The Cordova daily times., 1921-04-27
Swedish Forests, Lumber and
 Export Trade

An exhaustive examination of the Swedish lumber industry by the de partment of commerce shows three principal phases of interest to Ameri- can .lumbermen. First, the measures taken to preserve the forests and eliminate waste in lumber; second, the inferior character of Swedish lum- Der; third, that the combination of all Swedish lumbermen in the export trade and superior selling methods, they manage to market their inferior lumber for the same price as the greatly superior American lumber.
 Sweden occupies the leading position in the lumber world, according to the report, not on account of the quality, but on account of scientific forest management and efficient man. ufacturing and selling methods. Fifty one per cent of the country is com prised within the 55O00,00O acres of forests. of which 13,O0O,0OO are pub. lie Because of the realization in Sweden of the supreme importance of forests in the national life, stringent laws with regard to cutting have been adopted. A Swedish forest expert is quoted as saying that 'the posi- tion of Sweden as an independent na- t1on and as a civilized country is contingent upon the existence or non existence of forests"
 During normal years before the war the exports from Sweden of for est products aggregated $90,000 000, or A per cent of the total exports. The Swedish government accordingly considers the perpetuation of the forests of such vital importance that no one is allowed to endanger the future of the timber stands by reck- less exploitation for the sake of i'm mediate profit. This point of view is so generally accepted that no diff ficulty has been experienced in con- nection with the governments con- trol of the cutting of timber on pri, vate lands.
 Because the cutting is thus restrict ed and it is a matter of necessity to get the utmost value out of the cut ting permitted, particular attention is paid in Sweden to the elimination of n hn stumps prevalent in America are un- known in Sweden. Top logs, too, are not left in the woods. The closest possible attention is paid not only to price but to the utilization of waste products in logging operations.
 Strict laws govern the management of the Swedish forests, varying only with difference in climate. These laws have to do with cutting and with the forestation of cut-over lands. Lately law has been enacted to pre- vent the cutting of immature trees unless such cutting is necessary in order to improve the condition of the forests. Reforestation has been car ried on in Sweden by both public and private enterprise. The forest owners regard 1t as commercial and paying proposition.
 The cutting of saw logs Is carried on only during the winter in order to prevent deterioration in the quality of the logs through discororation. Stumps seldom exceed three inches in height. The utmost care is given to the cutting of suitable log lengths and sizes so that the best possible results may be obtained when the logs are cut into lumber. No log ging machinery of any kind is gen erlly used in Sweden though Amerf- can tractors have lately been intro duced into that country for hauling logs. The logs are loaded on sreighs and taken on the snow to the near est waterway, where they are piled on the river bank or on the ice, ready to be dumped into the water in the spring. The floating of logs is usually carried on by a number of floating associations established by log owners, the logs being float ed for joint account.
 Cheap transportation from the for est to the mill accounts for the fact that Sweden can affect a very close utilization of it's forest products. Top logs, even down to one or two inches in top diameter, are punched and strapped with steel wire and float ed to the nearest charcoