension which certain
forms obtained at this epoch, such as the Sequoia Reichen-
hachii and the Ohichenia, militate in favour of a like
equalisation of temperature extending from one extremity
of our hemisphere to the other, and there, perhaps, lies the
whole secret of the rapid development and the geneml
FLORA. 223
extension of the dicotyledons. The region in which the
plants of this class had their first cradle, without being
situated in the immediate vicinity of the Pole, could touch
it, however, and communicate at the same time with the
zones further south. Some day, it is to be hoped, we
shall 1)0 able to fix the geographical location and probable
limits of this mother region of the first dicotyledon ; at
present the data are too vague to allow us to think of
insisting further on this point. 1 have been desirous,
however, of investigating whether the families of the most
ancient dicotyledons, and those the presence of which in
the chalk age have been determined in the manner the
least doubtful, present in themselves any character which
would prove their antiquity. In regard to this the fre-
(juency and the diffusion of the polycarpic plants, magno-
laceae, menispermeae, perhaps berberidaceae, heliboreae,
nympheaceae and malvaceae, have not passed unobserved,
as the excessive development of certain parts in many of
these families have not ceased to reproduce and multiply
the types and the subtypes within each of the species.
This elaboration has gone on across the last part of the
chalk period and throughout the whole of the tertiary, and
it continues still in the heart of the polymorphic an: - e3
< C o
3 5
i •=
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c .2
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a 2
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ft S
FLORA.
i229
There are supplied details relative to indications of the
times at which different trees mentioned in this table and
allies of these had made their appearance at different
places, and it is added that amongst Arctic species may
be mentioned the following as having been the stock from
which have sprung the European and American plants of
the present day, the names of which are associated with
them in the following list : —
Artic Miocene Forms. Derived Foriis of the Present
Time.
Potamogeton Nordenskjold, Hr... Potamogeton natans L. — Europe.
Quercus groenlandica Hr Quercus prinua L. — America.
Ulmus Braunii Hr Ulmua campestris L. — Europe.
Menyanthea arctica Hr Menyanthea trif oliata L. — Europe.
Viburnum Whymperi Hr Viburnum lantana L. — Europe.
Hedera Mac-Cluri Hr Hedera helix L. Var. hibernia. —
Europe.
Acer otopteryx Gp Acer dasycarpum Michx. — America.
Juglans acuminata Al. Br Juglana regia L. — Europe.
Sorbua grandif olia Hr Sorbua aria L. — Europe.
Prunus ataratachini Hr Prunua apinosa L. — Europe.
Crataegus oxyacauthoidea Gp Crataegua oxyacantha L. — Europe.
After some other remarks in elucidation of what has
been advanced, Count Saporta goes on to say : — ' We
must go about 30 degrees of latitude towards the south
to find, growing wild and associated in an analogous con-
dition, the vegetable forms which flourished then in the
Polar zone. The lands of that zone, at the time of which
a portion of their secret has now been revealed to us,
formed then a vast expanse, perhaps the only continent of
the time. These lands were at the same time affected by
the interior fire, exposed lo incessant eruptions, and sub-
jected to the overflow of Basalt. It is known that such
a state of things is no obstacle in the way to the advance-
ment of vegetation, and that it even favours in some cases
its development in spite of the partial devastations which
it brings in its train, Auvergne and the Cantal in France
have been equally with this region, in a later age,
the theatre of the same phenomena ; and the abundance
of imprints left on the ashes and volcanic mud attest that
230 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
the forests must have been ricli, varied, and vigorous in
their growth up to the immediate vicinity of the ancient
craters. It is not then in eruptive phenomena, whatever
violence we may attribute to them, that we must seek for
the true cause of the disappearance of the Arctic tertiary
flora. This was brought about exclusively by the climate,
the fall of temperature, at first almost nothing, then,
scarcely perceptible in the cretaceous period, gradually
increased, and from the time that it passed a certain limit
it brought on necessarily the retreat or the definite dis-
appearance of a multitude- of species, which, up to that
time, had been the ornaments of the lands of the north. In
proportion, as this eliminatory process progressed, the
glaciers, the extension of which in Europe towards the
close of the tertiary period must have increased and
descended from the high summits, and finally overrun all
and effaced all. This invasion of the glaciers of the north,
an invasion not partial as in Europe but almost universal
or general, has been doubtless the proximate and direct
cause of the elimination of the later tertiary vegetation ;
or rather it should be said, the reduction of temperature
at once cause and effect, in promoting the extension of
the glaciers into countries evidently very moist, has contri-
buted by this very extension to intensify the cold, and
ultimately to transform the climate, so as to render it
incapable of promoting the vegetation of the greater part
of plants, while by a kind of exaj^propriation the ground
stole away and came under their denomination.'
There are embodied in these citations deliverances on
two perfectly distinct questions, in regard to which a
difference of opinion on either of which may exist without
affecting the conclusion to which one may have come upon
the other : the one relates to the course followed in the diffu-
sion of the plants specified ; the other relates to the cause or
occasion of changes of temperature of which this diffusion
may be considered an indication. It is the former alone with
which I am conversant, and which I desire more especially
FLORA. 231
to bring under tlic consideration of my readers. The
views of Hut ton and of Count Saporta, which I have cited
in connection with my reference to the nebular hypothesis
of Laplace, I have adduced only as a working hypothesis
sufficient to remove objections which might suggest them-
selves to my readers, and to make comprehensible the
views advanced in regard to the diffusion of vegetation
from the polar region towards the equator.
To make this subject more intelligible, I may further
remark : that the existing distribution of vegetables on
the earth's surface has been greatly determined by condi-
tions of soil and climate favouring or arresting the growth of
plants produced by seeds dispersed from some parent plant.
Amongst conditions of soil operating thus may be reckoned
its constituents, including moisture and the state of dis-
entiorration in which it exists. Anion o^st conditions of
climate may be reckoned its humidity and temperature,
and the maximum, minimum, or medium measures of this.
As a result of this we find that there are zones of latitude
and of altitude marked by characteristic vegetation, and
that there are forms of vegetation which have become
characteristic of various localities ; we have the palm form
in some, that of the minosa in others, the coniferous form
in others, the eucalyptous form in others, and the heath
form in others. Professor J. H. Balfour, in a chapter on
Geographical Botany in his volume entitled Outlines of
Botany, says : —
' We sometimes meet with marked centres, where the
maxima of the genus of an order, or of the species of a
genus occur, the number of the genera or species diminish-
ing as we recede from these centres, and ending perhaps in
a solitary representative in some distant country. Gentians
and Saxifrages have their maxima in the European Alps;
Erocaulons have their great centre in Brazil, but a few
species are found in other countries. Epacridacese are
restricted to Australia, The genus Viola has two marked
centres, one in Europe and another in America. The form
of the European and American species are quite distinct.
232 ^OtlESt LAKDS OF IS^ORTHERN RUSSIA.
Tlie maximum of the genus Erica is at the Cape of Good
Hope ; but members of the Heath family extend to northern
regions in the form of Erica Tetralix, E. cinerea, and Cal-
Juna vulgaris. The tropical Myrtacese have Myrtus com-
munis to represent them in Europe, Leptospermese in
Australia, and Metrosideros lucida in Lord Auckland's
Group, lat. 501° s.
' An order, or a genus, or a species, in one country is
occasionally represented in another by forms which are
either allied, or have physiognomic resemblance. There is
thus sometimes a repetition of resembling or almost similar
forms in countries separated by seas or extensive tracts of
land. The Ericacese of the Cape have in Australia a
representative in the nearly allied Epacridacese ; the
Cactacese of America are represented by certain succulent
forms of Mesembryanthemacese and Euphorbiaceae in Africa;
and by some Crassulacese in Europe. Trientalis europaea
has a representative form in America, T. americana ;
Cornus suecica occurs in Europe, C. canadensis in Canada.
Empetrum nigrum, in Arctic regions, has E. rubrum to
take its place in the antarctic ; Pinguicula lusitanica, in
the northern hemisphere, has P. antarctica closely resem-
bling it in the southern ; Hydnora africana and H triceps
in South Africa are represented in South America by H.
americana.
' The mode in which the globe has been clothed with
vegetation has given rise to much discussion. We know
from the Sacred Record, that on the third day of the
Creation the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding
seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit after his
kind ; but whether the whole earth was at once clothed
with vegetation, or certain great centres were formed,
whence plants were gradually to spread, we have no means
of knowing. The endemic limitation of certain orders,
genera, and species, would certainly lead to the opinion,
that, in many instances, there have been definite centres,
whence the plants have spread only to a certain extent.
But the general distribution of other tribes of plants, and
FLOfeA. 23^
tlie occurrence of identical species in distant parts of the
world, would favour the view that countries with similar
climates had originally many species of plants in common.
In the case of grasses, we would naturally suppose that
they must have been produced in their social state,
forming pasture for the nourishment of animals ; and such
we might conjecture to be the case with social plants in
general.
* Edward Forbes advocates strongly the view of specific
centres, and endeavours to account for the isolation of cer-
tain species or assemblages of plants from their centres, by
supposing that these outposts were formerly connected, and
have been separated, by geological changes, accompanied
with the elevation and depression of land. Schouw opposes
this. He thinks that the existence of the same species in
far distant countries is not to be accounted for on the sup-
position of a single centre for each species. The usual
means of transport, and even the changes which have
taken place by volcanic and other causes are inadequate,
he thinks, to explain why many species are common to
the Alps and the Pyrenees on the one hand, and to the
Scandinavian and Scotch mountains on the other, without
being found on the intermediate plains and hills ; why
the flora of Iceland is nearly identical with that of the
Scandinavian mountains ; why Europe and North America,
especially the northern parts, have various plants in
common, which have not been communicated by human
aids. Still greater objections to this mode of explanation,
he thinks, are founded on the fact that there are plants at
the Straits of Magalhaens, and in the Falkland and other
antarctic islands, which belong to the flora of the Arctic
pole ; and that several European plants appear in New
Holland, Van Diemen's Land, and New Zealand, and
which are not found in intermediate countries. Schouw,
therefore, supposes that there were originally not one, but
many primary individuals of a species.'
A writer in the Scotsman has called attention to the
234 FOREST LAKDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
inadequacy of the views of Hutton and Count Saporta to
account for past changes of temperature. He states
that the theory which now meets with most acceptance is
that which attributes climatic changes to astronomical
causes, and especially to the eccentricity of the earth ^s
orbit — a theory associated with the name of Dr CroU, of
the Geological Survey of Scotland. At the same time, in
regard to the facts in which we are here concerned, he
says: —
' Besides the tale of intolerable cold brought home by
Arctic expeditions, which, in the concrete form of thick-
ribbed ice and perpetual snow, has hitherto effectually
barred their approach to the Pole, they seldom fail to
secure satisfactory evidence of the former existence of
more genial conditions in circumpolar lands. Pine trees
have been found prostrate on the site of their growth in
greatly higher latitudes than those in which they could
now exist, and these, from their still unfossilised condition,
give evidence of having lived and died within com-
paratively recent times. That much warmer conditions
prevailed at a still earlier time is evidenced by the fossil
plants found in some of the highest lands yet reached.
These include many evergreen shrubs, oaks, maples,
beeches, poplars, and walouts ; while two species of vines
have been found fossil in Greenland ; sequoias, allied to
the mammoth trees of the Yosemite region of California
in Spitzbergen ; with water lilies and the swamp-cypress
of the Southern United vStates in Grinneli Land, within
eight degrees of the Pole. Judged by its plant remains,
Greenland would appear to have possessed in miocene, or,
as manv o^eolocrists are now inclined to believe, in eocene
times, a climate as warm as that of New York or St.
Louis, and a vegetation richer than that of Southern
Europe at the present time, while the Pole itself, or at
least its near neighbourhood, would probably have com-
pared favourably in climate and vegetation with Scotland
of to-day. Geologists are agreed in regarding the presence
of such a flora as conclusive evidence of the former existence
FLORA. no
of a warm polar climate ; hitherto, however, they have beeu,
and to some extent still are, divided on the question of
accounting for it. Some have attributed it to the passage of
the solar system through a warmer region of stellar space,
others to alteration in the position of the poles
Abundant evidence of the occurrence in Arctic and Sub-
arctic regions of a series of warm periods extending as far
back as the Silurian times, is found in the fossils of the
various formations represented in their strata ; and the
remarkably complete succession of fossil floras there met
with, and their marked resemblance to those of lower lati-
tudes, forms one of Saporta's arguments in favour of his
view that the circumpolar area has been the birthplace of
plants and the centre of their dispersal or migration, a
theory which, in its main features, has received remark-
able corroboration from the recent investigations of Daw-
son, Dyer, and Gardner. The rich vegetation of circum-
polar lands in eocene times, migrated southward as the
climate gradually grew colder, giving place to the modern
Arctic flora, which in turn crept slowly southward as the
cold of the glacial epoch became gradually more intense,
until at length a truly Arctic flora abounded in Central
Europe. As the climate slowly ameliorated, the Arctic
plant, in order to find suitable conditions, migrated north-
wards unless where the presence of mountains enabled
them to obtain the necessary cold by climbing upwards
instead of polewards, and the present alpine flora of the
Pyrenees, the Alps, Britain, and Scandinavia, chiefly
resembling as it does the vegetation of the Arctic regions,
is, as Professor Geikie recently expressed it in his lecture
on Geographical involution, " a living record of the ice
a-e."'
CHAPTER HI.
FAUNA.
In Northern Russia, with the exception of insects, the
number of species of animals is limited, and they are only
such as are found generally in almost all the countries
of the same latitude.
Section I.— Quadrupeds.
Game is plentiful in Russia. There are plenty of hares,
Zayatz : the white hare, which frequents the woods and
moors, ^veighing from seven to ten pounds, and the red hare
of the plains and cultivated lands, weighing from ten to
fifteen pounds ; and rabbits, Krolik, are abundant.
By the end of September shooting with dogs is con-
sidered over for the season ; the capercailzie and black
game have retired to the thickest woods j the willow grouse
are packed, and defy the most wary dog ; and the snipe
and woodcock have all left for warmer climes.
Battue shooting now commences, and though a large
head of game is seldom bagged, the sportsman finds
variety in the game driven before him to be shot, and a
"svildness in the vast woods and moorland which possess a
charm peculiarly their o^xn !
There are bears, Medred, to be found in almost all the
forests of Russia.
Bear hunting in Russia is generally conducted thus : —
'As soon as the first snow falls the peasants go out in
search of bear tracks. When they come upon traces they
follow the track, until they know by the numerous turns
and twists which Bruin has made that he is thinking of
choosing some snug corner for his winter quarters ; they
FAUNA. 237
then proceed with greater caution, and when they con-
sider that the bear is not very far off they leave the
track and make a circle, returning to their starting place.
Should they, when making this ring, again cross the
track of the animal, they know that he has gone beyond
the space they are enclosing, and therefore, instead of
returning to the starting point, they follow the fresh
track and proceed as before. If they do not again cross
a track they know that the bear must be within the
circle ; they advance a little way within the circle, and
make another ring ; and thus they proceed, gradually
limiting the circle, until they have enclosed the bear
within a comparatively small circumference. They next
inform the sportsmen of what they have done, beaters are
then collected, the number varying according to the
extent of the circle ; they are placed in a semi-circle,
while the sportsmen stand in a line at distances from
fifty to eighty yards from one another, accordinsf to the
number of guns, and the nature of the ground. The bear,
roused from his slumbers by the shouts and cries of the
peasants, generally comes within shot of one or another of
the guns, but it seldom happens that a single shot suffices
to kill Misha (Michael), as the Russians call him. When
wounded, the bear, especially if it be a mother with cubs,
is dangerous to encounter; the sportsman is generally,
however, provided with two guns, and with a spear to be
used en dernier ressort. In other cases a peasant having
discovered later in the season where the bear has made
his den, gives information of this to the sportsman, who,
along with his informant, and it may be a friend, betakes
himself to the spot, generally taking with him three or
four rough dogs, which answer the double purpose of
rousing the bear from his lair, and of distracting his
attention from the sportsman. Some bear hunters make
a regular campaign for several weeks together, camping
out at night in the forest, and pursuing, it may be for
days in succession, a bear likely to escape them.
' The best season of the year for bear-hunting is January
23S FOEEST LA.NDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
and February, at which time the snow is in a favourable
condition for snow-shoes being used, without which the
hunter might sink deep in the snow, and would be power-
less in following up a bear.
' The snow shoes are about seven feet long and six iuches
broad, slightly curved at the point, with a foot piece in
the middle, to which are attached thongs or straps for
securing the snow-shoe to the foot. Some of them are
covered underneath with the skin of the reindeer, which
is of onreat assistance to the hunter in ascendine: hills. In
the absence of this undercovering of skin, the hunter pro-
vides himself with a pole about eight feet in length, with
a curved point of horn or bone, with which he guides
himself in descending, or prevents his feet from slipping
backwards in ascending, any rising ground/
In Nova Zembla the Polar bear is met with, and in
Northern Russia the glutton or wolverine, which is nearly
allied to the Ursus Arctos. It is known as the Taxus
gulo, and as Gulo Arcticos. It is apparently the Ursus
hiscus of Linnaeus.
The glutton, or wolverine, owes its popular name to its
extreme voracity ; but it is not less characterised by its
strength, fierceness, and cunning. It dees not hesitate to
dispute their prey with the wolf and the bear, and it
baffles frequently the stratagem of the hunter. It is slow
and somewhat unwieldy in its movements, but it is deter-
mined and persevering, and will proceed at a steady pace
for miles in search of prey, stealing unawares upon hares,
marmots, and birds ; and surprising even the larger quad-
rupeds, such as the elk and the reindeer, when asleep.
All of the other families of the carnivora, the Felidae
or cat tribe, the Canidae or dog tribe, and the MustUidae
or weasel tribe, have their representatives here.
One representative of the MustUidae is the ermine, and
another is the sable. The mention of these suggests also
the fact that there are squirrels of different species ; and
FAUNA. 2^9
beavers have been found in some pai ts of Lapland — some
of these have been found white in colour, but the instances
are rare.
A representative of the Felidae is the lynx. The
lynx is occasionally shot in the vicinity of St. Petersburg.
The species most generally found is the felis vergata of
Nilssen. He is a very wary animal, and even when
ringed is very difficult to drive from his lurking place.
The Canidae are represented by the wolf and the
fox.
In Lapland the foxes are extremely numerous, some of
them are white with black ears and feet, some red, or red
with a black cross, some black, or black with long hairs on
their back of a silver colour: the skins of these are
highly valued in the north of Europe.
The Arctic fox {lagopus, or isatis canislagopus), is a dog-
like animal, considered native to Spitzbergen and Green-
land, but it extends over all the Arctic regions of America
and Asia, and it has been found in Finland and Northern
Russia.
The wolf (Fo//^) is both abundant and widely diffused.
Wolves are shot by hunting them with dogs or by an
ordinary battue, such as has been described in connection
with the hunting of the bear, and som.etimes by riding
them down, but this requires a peculiar condition of the
snow and appropriate ground.
In hunting the wolf it is not uncommon for the sports-
man to take with him in his sledge a young squeaking pig
in a bag ; and a bag of hay of like size is attached to the
sledge to be trailed behind. From time to time the pig is
pinched — its squeaking attracts wolves — they, seeing the
bag of hay trailed behind, supposing the sound to proceed
from it, come out to reconnoitre, and thus present them-
selves within reach of the sportsman's rifle.
The wolves also have their little stratagems. A member
of my family, resident for some time in the locality, told
me that he had himself seen indications of the following
tri«k, which is not uncommon with them. A herd of
240 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
wolves, coming to a village, placing themselves in ambuscade,
send a she-wolf of the herd yelping through the village,
running at full speed, and returning again with like speed
and yelping still. The dogs of the village are roused, give
chase, and when beyond the ambuscade are attacked by
the herd, killed, and devoured. In the case referred to,
my son-in-law was informed by a peasant that he had
heard the yelping, and on going to the village he saw the
footprints of the dogs and the wolves. The ambuscade
appeared from the footsteps to have been at the back of
the 'first house in the village; thence they could trace
by blood drops on the snow the route by which the wolves
had carried off their prey ; and on reaching their rendez-
vous they found shreds of the skins of the dogs lying
about like hides in a tan -yard.
In Western Siberia are reared large herds of horses. To
these the wolves are very hurtful. In travelling there in
the summer there may be seen large herds of mares with
their foals grazing, accompanied by a stallion, who acts as
paterfamilias; should a wolf make his appearance he
drives the mares into a circle, with the foals in the centre,
and the mares looking towards them ; and while he rages
and defies the wolf, they are ready to receive him as a
square of infantry receives a charge of cavalry, should he
venture within reach of their hoofs.
A statistical report lately addressed to the Minister of
the Interior estimates the damage done by wolves in 45
European Governments of Russia during the year 1873 at
7J millions of roubles. The Government of Samara was
set down as the greatest sufferer to the extent of 650,000
roubles ; next came Vologda at 560,000 roubles, and so
on. The Polish and Baltic provinces and Archangel came
off best. But competent judges consider this estimate of
wolfish mischief as much too low. It is calculated on the
basis of a low average value for all Russia, as if the price
of an ox or a sheep was about the same everywhere
throughout the Empire. It also sets the absolute amount
FAUNA. 241
of mischief at far too low a figure. Probably 15 millions
of roubles, or £2,500,000, would more nearly represent the
value of the domestic animals destroyed annually by
wolves in European Russia. To this should be added the
value of the wild animals destroyed by them. The rein-
deer alone killed in Siberia would represent a high figure.
Then there is the loss of human life, which can never be
accurately known. In 1875 the police reported 161 per-
sons killed by wolves.
In severe winters wolves have been seen in villages
within twelve miles of St. Petersburg, and once or twice I
have heard of wolves having penetrated even the capital
itself. I also heard of several head of elk being destroyed
near Payala, a village near St. Petersburg. The village is
twelve miles distant from St. Petersburg ; it is on the
Finnish railway, and between it and the Gulf of Finland
is the forest and hunting lodo-es of Lachta. In this forest
bears, wolves, and elks, are found.
Elk shooting is conducted much in the same way as the
ordinary battue for bear ; but the peasants will sometimes
follow them for days for the chance of getting a shot.
My son-in-law gave me the following account of an elk
hunt near Ejora, on the Neva, in which he took part : —
* One evening in early winter information was brought by
a peasant that a herd or family of elks had been tracked
to a small wood some miles distant on the opposite >>ide
of the river. A party of six were soon formed to go
armed in quest. It was eleven o'clock at night ; they
crossed the river ; traversed some distance, bivouacked for
the night ; and at early dawn were again astir. Peaching
the wood, ihey found it skirted on the one side by a marsh,
frozen over with ice of no great thickness, and measures
to drive the elks thither were speedily resolved on. They
were accompanied by six peasants, and the twelve men
were soon stationed in a semi-circle, with the frozen marsh
for a base. By previous concert they gradually contracted
R
242 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
the semi-cirde, and at a given signal, raised a shout which
startled the elks in their layer. These attempted to break
the cordon, but startled by the firing of rifles they turned
and made for the niarsh ; seven were young, and crossed
it in safety ; two large elks, a male and a female, making
the attempt, broke the ice, and floundring, found them-
selves unable to make their escape. The sportsmen came
up to within ten feet, fired, killed them, and went home,
when they sent a cart or sledge for the carcases. The
elk is known in Russia as olene.
To the same family belongs the reindeer (cervus turandus)
so extensively domesticated in Lapland as to be intimately
associated with our every conception cf the Laplanders,
but found in a wild state both in Nortliern Russia and in
Finland, to the north of 65° 30', and on the northern
slopes of the Maanselka.
In the Eastern Hemisphere the isothermal line of 0°
descends towards the 55th parallel of latitude, which is
lower than it does in America. But there are some
important towns situated to the north of this latitude —
Tobolsk lat. 58*^ 11'; Jokutsk, lat. 58« 16' ; and Yakutsk,
lat. 62°. In Europe the only Arctic lands properly so
called, and distinguished by an Arctic flora, are Russian
Lapland and the deeply-indented coast of Northern
Russia, and the former is what may be considered the
habitat of the reindeer. But during several winters they
have been seen in St. Petersburg, brought thither as
curiosities, and attracting attention as they were driven
along the Neva by the Lappish owners in their national
sledges.
In the regions of the reindeer, in Lapland and in
Siberia, as in Labrador and the northern coasts of America,
the lemming also is met with.
Section II. — Birds.
Of birds we find in Northern Russia those which are
common to different lands in such latitudes, together with
FAUNA. 243
some which are peculiar to the country, but these are con-
fined to the southern forest districts and arable regions of
the country.
On the northern coast are seen the gossander or dun
diver ; the smew or white nun, and other species of
messenger — merginas — a sub-family of the palmipeds ;
the dove-kie, or black gullimot ; the eider duck, and tho
whistling swan.
The Cyqnus musicus, or whistling swan, is famous for
its migrations. It measures five feet from the tip of the
bill to the end of the tail, and eight feet from tip to tip
of its extended wings ; the plumage is snow-white, with a
slight tinge of orange or yellow on the head. Some of
these swans winter in Iceland ; and it is said that in the
long Arctic night their song, as they pass in flocks, falls
on the ear of the listener like the notes of a violin. It is
an old story that the dying swan sings its own dirge.
Tennyson sings in reference to this : —
* With an inner voice the river ran,
Adown it floated a dying swan,
And loudly did lament —
The wild swan's death-hymn took the soul
Of that waste place with joy
Hidden in sorrow : at fii'st to the ear
The warble was low, and full, and clear ;
But anon her jubilant voice,
With a music strange and manifold,
Flowed forth a carol free and bold —
And the creeping mosses and clambering weeds.
And the willow branches hoar and dank,
And the wavy swell of the soughing reeds,
And the wave-worn leaves of the echoing bank,
And the silvery marish-flowers that throng
The desolate creeks and ports among.
Were flooded over with eddying song.'
This is told as what is known of the common domesti-
cated swan, which is also found in a wild state, Cygnus, —
but it is alleged that the wild swan's voice, even in its
death hour, has no such musical sweetness as is thus
extolled. It is said to be always harsh and dissonant, and
244 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
to produce a painful impression when it breaks on the
silence of Arctic stillness.
* The lakes of Iceland and its streams/ says the author
of The Arctic World, ' abound with these beautiful birds.
They are very numerous on the Myvatn or Great Lake,
where are also seen the wild duck, the scoter, the common
gossander, the red-breasted merganser, the scaup-duck,
and other anserines. They are found also upon the salt and
brackish waters along the coast. It is chiefly at the pair-
ing season, or at the approach of winter, that it assembles
in multitudes ; and as the winter advances it mounts
high in the air, and directs its course in search of milder
climes. It is in its flight that the Cygnus musicus, appar-
ently by the flapping of the air with its wings, occasions
the violin-like music to which reference has been made.
' The female builds her nest of withered leaves and
stalks of reeds and rushes in lonely and sequestered places.
She usually lays six or seven thick-shelled eggs, which are
hatched in about six weeks, when both parents assiduously
guard and feed the cygnets.
' The wild swan is shot or caught for its feathers, which
are highly prized for ornamental purposes ; next to the
skin lies a coat of thick fine down of the purest white
swan down.'
Flocks of wild swans, wild geese, and wild ducks, find
their way to the southern limit of the forest region of
Northern Russia and beyond it ; and there, in the month
of August, are seen large flights of snipes passing, it is
supposed, in migration from the district around Arch-
angel to the south. If the weather be fine, each flight
seems to rest only one night ; when it is otherwise they
remain for some days, frequenting marshy ground and
streamlets, and many fall by the guns of the peasants and
sportsmen.
Of the Tetrao7iidae, or grouse tribe, which seem chiefly
to inhabit cold countries, there are numerous species, chief
amongst which, as being most abundant and most delicious,
FAUNA. 245
is the riabchik, or so called Russian partridge, but some-
times called grouse. The wood-cock is called Teterew, iiad
the wood-heu Teterka. The white grouse, ptarmlgaQ,
Lagopus mutwi, is kuowu as Karopatka ; the capercailzie
is known as Glukir; the hazel grouse, Tetrao bonasia as
Pf/(j ; the quail as Perepelkj, ; the partridge as Metscinka.
The snipe is called Doupel ; the duck, Torsa ; wild duck,
Dikaia utka ; wild grouse, Dtki gus ; wild swan, Biki
lebea.
I have no sympathy with prince, peer, or peasant,
who finds sport in wounding, maiming, and killing
any animal — fish, fowl or quadruped ; nor have I any
feeling of great respect for 'the skill and cunning which
they put in exercise to enable them to deceive and dis-
arm in order to destroy ; neither do I consider that the
subsequent utilisation as food of the carcases of the
animals they have killed in sport affects greatly the
character of their deed : it was for sport, not for food,
that the deed w^as done. With the barbarous or semi-
civilised hunter it is otherwise. With this passing remark,
to prevent misapprehension of my views while supplying
the preceding details, I proceed.
Section III.— Insects Injurious to Forest Trees.
By Forst-Meister Alexander GQnther, of the Forest
Circuit of Petrazavodsk, I was supplied with the following
observations in regard to the ravages of insects in the
Government of Olonetz.
' All the land lying to the west of Lake Onega, from the
river Svir in the south, the entire western coast of the
Onega, and from it to the town of Povonetz, and thence to
the Lake Vig and the river of the same name, and on to
the White Sea, with the large peninsula beyond, is a dis-
trict characterised by its fauna and flora. Of the pro-
priety of this statement I became fully satisfied after I
visited the Onega lake ; and a brief glance at a map may
246 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
suffice to make this intelligible to any one who lias himself
visited the locality.
' In the west we fiad the land for the most part cut up
by long lakes, and the ground is chiefly rocky : in the east
we find fewer lakes, the land is more alluvial, and there
are fewer rivers. As a consequence we find the popula-
tion manifesting some difference in character. In the
west there is little of agriculture, but more of hunting,
fishing, felling of trees, and floating of timber ; and the
people go out as carpenters, builders, glaziers, and stone
hewers. The eastern coast of the lake is mostly devoted
to agriculture, in the Fudoschen circle it is especially that
of flax ; in the circle of Kargopolsk it is that of rye and
other grain. The eastern part raises so much corn, that,
excepting in the Wytegorsk circle, there is corn to be sold ;
but in the western part almost half of what is consumed is
purchased.
* In like manner, if w^e look to the flora, we see also a
few differences ; we find, as might have been expected,
plants common in the west, which are rare in the east ;
and also the reverse, plants common in the east which are
rare in the west. In the east we find as characteristic of
the flora, Larix Siherica, Atragena alpina, Delphiuum elatum,
Silene tartarica, Pyrethrum cormyhosum, Crepis sihirica, which
are all awanting in the west ; while in the east there
naturally are missed all the plants which grow upon rocks
in the west.
' My list of plants was necessarily defective, as I
followed only a special object in preparing for it, and my
undertaking was limited to the environs of Lake Onega
and to the outlying places around.
' My list of Lepidoptera is not yet complete, but I may
mention here a few of the more injurious of these. Of
Lepidoptera which have been very hurtful to agricultural
produce since 1870, may be mentioned Agrotis exclama-
tionis and srgitum, and, in passing, Hydroceia nictitans, Hadeiia
oculea and H. ha.silinea. These insects do enormous injury ;
and more especially does the Characas graminis do great
FAUNA. 247
damage to the meadows, while the caterpillars devour the
roots of the grasses on extensive stretches of land.
' Of the injurious forest insects I cannot say much.
Though we have a goodly share of these, we do not see
much serious injury done by them. As is known, the
injurious forest insects are divided into two sections : — 1.
Insects which reduce the trees to a sickly condition ; to
this class belong the Chrysomelldae, Melolonshidae, many
Curculionidae^ also Polydrosus nurcans, Strophosonins coryli^
Bruchus, Tortrix trohilana, Hylesinus inniptrda, Retinia turion-
aiia, Resinella buoliana, and the caterpillars of Lophyrus. 2.
Then come the insects which entirely kill the trees, or
make the wood altogether useless for technical purposes.
In. this respect the Bostrychus lineatus has done great
damage of late years. In December 1879 the gales did
great destruction by breaking over and uprooting trees.
Many thousands and thousands upon thousands of trees
w^ere overturned, and the mountain ridges suffered espe-
cially : in some places there were whole stretches of
forest levelled with the ground. In 1880 the Crown
ordered the sale of the fallen trees, but at the prices of
standing trees, and there were of course few bought. In
consequence of this, the prices were lowered in 1881, and
many were purchased and dressed. But still, in the
inspection made in the spring of 1882, it was seen that
Nature had not failed to do her work in the matter.
Bostrychus linearis had created great devastation. It
wrought its way into the wood to the depth of two verst-
choks — three and a half inches — and from thick trees,
eight verstchoks — fourteen inches — in diameter, only
boards five and six verstchoks — nine inches and ten and a
half inches — in breadth could be obtained, I speak here
only of the Finns sylvestris.
' Moreover, in the summer of 1882, I made the observa-
tion that the said Bost/yckus lineata readily attacked sick
overturned trees of Eelala and of Alnwi incana. Their
course in penetrating the Betula was irregular ; but in the
Pinus sylvestris it was as foUowti :' — [The description was
248 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
accompanied by a diagram representing the cambium to
the depth of from seven to eight verstchoks ; from the
outer circumference proceeded several branching blue
lines ; and in the branches of these, at varying distances,
were black circular and oval spots. These represented a
horizontal slice of the trunk of a Pinus sylveatris ; and the
blue ramified lines represented the horizontal course made
by the insect, the biack spots indicated places at which it
departed from this to take a course more or less vertical].
* According to my observation,' M. Guenther went on to
say, ' the insect never penetrated beyond the cambium.
Besides this, old trees were throughout their whole thick-
ness entirely destroyed by similar oval vertical openings,
produced apparently by the Tetropium luridum!
Section A. — Coleoptera.
The following is a list of Coleoptera, according to Cata-
logus Coleopterorum Europae et Caucasi, auctoribus L. V.
Heyden, E. Eeitler, et J. IVeise, collected in the Govern-
ment of Olonetz by Forst-Meister A. Guenther, Petra-
zavodsk : —
* Catalogus Coleopterorum Guhern. Olonetzeus.
Cicindela campestris, L. C. hybrida, L. C. sylvatica, L.
Cychrus caraboides, L.
Melancarabus glabra tus, Pk.
Carabus nitens, L. C. clathratus, L. C. granulatus, L.
C. Menetriesi, Fisch.
Nebria cursor, Miill. N. Gyllenhali, Schh.
Leistus ferrugineus, L. L. rufescens, Fbr.
Notiopholus aquations, L. N. palustris, Dft. N. bigu-
thatiis, Fbr.
Blethisa multipunctato, L.
Elaphrus uliginosus, Fbr. E. cupreus, Dft. E. riparius, L.
Tachypus pallipes, Dft. T. flavipes, L.
Bembidion velox, L. B. punctulatum, Drap. B. bi-
COLEOPTERA. 249
punctatum, L. B. obliquum, Strm. B lampros, Hbst.
B. lampros, var, 14 striatum, Tunis. B. Grapei, Gyll. B.
tenellum, Er. B. Giloipes, Strm. B. Scliiippeli, Dej. B.
Doris, Pauz. B. 4 maculatum, L. B. saxatile. Gyll. B.
femoratum, Strm. B. rupestre, L. B. ustulatum, L. B.
Manuerheimii, Saklb. B. guttula, F.
Tachys nanus, Gyll.
Trechus rubeus, F. T. 4 striatus, Schrk. T. secalis,
Payr.
Patrobus excavatus, Payr. P. var. assimilis, Chaud. P.
var. clavipes, Thms. P. septentrionalis, Dej.
Broseus cephalotes, L.
Clivina fossor, L. C. collaris, Ilbrt.
Dyschirius, globosus, Hbrt. D. thoracicus, E-ossi. D.
aeneuSj Dej.
Lorocera pilicornis, F.
Panagaeus cruix major, L.
Oodes helopiodes, F.
Chlaenius tibialis, Dej. C. nigricornis, L.
Badister bipustulatus, Fbr.
Anisodactylus binotatus, Fbr.
Ophonus puncticollis, Payr. 0. brevicollis, Serv.
Pseudophonus pubescens. Mull.
Harpalus aeneus, F. H. aeneus, v. confusus, Dej, H.
discoideus, Fbr. H. aubripes, Dft. H. latus, L. H. latus,
V. erythrocepbalus, F. H. luteicornis, Dft. H. tardus,
Pauz. H. tardus, v. angusiior, F. Sahib.
Brady cellus collaris, Payr.
Stenolophus dorsalis, F.
Amara plebeja, Gyll. A. littorea, Thms. A. similata,
Gyll. A. ovata, Fbr. A. nitida, Ptrm. A. communis,
Pauz. A. nigricornis, Thms. A. lunicollis, Schdt. A.
curta, Dej. A. aenea, Dej. A. famelica, Zimm. A. eury-
nota, Pauz. A. familiaris, Dft. A. lucida, Dft. A. tibialis,
Payr. A. ingenua, Dft. A. erratica, Dft. A. interstitialis,
Dej. A. livida, F. A. praeternussa, Saklb. A. aulica, Pauz.
A. consularis, Dft. A. fulva, Deg. A. apricaria, Payr.
Plerostichus oblongopunctatus, F. P. vitreus, Dej. P.
250 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHEEN RUSSIA.
angiistatus, Dft. P. niger, Schall. P. vulgaris, L. P.
nigritus, Fbr. P. gracilis, Dej. P. minor, Gyll. P. strenuus,
Pauz. P. diligens, Strm.
Poccilus dimidiatus. Olio. P. Koyi, Germ. P. lepidus,
Leske. P. cupreus, L. P. coerulescens, L.
Lao-f^rus vernalis, Pauz.
Laemostenus inaequalis, Pauz.
Calathus fuscipes, Goez. C. erratas, Sahib. C. ambi-
guus, Payr. C. melanocephalus, L. C. micropterus, Dft.
Synuchus nivalis, Pauz.
Platynus Mannerheimi, Dej.
Agonum, 6 punctatum, L. A. Mulleri, Hbrt. A. viduum,
Pauz. A. viduum, v. moestum, Dft. A. dolens, Sahib.
A. 4 punctatum, Deg.
Europhilus piceus, L. E. gracilus, Gyll. E. fuliginosus,
Pauz. E. fuliginosus, v. puellus, Dej.
Lebia chlorocephala, Hoffm L. cruix minor, L.
Gymindis macularis, Dej. C, vaporariorum, L.
Drornius sigma, Rossi.
Metabletus truncatellus, L.
Haliplus variegatus, Strm. H. ruficollis, Deg. H.
fluviatilis, Aub,
Noterus crassicornis, Miill.
Laccophilus obscurus, Pauz.
Bidessus parvulus. Mull.
Hyphydrus ferrugineus, L.
Coelambus inaequalis, F. C. versicolor, Schall. C. 5
lineatus, Zett. C. impressopunctatus, Schall.
Deronectes brevis, Strm.
Hydroporus lineatus, F. H. minimus. Scop. H. melan-
arius, Strm. H. nigrita, Fbr. H. obscurus, Strm. H.
pubescens, Gyll. H. giabriusculus, Aub. H. notatus,
Strm. H. neglectus, Schaum. H. scalesiamus, Stft. H.
anpustatus, Strm. H. umbrosus, Gyll. H. striola,
Gyll., V. vittula, Er. H. palustris, L. H. erythroce-
phalus, L.
Agabus affinis, Payr. A. unguicularis, Thms. A. con-
gener, Payr. A. clypealis, Thms. A. Mimmii, F. Sahib.
COLEOPTERA. 261
A. confinis, Gyll. A.. Sturnii. Gyll. A. chaleonotus, Pauz.
A. Erichsoni, Harold. A, melanarius, Aub.
Platambus maculatus, L.
Flybius ater, Deg. F. obscurus, Marsch. F. subaeneus,
Er. F. crassus, Thorns. F. gutliger, Gyll. F. aenesceus,
Thms. F. angustior, Gyll. F. fenestratus, F.
Rhantus Grapei, Gyll. R. notaticollis, Aub. R. sutur-
alis, Laiod. R. exoletus, Forst. R. bistriatus, Bergsk.
Colyrabetes Paykalli, Er. 0. striatus, L.
Dyticus marginalis, L. D. circumcinctus, Atir. D.
latissimus, L.
Acilius sulcatus. L. A fasiatus, Dej.
Gyrious minutus, F. G. natator, L. G. dorsalis, Gyll.,
V. maximus, Gyll. G. dorsalis, v. opacus, Saklb.
Hydrochus brevis, Hbst.
Hydraena riparia, Kugel.
Helophorus aquaticus, L.. H. frigidus, Graels. H. stri-
gifrous, Thms. H. aeneipennis, Thms. H. granularis, L.
H. brevipalpis, Bedel. H. nanus, .^trm.
Hydrobius fuscipes, L.
Creniphilus globulus, Payr.
Philydrus melanocephalus, 01. P. testaceus, F. P. 4
punctatus, Hbst. P. frontalis, Er. P. minutus, F.
Laccobius minutus, L.
Chaetarthria semimulum, Pr.
Limnobius truncatellus, Fbr.
Sphaeridium scarabaeoides, L. S. bipustulatum, F.
Coelostoma orbiculare, F.
Cercyon ustulathm, Preysth. C. impressus, Strm. 0.
melanocephalus, F. C. haemorrhoidalis, F. C. lateralis,
Marsch. C. marinus, Thms. C. bifenestratus, Kust. C.
unipunctatus, L. C. quisquilius, L. C. analis, Payr. C.
lugubris, Payr.
Megasternum Colitophagum Marsch.
Cryptoplearum minutum, F.
Limnichus pygmaeus, Strm.
Dryops prolifericornis, F. D. auriculata, Pauz.
Limnius Dargelasi, Latr.
252 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHEEN RUSSIA.
Elmis changei, Latr.
Latelrais Volkmari, Pauz.
Geor3^ssus creaulatus, Rossi.
Bolitochara lunulata, Fr.
Leptusa analis, Gyll.
Notothecta confusa, Maerk.
Aleochara fuscipes, Grav. A. brevipennis, Grav. A.
morion, Grav. A. mycetophaga, Kr. A. lanuginosa, Grav.
A. moereus, Gyll.
Dinarda dentata, Grav.
Lomechusa strnmosa, F.
Myrmedonia collaris, Payr. M. cognata, Maerk. M.
limbata, Payr. M. laticoilis, Maerk.
Astilbus canaliculatus, F.
Falagria suculata, Payk. F. obscura, Grav.
Tachyusa coaretata, Er. T. leucopns, Marsh.
Gnypeta carbonari a, Marsh.
Homalota longula, Heer. H. debilis, Er. H. gemina,
Er. H. arctica, Thorns. H. elongatula, Grav. H. melano-
cera, Thms. H. Gyllenhali, Thms. H. graminicola, Grav.
H. silvicola, Fuss. H. euryptera, Steph. H. brinotata, Kr.
H. xanthopus, Thms. H. sericans, Grav. H, picipennis,
Muuh. H. atramentaria, Gyll. H. longicornis, Gyll. H.
excellens, Kr. H. circellaris, Grav. H. exilis, Er. H.
talpa, Heer. H. analis, Grav. H. sordid a, Marsch. H.
pygmaea, Grav. H. aterrima, Grav. H. fungi, Grav, H.
laticoilis, Steph.
Placusa humilis Er. P. infima, Er.
Thectura aequata, Er. T. angustata, Gyll. T. plana,
Gyll.
Hygronoma dimidiata, Er.
Dasyglossa prospera, Er.
Oxypoda opaca, Grav, O. leutula, Er. 0. haemonhoa,
Sahib. O. annularis. Sahib.
Ocyusa maura, Er.
Gyrophaena laevipennis Ki.
Ollgota pusillima Grav,
Myllaena dubia, Grav. M. minuta, Grav.
COLEOPTEEA. 253
Dinopsis erosa, Steph.
Tacliinus 'rufipes, L. T. pallipes, Grav. T. marginatus,
Gyll. T. proermus Kr. T. flavipes, F. T. laticollis, Grav.
T. marginelliis, F. T. collaris, Grav. T. subterraneus, Ij.
T. fimetarius, F.
Tachyponis obtusiis, L. T. abdominalis, Gyll. T. pal-
lidas, Scharp. T. chrysomelinus. T. jocusus. Say. T.
hypnorum, F. T. transversalis, Grav. T. macropterus,
Steph.
Conuriis pubescens, Payr. C. pedicularis, Grav.
Bolitobius lanulatus, L. B. trimaculatiis, Pr. B. pyg-
maeus F.
Megacroiis cingulatus, Marsch. M. formosus, Grav.
Mycetophorus splendidus, Grav. M. elegans, Maeal.
Qnedias mesomeliniis, Marsh. Q. xanthopus, Er. Q.
laevigatas, Gyll. Q. fuliginosus, Grav. Q. niolochinus,
Q. obliteratus, Er. Q. atteniiatus, Gyll.
Emus niaxillosus, L.
Leistotrophus murinus L.
Haphyllnus pubescens, Dej. H. trythropterus, L. H.
caesareus, Cedex. H, latebricola, Grav. H. fulvipes.
Scop. H. picipeuuis, F. H. fuscatus, Grav. H. aeneo-
cephalus, Deg.
Actobius cinerasceus, Grav.
Philanthus nitidus. F. P. splendens, F. P. atrata. Grav.
P. aeneus, Rossi, P. cephalotes, Grav. P. corrinus, Er.
P. sano-uinolentus, Grav. P. laminatus. Creutz. P. rotundi-
collis, Menet. P fimetarius, Grav. P. nigritulus, Grav.
P. splendidalus, Grav. P. vern^lis, Grav. P. politus, F.
P. varius, Gyll. P. marginatus, Mull. P. crueutatus, Gmel.
P. varians, Payr. P. agilis, Grav. P. lepidus, Grav. P.
nigrita,- Grav. P. micans, Grav. P. tenuis, F.
Othius myrmecophilus, Kiesw. O. lapidicola, Kies.
Baptolinus pilicornis, Pr.
Leptacinus botychrus, Gyll. L. formiscetorum, Malen.
Xantholinus tricolor, F. L. linearis. Olio. L. punctu-
latus, Pr. L. ochraceus, Gyll. L. lentus, Er.
Lathrobium elongatum, L. L. boreale, Hochh. L. ful-
254 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
vipenne, Grav. L. fovaiura, Stepli. L. quadratum, Payr.
L. atripalpe, Scrib.
Stilicus rufipes, Germ.
Sunius neglectus, Maerk.
Paederus riparius, L.
Dianous coerulescens, Gyll.
Stenus bigattatus, L. S. bipunctatus, Er. S. clavi-
cornis, Scop. S. providus, Er. S. lustrator, Er. S. pro-
ditor, Er. S. Juno, F. S. fasciculatus, T. Sahib. S.
melanarius, Stepb. S. bupthalmus, Grav. S. canalicula-
tus, Gyll. S. palposus, Zett. S. nitens, Stepb. S. fusci-
pes, Grav. S. argus, Grav S. opticus, Grav. S. scabri-
culus, F. Sahib. S. crassus, Steph. S. tarsalis, Ljungh.
S. similis, Hbrt. S. cincindeloides, Scball. S. fornicatns,
Steph. S. pubescens, Steph. S. binotatus, Jungh. S.
palustris, Er.
Euaesthetus bipunctatus, Ljung. E. laeviusculus, Marsh.
Oxyporus rufus, L.
Bledius fracticornis, Payr. B. subterraneus, Er. B.
pallipes, Grav.
Plabysthetus nadifrous, Sahib. P. arenarius, Fourer.
Oxytelus rugosus, Grav. 0. fulvipes Er. O, scilptus, Grav.
Hapladeres callatus, Grav.
Trogophloeus corticinus, Gr. T. foveolatus, Sahib.
Anthophagus omallenus, Zett. A. caraboides, L.
Geodromicus plagiatus v. nigritus, Audi.
Lestesa longelytrata, Goez.
Orochares angustata Er.
Olophrum consimili, Gyll.
Arpedium quadrum, Grav. A. brachypterum, Grav.
Homalium pusillum, Grav. H. lapponicum, Zett. H.
rufipes, Fourer.
Anthobium minutum, F. A. longipenne, Er.
Protinus brachypterus, F. P. mairopterus Gyll.
Megarthrus depressus, Payr.
Phlaeochares subtilissima, Marsh,
Bryadis fossulata, Rohb.
Rybaxis sanguinea, L.
COLEUPTEUA. 255
Bvthinus biilbifcr, Robb.
Pselaphus Heisii, Hbrt. P. dresdensis, Hbrt,
Euplectus signatus, E-ebb. E. ambiguus. Rehb.
Euthia seydmaenoides, Stph.
Scydmoenus coUaris, Miill.
Euconnus birticollis, Fll.
Ptomaphagus morio, F. P. affinis, Steph.
Colon bidentatnm, Sablb. C. serripes, K-alilb. C. ser-
ripes, V. puncticollis, Kr. C. appeDdiculatum. Sahib.
Phoxphuga atrata, L. P. opaca, L.
Thonatopholus thoracicus, L, T. sinuatus F. T.
rugosiis. L.
Necrades littoralis L.
Necrophorus vespillo, L. N. vestigator, Herschel. N.
investigator, Zett. N. vespilloides, Herbt.
Hydnobius spinipes, Gyll.
Liodes obesa, Schmdl L. dubia, Kugel. L. furoa, Er.
L. ovalis, Schmdt. L. badia, Sturn. L. parvula, Sahib.
Cyrtusa subtestacea, Gyll.
Auisotoma humeralis, Kugs. A. axillaris, Gyll. A.
glabra, Kugi.
Amphicyllis globus, F.
Agathidium laevigatum, Er.
PleDidium formicetorum, Kr.
Millidium minutissimum, Ljungh.
Trichopteryx sericans, Heer. T. lata. Mot. T. thora-
cica, Waltl.
Orthoperus brumipes, Gyll.
Scaphisoma agaricinum, L.
Phalaerus substriatus, Gyll.
(Jlibrus aeneus F. O. bicolor, F. 0. affinis, Strm.
Dacne bipustulata, Thub.
Combocerus glaber, Schall.
Triplax russica, L. T. aenea, Schall.
Endomychus coccineus, L.
Myrmecoxemis subterraneus, Chir.
Antherophagus pallens, Olio.
Cryptophagus acutangulus, Gyll. C. scanieiis, L.
256 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Atomaria fuscipes, Gyll.
Lathridias lardarius, Deg.
Enicmus minutus, L.
Corticaria pubescens, Gyll. C. longicollis, Zett.
Melanoptbalma gibbosa, Hbst. M. fuscula, Gyll.
Fritoma picea, F.
Micropeplas tesserula, Curt.
Cerrus bipustulatus, Payr.
Brachypterus urticae, F.
Erurea aestiva L. E. variegata, Hbst. E. obsoleta, F.
E. boreella, Zett. E. pygmaea, Gyll. E. pusilla, FU.
Nitudula, bipustulata, L.
Omosita depressa, L.
Soronia grisca, L.
Meligetbes rufipes, Gyll. M. lumbaris, Strm. M. bras-
sicae, Scop. M. subrugosus, Gyll. M. viduatus, Strm. M.
pedicularius, Gyll.
Pocadius ferrugineus, F.
Cycbramus luteus, F. »
Tps quadripimctatus, Olio. F. qiiadripustulatus,L.
Rhizophagus ferriiginus,'^Payr. R. dispar, Payr. P. par-
vulus, Payr.
Tenebrioides mauritaniciis, L.
Ortoma grossum, L. 0 ferrugineum, L. 0. oblongum, L.
Orthocerus muticiis, L.
SyDchitades crenata, F.
Cerylon histeroides, F.
Hyliota plana, L.
Silvanns, unideDtatus, Olio.
Monotonia angusticollis. Gyll. -
Byturiis sambnci, Scop.
Dermester murinus, L. D. lardarius, L.
Anthrenus museorum, L. A. fuscus, Ltr.
Cistela pilula, L. C. fasciatus, F. C. pustulatus, Fort.
Citela varia, F.
Pedilopberus aenus, F.
Platysoma oblongum, F.
Hister unicolor, L. H. cadaverinus, Hoffm. H. succi-
COLEOPTERA. 257
cola, Thms. H. neglectus, Germ. H. carbouarius, Tel. H.
ventralis, Mars. H. purpurascens, Hbt. H. bissexstri-
atiis, F.
Saprinus rugifer, Payr. S. aeneus, F.
Systenocerus caraboides, L.
Ceruchus chrysomelinus, Hshw.
Sinodendron cylindricus, L.
Onthophagus michicornis, L.
Aspbadius subterraneus, L. A. fossor, L. A, haemorr-
hoidalis, L. H. fimetarius, L, A. ater, Deg. A. granarius,
L. A. patridarius, Hbst. A. sordidus, F. A. rufus, Moll.
A. niger, Pauz. A. inquinatus, F. A. conspurcatus, L.
A. pusillus, Hbt. A. merdarius, F. A. prodromus, Brahm.
A. pimctatosuleatus, Hm. A. rufipes, L. A. luridus, Payr.
A. depressus, Kugel.
Aegialia sabuleti, Payr.
Geotrupes stercorarius, L. G. spiaiger, Marsch. G. syl-
vaticus, Pauz. G. vernalis, L.
Trox scaber, L.
Servia brunnea, L.
Rhizotrogus solstitialis, L.
Melolontha hippocastani, F.
Phyllopertha horticola, L.
Anomala aenea, Deg.
Cetonia floricola, Hbst. C. aurata, L,
Trichius fasciatus, L.
Chalcophora mariana, L.
Dicerca furcata, Thms.
Buprestis rustica, L. B. haemorrhoidalis, Hbt. B. 8
gutbata, L.
Melanophila acuminata, Dag.
Pbaenops cyanea, F.
Anthaxia 4 punctata, L.
Chrysobothris chrysostigma, L.
Agrilus viridis, L. A. viridis v. nocious, Ratzb.
Trachys minuta, L.
Avelocera conspersa, Gyll. A. fasciata, L.
Lacon murinus, L.
S
258 FOREST LANDS OF NOETHERN RUSSIA.
Elater cinnabariniis, Esch. E. elongatulus, F. E. bal-
teatus, L. E, tristis, L. E. nigrinus, Payr.
Cryptohypnus riparius, F. C. 4 pustulatus, F.
Cardiophoras ruficollis, L. C. ebeninus, Germ.
Melanotus cartanipes, Payr. M. rufipes, Hbrt.
Limonius aeruginosas, Olio. L. aeneoniger, Deg.
Athous undulatus, Deg. A. subfuscus, Miill.
Corymbites pectinicornis, L. C. cupreus, F. C. cupreus
V. aeruginosas F. C. castaneus, L. C. affinis^ Payr. C.
quercus, Gyll. C. tesselatus, L. C. impressus, F. C.
nigricornis, Pauz, C, melancholicus F. C. aeneus, L. C,
cruciatus L. C. costalis, Payr.
Agriotes lineatus, L. A, obscurus, L.
Dolopius marginatus, L.
Sericus brunneus, L.
Adrastus pallens, F.
Denticollis linearis, L.
Dascillus cervinus, L.
Helades minutus, L. H. marginatus, F.
Microcara livida, F.
Cypbon coarctata, Payr. C. nitidulus, Thms. C. padi,
L. C, variabilis, Thubg. C. pallidulus, Bob.
Eucinetus haemorrhoidalis, Germ.
Eros aurora, Hbrt.
Platycis minutus, F.
Dictyoptera sanguinea, L.
Lampyris noetilma, L.
Podabrus alpinus, Payr. P. lapponicus, Gyll.
Cantharis violaceus, Payr. C. fusca, L, C rustica, Foil.
C. obscura, L. G. nigricans, Mull. C. rufus, L. C. rufus,
V. liturata, Foil. C. fuloscollis, F. C. flavilabris, Foil.
C. paludosa, Foil. C. haemorrhoidalis, F.
Khagonycha pilosa, Payr. R. testacea L, R. femoralis,
Brutl. R. pallipes, F. R. elongata, Foil. R, atra, L.
Malthinus bigathulus, Payr. M. punctatus, Fourcr.
Malachius bipustulatus, L. M. aeneus, L.
Attains cardiacae L.
Dasytes niger, L. D. obscarus, Gyll. D. plumbeus, Mull,
COLEOPTERA. 259
Dolichosoma lineare, Rossi.
Cleroides formicarius, L.
Necrobia violacea, L.
Elateroides dermestoides, L.
Bruchus (Ptinus) far L.
Anobium denticollis, Pauz. A. pertinax, L. A. domes-
ticum, Fourer. A. paniceum, L.
Ernobius nigrinus, Strm.
Dorcatoma dresdensis, Hbrt.
Dinoderus elongatus, Payr.
Cis boleti, Scop. C. Dicans, F, C. Jacquemarti, Mill.
C. alni, Gyll.
Rhapalodontus fronticornis, Pauz.
Octotemnus glabriculus, Gyll.
Microzoum tibiale, F.
Bolitopliagus reticulatus, L.
Diaperis boleti, L.
Scaphideraa metallicum, F.
Gnathocerus cornutus F.
Corticeus fraxini, Kugel.
Upis ceramboides, L,
Tenebrio molitor, L.
Bius thoracicus, F.
Mycetochares flavipes, F.
Lagria hirta, L.
Orchesia fasciata, Payr.
Xlyita laevigata, Hellen.
Scotodes annulatus, Eschh.
Henotrachelus aeneus, Payr.
Notoxus monoceros, L. N. cornutus, F.
Anthicus ater, Pauz. A. luteicornis, Schaum.
Pyrochooa pectinicornis, L.
Mordella perlata, Sulz. M, amleata, L.
Mordellisteua huraeralis, L.
Anaspes frontalis, L. A. flava, L. A. rufilabris, Gyll.
Meloe violaceus, Marsh.
Calopus serraticornis, L.
Ditylus laevis, F. .• .
260 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Oedemera virescens, L. 0. lurida Marsch.
Chrysanthia viridis, Schmdl.
Pytho depressus, L.
Rhiuosimus ruficollis, L.
Otiorrhynchus dubius, Strm. 0. lepidopterus, F. 0.
ovatus, L.
Phyllobius maculicorais, Gern. P. glaucus, Scop. P.
urticae, Deg. P. argentatus, L. P. piri, L.
Polydrusus tereticoUis, Deg. P. fasciatus, Miill. P.
flavipes, Deg. P. cervinus, L. P. mollis, Stroew.
Platy tarsus echiDatus, Bourd.
Strophosomus coryli, F. S. obesus, Marsch.
Brachyderes incanus, L.
Sitona flavesceus, Marsch. S. sulesfrons, Thubg. S.
lineatus, L.
Tanemecus pallisetus, F.
Hypera pollux, F. H. ruraicis, L. H. meles, F. H.
polygon!, F. H. elongata, Payr. H. suspiciosa, Hbt. H.
muriDa, F.
Cloonus trisulcatus, Hbt.
Lixus paraplecticus, L.
Hylobius piceus, Deg. H. abietis, L. H. pinastri, Gyll.
Pissodes pini, L. P. notatns, F. P. piniphiliis, Hbt.
Grypidius equiseti, F.
Erirrhinus acridulas, L. E. aethiops, F.
Docytomus suratus, Gyll. D. salicinus, Gyll. D. tor-
trix, L. D. dorsalis, L.
Anoplus plantaris, Naer.
Lyprus cylindricus, Payr.
Cryptorrhynchus lapatti, L.
Magdalis phlegmatica, Hbt. M. duplicata, Germ. M.
frontalis, Gyll. M. violacea, L. M. carbonaria, L. M.
pmni, L.
Balanobius brassicae, F.
Anthonomus rubi, Hbrt. A. pubescens, Payr. A. incur-
vus, Pauz. A. recti rostres, L.
Acalyptus carpini, Hbrt.
Elleschus bipunctatus, L.
COLEOPTERA. 261
Miarus campanulae, L.
Nanophyes lythri, F.
Orchestes rusci, Hbrt. O. salicis, L. 0. stigmo, Germ.
O. foliorum, Mull. 0. decoratus, Germ.
Allodactylus geranll, Payr.
Coeliodes rubicundus, Pr.
Cnemogonus epilobli, Pr.
Cidnorrhinus 4 maculatiis, L.
Rhinoncus castor, F. R. pericarpius, L.
Phytobius 4 nodosus, Gyll.
Centorrhynchus marginatus. Payi\ C. sulcicollis, Payr.
C. erysimi, F.
Tapinotus sellatiis, F.
Baris F. album L.
Ryncolus ater, L.
Apion cerdo, Gerst. A, urticarium, Hbrt. A. Hookeri,
Kerb. A. simile, Kerb. A. viciae, Payr. A. apricans,
Hbrt. A. fla\dpes, F. A. vireus, Hbrt. A. Gyllenhali,
Kerb. A. minimum, Hbrt. A. Sundevali, Boh. A. fru-
mentarium, L. A. violaceum, Kirb.
Rhynchiter cupreus, L. R. plauirostris, F. R. niega-
cephalus, Grm. R. betulae, L.
Rhinomacer alni, MtlU. R. populi, L.
Apaderes coryli, L.
Platyrrhinus laterostris, F.
Tropideres niveirostris, F.
Maerocephalus albinus, L.
Mylabris atomarius, L. M. loti, Payr.
Hylastes ater, Payr. H. cunicularius. Er. H. opacus,
H. glabratus, Zett. H. palliatus, Gyll.
Myclophilus piniperda, L.
Scolytus Geoffroyi, Goez.
Crypturgus pusillus, Gyll. C. cinereus, Hbrt.
Tomicus, 6 dentatus, Boern. T. typographus, L. T.
acuminatus, Gyll. T. laricis, F. T. suturalis, Gyll. T.
T. chalcographus, L. T. bidentatus, Hbrt.
Dryocoetes autographus, Rtzb.
Tripodendron lineatus, Olio.
262 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Spondyliis buprestoides, L.
Steuocorus mordax, Dej. S. inquisitor, L.
Oxymirus cursor, L.
Pachyta lamed, L. P. 4 maculatus L.
Brachyta iDterrogationalis, L.
Gaurotes virginea, L.
Acmaeops pratensis, Lauh.
Leptura sanguinosa, Gyll. L. livida, F. L. maculicor-
nis, Deg. L. rubra, L. L. virens, L. L sanguinolenta,
F. L. 6 maculata, L. L. chrysomeloides, Schrk. L.
nigripes, Deg. L. 4 faterata, L. L. melanura L.
Molorchus minor, L.
Criocephalus rusticus, L.
TetropiuQi luridum, L,
Asemum striatum, L.
Callidiura aeneum, Deg. C. violacem, Fairn.
Semanotes undatus, L.
Clytus rusticus, L.
Acanthocinus aedilis, L. A. griseus, F.
Poofonochaerus fasciculatus, Deor.
Lamia textor, L.
Monochammus sartor, F. M. sutor, F.
Saperda populnea, L. S. carcharias, L. S. scalaris, L.
S. perforata, Pall
Oberea oculata, L.
Donacia crassipes, F. D. dentata, Hoppe. D. versi-
colorea, Rrhm. D. aquatica, L. D. bicolor, Zschael. D.
obscura, Gyll. D. thalassina. Germ. D. breoicornis, Ahr.
D inipressa, Payr. D. feiiiiica, Payr. D. semicuprea,
Pauz. D. simplex, F.
Plateumoris sericea, L. P. discolor, Pauz. P. braccata.
Scop.
Zeugophora subspinosa, F.
Lema cyanello, L. L. melanope, L.
Ciioceris merdigera, L.
Labidostmis 3 dentata, L.
elytra 4 punctata, L.
Gynandrophthalma saliciva. Scop.
COLEOPTERA. 263
Cryptocephaliis coryli, L, C. 8 punctatus, Scop. C. 6
punctatus, L. C. distinguendus, Schneig. C. bipunctatiis,
L, C, sericeus, L. C. hypochoeridis, L. C, nitidus, L.
C. pini, L. C. labratus, L. C. exiguus, Schneid. C.
Moraei, L.
Pachybrachys hieroglyphicus, Satlb.
• Pachnephorus tesselatus, Dft.
Adoxus obscurus, L.
Gastroidea viridala, Dej. G. polygon!, L.
Chrysomela staphylea, L. C. marginata, L. C. analis, L.
C. varians, Schall. C. fatuosa, L. C. graminis, L. C.
polita, L.
Orina gloriosa, F.
Phytodecta rufipes, Dej. P. viminalis, L. P. 5 punc-
tata, F. P. pallida, L.
Phyllodecta vulgotissima, L. P. vitellinae, L.
Hydrothassa aucta, F. H. marginella, L. H. hanno-
verana, F.
Prasocuris phellandrii, L.
Phaedon armoraciae L, P. cochleariae, F.
Plagiadera versicoloria, Satlb.
Melasoma aeneum, L. M. collare, L. M. lapponioum,
L. M. lapponicum, v. bulgoearense, F. M. tremulae, F.
M. populi, L. M. longicolle, Suffr.
Phyllobrotica 4 maculata, L.
Luperus pinicola, Dft. L. flavipes, L.
Lochmaea capreae, L.
Trirhabda viburni, Payr.
Gallerucella nymphaeae, L. G. aquatica, L. G. lineola,
E. G. calmariensis, L. G. tenella, L.
Galerma tanaceti, L. G. pomonae, Scop.
Crepidocera femorata, Gyll. C. nitidula, L. C. ullxines,
L. C. ferruginea, Scop.
Mantura rustica, L. M. chrysanthemi, Koch.
Chaetoenema concinna, Marsch. C. aridula, Gyll. C,
Sahlbergi, Gyll. C. hortensis, Fourer.
Psylloides culcullata, FU.
Haltica lythri, Aub. H. oleracea, L,
264 FOREST LANDS OF NOETHERN RUSSIA.
Batophila rubi, Payr.
Phyllotreta undulata, Kutsch.
LoDgitarsis apricalis, Beca. L. luridus, Scop. L. atri-
capillus, Dft. L. melanocephalus, Deg.
Dibolia cynaglossi, Koch.
Cassida sanguinosa, SufFr. C. vibex, L. C. chloris,
Suffr. C. saDguinolata, Mull. C. nobilis, L. C. nebulosa,
L. C. flaveola, Thub.
Hippodamia 13 punctata, L. H. 7 macnlata, Deg.
Adonia variegata, Gaez.
Anisostica 19 punctata, L.
Adalia bothnica, Payr. A. bipunctata, L.
Coccinella 7 punctata, L. C. trifasciata, L. C. 5 punc-
tata, L. C. hieroglyphica, L. C 14 pustulata, L.
Mysia oblongogutteta, L.
Halyzia ocellata L. H. 14 gutteta, L. H. 22 punctata
L. H. conglobata.
Coccidula rufa, Hbrt.
Chilocorus similis, Rossi, C. bipustulatus, L.
Exochomus 4 pustulatus, L.
Sc)'mnus suturalis, Thub. S. bipunctatus, L.
Sub-Section B.— Lepidopteea.
Lepidopteea of the Government of Olonetz, according to
Catalog der Lepidopteren des Europaeischen Tannengebiets
von 0. Standings, u. M. Wocke, collected by Forst-Meister
Guenther, Petrazavodsk.
Macrolepidoptera.
Papilionidae, _ _ _ 70
Sphingidae, - - - - 22
Bombycidea, - _ . 03
Noetuidae, - - - - 146
Geometridae,- - - - 162 = 463
LEPIDOPTERA. 265
Micro lepidop tera.
Pyralidae, - - - - 68
Tortricidae, - - - - 177
Tineidae, - _ - - 238
Pterophoridae, - - - 17 = 500
963
Varietates et abberationes, - 49
fthophalocera.
Papilio machaon, L.
Parnassius mnemosyne, L.
Aporia crategi, L.
Pieris brassicae, L. P. rapae, L. P. napi, L. P. napi,
ab. byronoae, 0. P. daplodice, L.
Antbocharis cardamines, L.
Leucophasia sinapib, L.
Colias palaeno, L. C. edusa, F.
Rbodocera rbamni, F.
Thecla betula, L. T. pruni, L. T. rubi, L.
Polyomniatus virgaureae, L. P. hippotlioe, L. P.
pblaeas, L. P. amphidamas, Esp.
Lycaena argyrotoxus, Bgstr. L. argns, L. L. optilete,
Knoch. L. astrarche, Bgstr. L. icarus. Kott. L. eume-
don, Esp. L. amanda, Schn. L. Donzelii, B. L. argiolus,
L. semiargus, Rott.
Apatura ilia, Schiff, ab. clytie, SchifF.
Limenitis populi, L.
Vannessa C. albuni, L. V. urticae, L. V. jo, L. V.
antiopa, L. Y. atalanta, L. V. cardui, L.
Melitaea maturna, L. M. aurinia, Rott. M. athalia
Rott.
Argynnis aphirape, Hb. A aphiraphe, v. ossianus, Hbrt.
A. aphirape, v. Isabella, Tgstr. A. seleoe, Schitf. A.
euphrosyne, L. A. pales, SchifF. A. amatbusia, Esp. A.
frigga, Thnb. A. ino, Esp. A. lathonia, L. A. aglaja, L.
A. niobe, L. A. adippe, L. A. paphia, L.
FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
,oia ligea, L. E. embla, Thnb. E. euryale, Esp., v.
.oides, Tgbtr.
eneis jutta, Hb.
ararge maera, L. P. hiera, F. P. aegeria, L.
j]pinephele lycaon, Rott. E. hyperantus, L.
Coenonympha iphis, Schiff. C. pamphilus, L. C. tiphon,
.lott.
Syrichtus alveus, Hb, S. malvae, L.
Hesperia lineola, O. H. sylvanus, Esp. H. comma, L.
Carterocephalus palaemon, Pall, C. silvius, Knoch.
Heterocera.
Sphinx pinastri, L.
Deilephila gallii, Rott. L. elpenor, L. D. porcellus, L.
D. nerii, L.
Smerinthus ocellata, L. S. populi, L. S. tremulae, Tr.
Macraglossa stellalarum, L. M. bombyliformis, O. M.
fucifornis, L.
Trochilium apiforme, CI.
Sciapteron tabaniforme, Rott.
Sesia spheciformis, Gerning. S. tipuliformis, CI. S.
culiciformis, L. S. formicaeformis, Esp.
Bembecia hylaeiformis, Lasp.
Ino pruni, Schiff. T. statices, L.
Zygaena scabiosae, Schev. Z. lonicerae, Esp.
SaiTothripa undulaua, Hb., ab. dilutana, Hb.
Earias clorana, L.
Hylophila prasinana, L.
Nola albula Hb. var. karelica. Tngst, N. centonalis, Hb.
Nudaria senex, Hb.
Setina irrorella, CI. S. irrorella, var. Audereggi, H. S.
S. mesomella, L.
Lithosia complana, L. L. lutarella L.
Encydia cribune, L.
Neraeophila russula, L. N. plantaginis, L. N. planta-
ginis, ab. hospita, Schiff. N. plantaginis, ab. matronalis,
Frr.
LEPIDOPTERA. 267
Arctia caja, L.
Spilosoma fuliginosa, L. S. mendica, CI. S. menthastri,
Esp.
Hepialiis humuli, L. H. velleda, Hb. H. ganna, Hb.
H. hecta, L.
Cossus cossus, L.
Psyche imicolor, Hufu. P. hirsutella, Hb,
Epichnopteryx bombycella, SchifiP.
Tumea intermediella, Brd.
Orgyia gonostigma, F. O. antiqua, L.
Dasychira selenitica, Esp. D. fascelina, L.
Leucoma salicis, L.
Bombyx crataegi, L. B. populi, L. B. lanestris L. B.
quercus, L. B. rabi, L.
Lasiocampa potatoria, L. L. illicifolia, L. L. pini, L.
Endromis versicolora, L.
Saturnia pavonia, L.
Aglia tau, L.
DrepaDa falcataria, L. D. curvatula, Bkh. D. lacer-
tinaria, L.
Harpyia furcula, L. H. bifida, Hb. H. vinula, L.
Notodonta dictaeoides, Esp. N. ziczac, L. N. torva,
Hb. N. dromedarius, L. N. bicoloria, Schiff. N. bicoloria,
V, albida, B.
Lophopteryx Sieversi, Meu. L. camelina, L.
Pterostoma palpioa, L.
Glupliisia crenata, Esp.
Phalera bucephala, L
Pygaera timon, Hb. P. curtula, L. P. anachoreta, F.
P. pigra, Hufu.
Thyatira batis L.
Cymatopliora octogesima, Hb. C. or F. C. duplaris, L.
Aspbalia flavicornis, L.
Detnas coryli, L.
Aeronycta leporiaa L. A. megacephala, F. A. alui, L.
A. psi, L. A. menyanthidis, View. A. aurifoma, F. A.
abscondita, Fr. A. rumicis, L.
Diphthera ludifica, L.
268 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Agrotis stris^ula, Thnb. A. polygona, F. A. subrosea,
Stph. A. sobrina, Gn. A. augur, F. A. obscura, Brahm.
A. pronulia, L. A. hyperborea, Zett. A. collina, B. A.
baja, F. A. sincera, Hs. A. speciosa, Hb, var. arctica,
Zett. A. cnigrum, L. A. dahlii, Hb. A. brunnea, F.
A. conflua, Fr. A. cuprea, Hb. A. plecta, L. A. fennica,
Tauscb. A. simulaus, Hufu. A. exclamationis, L. A.
nigricans, L. A. tritici, L. A. tritici, var. eruta, Hb.
A. tritici, var. aquilina, Hb. A. segetum, SchifF. A.
corticea, Hb. A. vestigalis, Rott. A. prasina, F. A.
occulta, L.
Charoeas graminis, L.
Mamestra serratilinea, Fr. M. advena, F. M. tincta,
Brkm. M. contigua, Vill. M. thalassina, Rott. M.
dissimilis, Knock, Knoch. M. piri, L. M. brassicae L.
M. Glauca, Hb. M. deutina, Esp. ^1. trifolii, Rott. M.
reticulata, Vill. M. serena, F.
Diantboecia proxima, Hb. D. proxima, ab. ochrostigma,
Ev. D. nana, Rott. D. compta, F. D. cucubali, Fuessl.
D. carpophaga, Bkh.
Polia chi, L.
Luperina Haworthii, Curt.
Hadena porpbyrea, Esp. H. adusta, Esp. H. adusta,
var. baltica, Hering. H. rubrirena, Fr. H. furva, Hb. H.
lateritia, Hufu. H. basilinea, F. H. rurea, F. H. rurea
ab. alopecurus, Esp. H. gemina, Hb. H. gemina ab.
remissa, Fr. H. didyma, Esp. H. didyma ab. leuco-
stigma, Esp. H. pabulatricula, Brabm.
Dipterygia scabriuscula, L.
Hyppa rectilinea, Esp.
Chloantba polyodou, CI.
Euplexia lucipara, L.
Naenia typica, L.
Helotropba leucostigma, Hb.
Hydroecia nictitans, Bkh. H. nictitans ab. erytbro-
stigma, Hu. H. micacaea, Esp.
Tapinostola fulva, Hb., ab, fluxa, Tr.
Leucania palleus, L. L. comnia, L. L. conigera, F.
LEPIDOPTERA. 269
Mithymna imbecilla, F.
Caradiina morpheus, Hufu. C. quadripunctata, F. C.
cinerasceus, Tugstr. C. petraea, Tugstr. C. alsines, Brahm.
C. taiaxaci, Hb. C. palustris, Hb.
Rusina tenebrosa, Hb.
Araphipyra tragopaginis, L.
Taeniscampa gothica, L. T. gothica. var. gothicina, H.S.
T, incerta, Hufu. T. optima, Hb.
Panolis piniperda, Pauz.
Pachnobia rubricosa, F.
Cosmia paleacea, Esp.
Dyschorista suspecta, Hb.
Cleoceris viminalis, F.
Orthosia circellaris, Hufu. 0. helvola, L.
Lanthia flavago, L. L. fulvago, L. L. fulvago, ab.
flavescens, Esp.
Orrhodia vaccinii, L. 0. vacciuii, ab. polita, F.
Scopelosonia satellitia, L.
Scoliopteryx libatrix, L.
Xylina socia, Rott. X. ingrica, H.S. X. lambda, F.
Calocampa vetusta, Hb. C. solidaginis, Hb.
Asteroscopus nubeculosus, Esp.
Calophasia lunula. Hufu.
Cucullia umbratica, L. C. gnaphalii, Hb.
Plusia tripartita, Hufu. P. moneta, F. P. chrysitis, L.
P. bractea, F. P. festucae, L. P. jota, L. P. macro-
gamma, Ev. P. gamma, L. P. interrogationis, L. P.
microgamma, Hb.
Anarta myrtilli, L. A. cordigera, Thnb.
Heliaca tenebrata, Sc.
Heliotbis dipsaceus, L.
Chariclea umbra, Hufu.
Erastria uncula, CI. E. pusilla, View.
Prothymia viridaria, CI.
Euclid ia mi, CI. E. glypbica, L.
Catocala fraxini, L. C. adultera, Men. C. pacta, L.
Boletobia fuliginaria, L.
Zanclognxtha grisealis, Hb.
270 FOREST LAXDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Herminia tentacularia, L.
Pecliipagon barbalis, CI.
Bomolocha frontis, Thnb.
Hypena rostralis, L. H. proboscidalis, L.
Tholomiges turfbsalis, Wx.
Rivula sericealis, Sc.
Brephos partheuias, L.
Geometra papilionaria, L.
Phorodesma smaragdaria, F.
Fodis putata, L.
Acidalia perochraria, F.R. A straininata, Fr. A.
pallidata, Bkh. A. subserieeata, Hw. A. bisetata, Hufu.
A. aversata, L. A. aversata, ab spoliata, Stgr. A. immo-
rata, L. A. rubiginata, Hufu. A incauata, L. A. fumata,
Stph. A. fumata, ab. simplaria, Hb. A. immutata, L.
A. strigilaiia, Hb.
Zonosoma pendularia, CI. Z. orbicularia, Hb.
Timandra a mat a, L.
Ehyparia melanaria, L.
Abraxas marginata, L. A. marginata, ab. pollutaria, Hb.
Cabera pusaria, L. C. exanthemata, Sc.
Xumeria pulveraria, L.
Ellopia prosapiaria, L.
Eugoiiia alniaria, L.
Seleuia bilunaria, Esp. S. lunaria, Schi^. S. tetral-
unaiia, Hufu.
Pericallia svringaria, L.
Odontopera bidentata, CI.
Crocallis elingoiaria, L.
Angerona prunaria, L. A. pruDaria,ab, sordiata, Tuessl,
Ptumina luteolata, L.
Epione apiciaria, Schitf. E. paralellaria, Schiff.
Hypoplectis adsper.saria, Hb.
Tenilia macularia, L.
Macaria notata, L. M. alternaria, Hb. M. signaria,
Hb. M. liturata, CI.
Ploseria pulverata, Thnb.
Biston pomonarius, B. B. hirtarius, CI.
LEPIDOPTERA. 271
Araphidasis betularius, L.
Boarmia cinetaria, Schiff. B. perepandata, L, B, rob-
oraria, Schiff. B. glabraria, Hb. B. crepuscularia, Hb.
B. punctularia, Hb.
G-Dophos sordaria, Thob. G. obfuscaria, Hb.
Fidonia carbonaria, CI.
Ematurga atomaiia; L. E. atonaria, ab. unicolorio.
Bupoelus piniarius, L.
Halia loricaria, Ev. H. wanaria, L. H. brunneata,
Thub.
Phasiane clathrata, L.
Lythria purpuraria, L.
Ortholitha limitata, Sc.
Odezia atrata, L. 0. tibiale, Esp., var. Evers mannaria.
H.S.
Anaitis praeformatr, Hb. A. paludata, Tbub.
Lobophora polycommata, Hb. L. carpinata, Bkh. L.
L. halterata, Hutu. L. sexalisata, Hb. L. viretata, Hb.
Cheimatobia brumata, L.
Eucosmia undulata, L.
Scotosia badiata, Hb.
Lygris prunata L. L. testata, L. L. populata, L. L.
associata, Bkh.
Gidaria fulvata, Forst. C. ocellata, L. C. bicolorata,
Hufu. C. variata. Schiff. C. var. ab. obeliseata, Hb. C.
juniperata, L. G. miata, L. 0. taeniata, Stph. C. trun-
cata, Hufu. C. serraria, F. C. munitata, Hb. C. aptata,
Hb. C. viridaria, F. C. didymata, L. C. cambrica, Ciirt.
G. vespertaria, Bkb. C. incursata, Hb. G. fluctuata, L.
C. montanata, Bkh. C. quadrifasciaria, Gh G. ferrugata, Gl.
G. fer. ab. spadicearia, Bkh. G. unidentaria, Hw. G. suffu-
mata, Hb. G. pomoeiiaria, Ev. G. designata, Rott. C.
vittata, Bkh. G. dilutata, Blch. G. caesiaia, Lang. G. cucu-
lata, Hufu. G. rivata, Hb. G. sociata, Bkh. G. uuangulata,
Hw. G. albicillata, L. G. hastata, L. G. has. var. subpa.stata,
Nolck. G. tristata, L. G. luctuata, Hb. G. alchemillata.
L. G. adaequata, Bkh. G. albulata, Schiff. G. testaceata,
Dow. G. decolorata, Hb. G. luteata, Schiff. G. obliter-
272 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
ata, Hufii. C. bilineata, L, C. sordidata, F. C. trifas-
ciata, Bkh. C. silaceata, Hb. C. corylata, Thnb. C.
nigrofasciaria, Goez. C. sagittata, F. C. comitata, L,
C. lapidata, Hb. C. tersata, Hb.
Colli X sparsata, Tr.
Eupithecia oblongata, Thnb. E. venosata, F. E. lina-
riata, F. E. pusillata, F. E. abietaria, Goez. E. togata,
Hb. E. debiliata, Hb. E. rectangulata, L. E. succen-
turiata, L, E. subfulvata, Hw. E. nanata, Hb. E. inno-
tata, Hufu. E. pygmeata, Hb. E. tenuiata, Hb. E.
plumbeolata, Hw. E. immundata, Z. E. satyrata, Hb.
E. belveticaria, B. E. castigata, Hb. E. trisiguaria, H.S.
E. vulgata, Hw, E. campanulata, H.S. E. albipunctata,
Hw. E. minutata, Gn. E. absinthiata, CI. E. pimpinel-
lata, Hb. E. conterminata, Z. E. indigata, Hb. E.
exiguata, Hb. E. lanceolata, Hb. E. sobrinata, Hb.
Aglossa pinguinalis, L.
Asopia giaucinalis, L.
Scoparia centuriella Schiff, S. ambigualis, Tr. S. bore-
alis, Tugstr. S. sudetica, Z. S. truncicolella, Stt. S.
murana, Curt. S. crataegella, Hb.
Eurrhypara urticata, L.
Bolys octomaculata, F., var. trigutta,!Esp. B. nyctemeralis,
Hb. B. nigrata, Sc. B, cingulata, L. B. purpuralis, L.
B. manualis, Hb., var. septentrionalis, Tugstr. B. lutealis,
Hb. B. nebulalis, Hb. B. decrepitalis, H.S. B. fuscalis,
Schiff. B. terrealis, Tr. B. sambucalis, Schiff. B. prun-
alis, Schiff. B. pandalis, Hb. B. ruralis, Sc.
Eurycreon sticticalis, L.
Nomophila noctuella, Schiff.
Orobena straminalis, Hb.
Pionea forficalis, L.
Diasemia litterata, Sc.
Hydrocampa stagnata, Dow. H. nymphaeta, L.
Paraponyx stratiotata, L.
Cataclysta lemnata, L.
Schoenobius forficellus, Thnb. S. mucronelius, Schiff.
Crambus hamellus, Thnb. C. pascuellus, L. C. silvellus,
LEPIDOPTERA. 273
Hb. 0. ericellus, Hb. C. Heringiellus, H.S. C. alienellus,
Zk. C. biarmicus, Tugstr. C. pratellus, L. C. dumetel-
lus, Hb. C hortuellus, Hb. C. truncatellus, Zett. C.
maculalis, Zett. C. falsellus, Schiflf. C. myellus, Hb. C.
margaritellus, Hb. C. culmellus, L. C. contaminellus
Hb. C. tristellus, F. C. peiiellus, Sc. C. perlellus, var.
Warringtonelliis, Stt.
Dioryctria abietella, Zk.
Nephopteryx rhenella, Zk.
Pempelia betula, Goez. P. fusca, Hw. P. paliimbella,F
Catastia marginea, Schiff., var. auriciliella, Hb.
Hypocbalcia ahenella, Zk.
Cryptoblabes bistriga, Hw.
Myelois cirrigerella, Zk. M. advenella, Zk. M. tetri-
cella, F.
Homoeosoma nebulea, Hb. var. maritima, Fugrt. H
binaevella, Hb.
Anerastia lotella, Hb.
Ephestia elutella, Hb. E, interpunctella, Hb.
Aphomia sociella, L.
Rhacodia candana, F., var. emargana, F. R. effraciana,
Froel.
Teras umbrana, Hb. T. hastiana, L. T. abietana, Hb.
T. maccana, Tr. T. maccana, var. basalticola, Sir. T. fim-
briana, Thnb. T. variegana, Schiff. T. boscana, F. T.
literana, L., ab. irrorana, Hb. T. niveana, F. T. lipsiana,
Schff. T. sponsana, F. T. rufana, Schiff. T. Schalleriana,
L. T. Gomparana, Hb. T. comparana, ab. comariana, Z.
T. aspersana, Hb. E. ferrugana, Tr.
Tortrix podana, Sc. T. rosana, L. T. semialbana, Gn.
T. corylana, F. T. ribeana, Hb. T. heperana, Schiff. T.
inopiana, Hw. T. musculana, Hb. T. politana, Hw. T.
ministrana, L. T. Bergmanniana, L. T. Forsterana, F.
T. viburnana, F. T. paleana, Hb. T. rusticana, Tr. T.
reticulana Hb. T. grotiana, F. T. gnoniana, CI. T. Ger-
ningana, Schiff. T. prodromana, Hb.
Sciaphila osseana, Sc. S. argentana, CI. S. Wahlbo-
miana, L. S. pasivana, Hb.
T
274 FOREST L4ND3 OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
Exapate congelatella, CI.
Cochylis hamana, L. C. cruentana, L. C. ambiguella,
Hb. C. rutilana, Hb. C. Kahlweiniana, F. C. Hartinan-
niana, CI. C. aleella, Schulze. C. badiaaa, Hb. C.
Deiitschiana, Zett. C. Smeathmanmana, F. C. Richter-
iaaa, F. C. Heydeniana, H.S. C. flammeolana, Tugst. C.
phaleratana, H.S C. roseaaa, Hw. C. piirpurataaa, H.S.
C. ^lusseh liana, Tr. C. ambiguana, Froel. C. dubitana,
Hb.
Retinia pinivorana, Z. R. turionana, Hb. R. Bicoliana,
Schiff. R. resinella, L.
Penthina Schreberiana, L. P. salicella, L. P. semifas-
ciana, Hw. P. corticana, Hb. P. sororculana, Zett. P.
variegana, Hb. P. ochroleucana, Hb. P. dimidiana, Sodof.
P. sellana, Hb. P. gentiana, Hb. P. roseomaculana, H.S.
P. lediana, L. P. pyrolana, Wk. P. postremana, Z. P.
turfosana, H.S. P. arbutella, L. P. mygindaua, Schiff. P.
rufana, Sc. P. striana, Schiff. P. Branderiana, L. P.
metallicana, Hb. P. metallicana, var. irrigaana, H.S. P.
stibiana, Gn. P. palustrana, Z. P. Schulziana, F. P.
olivana, Tr. P. Boisduoaliana, Dup. P. arcuella, CI. P.
livulaua, Sc. P. umbrosana, Fn\ P. urticana, Hb. P.
racunana, Dup. P. lucivagana, Z. P. cespitana, Hb. P.
bipunctana, F. P. trifoliana, H.S.
Aspis Uddmanniana, L.
Aphelia lanceolana, Hb. A. furfurana, Hw.
Grapholitha obumbratana, Z. G. expallidana, Hw. G.
Hohenwartiana, Tr. G. graphana, Tr. G. tedella, CI. G.
demarniana, F. G. subocellana, Dow. G. nisella, CI. G.
Penkleriana, F. G. ophthahnicana, Hb. G. Gunthera
Tagstr. G. solandriana, L. G. solaadriana, var. sinuani,
Hb. G. bilunana, Hw. G. tetraguetiana, Hw. G. immun-
dana, F. G. crenana, Hb. G. similana, Hb. G. incarna-
tana, Hb. G. tripunctana, F. G. cynosbana, F. G. Pflu-
giana, Hw. G. cirsiana, Z. G. Bruanichiana, Froel. G.
foenella, L G. citrana, Hb. G. aspidiscana, Hb. G.
hypericana, Hb. G. albersaua, Hb. G. teaebrosana, Dup.
G. fanebrana, Tr. G. strobiella, L. G, clanculana, Tugstr.
LEPIDOPTERA. 275
G. cosmophorana, Tr. G. coniferana, Rtz. G. Woeberiana,
G. compositella, F. G. comucopiae, Tugstr. G. duplicana,
Zett. G. perlepidana, Hw. G. leguminana, Z. G. orobana,
Tr. G. auranaj F.
Carpocapsa pomonelia, L.
Phthoroblastis motacillana, Z. P. populana, E. P.
strangulana, Tugss.
Steganoptyclia ramella, L. S. pinicolana, Z. S. signa-
tana, Dgl. S. iistomaculana, Curt. S. vacciniana, Z. S.
nemorivaga, Tugst. S. ericetana, H.S. S. fractifasciana,
Hw. S. quadrana, Hb. S. pygmaeana, Hb. S. mercuriana,
Hb. S. Gimmerthaliana, Z.
Phoxopteryx laetana, F. P. tineana, Hb. P. biarcuana,
Stph. P. uncana, Hb. P. unguicella, L. P. siculana, Hb.
P. limdana, F. P. myrtillana, Tr. P. derasana, Hb.
Khopobota naevana, Hb.
Dichrorarnpha petiverella, L. D. alpinana, Fr. D.
agilana, Fugst. D. plambagana, Tr. D. acuminatara; Z.
D. plumbana, Sc.
Chorentis Bjerxandrella, Thnb. 0. Myllerana, F.
Simaethis diana, Hb. S. oxyacanthella, L.
Talaeporia politella, 0. T. pseudobombycella, Hb.
Solenobia clathrella, F. S. cembrella, L.
Lypusa maurella, F.
Diplodoma marginepunctella, Stph.
Scardia boleti, F. S. boletella,F.
Blabophanes imella, Hb. B. rusticella, Hb. B, rus.
var. spilotella, Tugst.
Tinea fulvimitrella, Sodof. T. arcella, F. T. corticella,
Curt. T. fraudulentella, H.S. T. arcuatella, Stt. T.
granella, L. T. cloacella, Hw. T. albipunctella, Hw. T.
fuliginosella, Z. T. misella, Z. T. fuscipunctella, Hw, T.
pellionella^ L. T. curtella, Tugot.
Phylloporia bistrigella, Hw.
Tineola biselliella, Hum.
Lampronica luzella, Hb. L. rubiella, Bjerk,
Fucurvaria pectinea, Hw. F. flavifrontella, Hein. F.
capitella, CI. F. Ochlmanniella, Tr. F. rupella, Schiff,
?7? FOREST LANDS OF NOETHEEN RUSSIA.
Nemophora Swammerdammella, L. N. Schwarziella, Z.
N. pilulella, Hb. N. pilella, F. N. metaxella, lib.
Adela fibulella, F. A. Degeerella, L. A. croesella, Sc.
A. cuprella; Thnb.
Nemotois metallicus, Poda.
Ochsenheimeria bisontella, Z.
Acrolepia cariosella, Tr.
Roeslerstammia Erxlebella, F.
Hyponomento evonymellas, L.
Swammerdamia compnnctella, H.S. S. variegata, Tugst.
S. caesiella, Hb. S. nubeculella, Tugst. S. conspersella,
Tugst.
Zelleria fasciapennella, Stt.
Argyresthia rufella, Tugst. A. conjugella, Z, A. sorbi-
ella, Tr. A. Goedaitella, L. A. Brockeella, Hb. A.
illuminatella, Z. A. aurulentella, Stt.
Cedestis Gysseleniella, Dup. 0. farinatella, Dup.
Plutella xylostella, L. P. annulatella, Curt.
Cerostoma radiatella, Dow. C. asperella, L. C. falcella,
Hb. C. dentella, F.
Semioscopis strigulana, F. S. avellanella, Hb.
Epigraphia Heinkellneriana, Schiff.
Exaeretia allisella, Stt.
Depressaria fiavella, Hb. D. arenella, Schiff. D. later-
ella, Schiff. D. cioiflouella, Z. D. Alstroemeriana, CI. D.
applana, F. D. ciliella, Stt. D. angelicella, Hb. D. hepa-
tariella, Z. D. depresella, Hb. D. pimpinella, Z. D.
badiella, Hb. D. heracliana, D.G. D. chaerophylli, Z.
Gelechia muscosella, Z. G. incomptella, H.S. G. dis-
tinctella Z. G. velocella. Dup. G. ericetella, Hb. G.
infernalis, H.S. G. lentiginosella, Z. G. galbanella, Z.
G. boreella, Dgl. G. continuella, Z. G. longicornis, Curt.
G. diffinis, Hw. G. lugubrdla, F. G. viduella, F. G.
luctuella, Hb.
Brachmia Mouffetella, Schiff.
Bryotropha terrella, Hb. B. senectella, Z. B. flavipal-
pella, Tugst. B. cijoerosella, Tugst. B. obscurecinerea,
Nolek.
LEPIDOPTERA. 277
Lita artemisiella, Tr. L. atriplicella, F. L, murinella,H,S,
L. ingloriella, Hein. L. maculea, Hw. L. maculiferella,
Dgl. L. maimorea, Hw. L. leucomelanella, Z.
Teleia proximella, Hb. T, notatella, Hb. T. triparella,
Z. T. dodecella, L.
Argyritis pictella, Z. A. superbella, Z.
Nannodia Hermann ella, F.
Parasia lapella, L. P. neuropterella, Z.
Chelaria Hiibnerella, Dow.
Ergatis ericinella, Dup.
Doryphora carchariella, Z. D, servella, Z. D. lutelen-
tella, Z.
Monochroa tenebrella, Hb.
Lamprotes micella, SchifF.
Anacampsis vorticella, Sc.
Tachyptilia populella, CI. T. temerella, Z.
Brachycrossata cinerella, CI.
Ceratophora rufescens, Hw.
Cladodes dimidiella, Schiff., var. costiguttella, Z.
Sophronia semicostella, Hb.
Pleurota bicostella, CI.
Hypercallia citrinalis, Sc.
Auchinia daphnella, Hb.
Dasycera sulphurella, F.
Oecophora flavifrontella, Hb. 0. similella, Hb. O.
cinnamomea, Z.
Hypatima binotella, Thnb.
Glyphipteryx thrasonella, Sc. G. Haworthana, Stph.
Gracilaria stigmatella, F, G, populetorum, Z. G. elon-
gella, L. G. phasianipennella, Hb, var. auragattella, Stpb,
Ornix torguilella, Z. O. scoticella, Stt. O. scoticella,
var. canella, Tugst. O. betulae, Stt.
Coleophora limosipennella, Dup. C. ocripennella, Z.
C. fuscedinelJa, Z. C. Binderella, Kollar. C. vimitella, Z.
C. vilisella, Gregs. C. orbitella, Z. C. gryphipennella,
Bouche. C, nigricella, Stpb. C. alcyonipennella, Kollar.
C. deauratella, Z. C. Fabriciella, Vill. C. anatipennella,
Hb. C. therinella, Tgvtr. C. troglodytella, Dup. C.
278 FOREST LANDS OF NORTHERN RUSSIA.
millefolii, Z. C. pimctipennella, Tugstr C. laripenella,
Zett. C. flavaginella, Z. C. murinipenriella, Dup. C.
caespititiella, Z.
Chauliodus Illigerellus, Hb. C. chaerophj^llellus, Goez.
C. idaei, Z. C. Laspeyrella, Hb. C. conturbatella, Hb.
C. lacteella, Hb. C. miscella, Schiff. C. Raschkiella, Z.
C. Schranckella, Hb. C. subbistrigella, Hw.
Tinagma perdicellum, Z.
Heydenia fulviguttella, Z.
Butalis obscurella, Sc. B. fallacella, Schl. B. laminella,
H.S. B. chenopodiella, Hb. B. noricella, Z. B. insper-
sella, Hb.
Pancajia Latreillella, Curt. P. Leuwenhoekella, L.
Endrosis lacteela, Schiff.
Schreckensteinia festaliella, Hb.
Statbmopada pedella, L.
Heliozela sericiella, Hw.
Elachista apicipimctella, Stt. E. albifrontella, Hw. E.
kilmunella, Stt. E, helvetica, Frey. E. airea, Stt. E.
obscurella Stt. E. utonella, Frey. E. rhynchosporella,
Stt. E. subalbidella, Schlg.
Lithocolletis alniella, Z. L. strigulatella, Z. L. spinol-
ella, Dup. L. poniifoliella, Z. L. sorbi, Frey. L.
juDoniella, Z. L. betulae, Z. L. emberizaepeunell, Bouche.
L. tristrigella, Hw.
Lyonetia Clerk ella, L. L- ledi, Wk. L. frigidariella, H.S.
Phylloenistis soligna, Z.
Cemiostoma susinella, H.S. C. scitella, Z.
Bucculatrix nigricomella, Z. B. crataegi Z. B. artem-
isiae, H.S. B. cristatella, Z.
Opostega salaciella, Tr.
Nepticula argentipedella, Z. N. Weaweri, Stt.
Micropterx calthella, L. M. aureatella, Sc. M. spar-
manuella, Bosc. M. chrysolepidella, Z. M. semipurpur-
ella. Stph. M. purpureha, Hw.
Cnaeuidophorus rhododactylus, F.
Platyptilia Bertrami, Roessl. P. gonodactyla, Schiff.
P. Zetherstedtti, Z, P. tesseradactyla, L. P, Metzneri, Z.
LEPIDOPTERA. 279
Amblyptilia acanthodactyla, Hb. A. cosmadactyla, Hb.
Oxyptilus didactylus, L. O. parvidactylus, Hw.
Mimaeseopticus serotinus, F. M. pteradactylus, L.
Oedematophorus lithodactylus, Tr,
Lieoptilus scaradactylus, Hb. L. osterdactylus, Z.
Aciptilia tetradactyla, L. A. paluduni.
THE END,
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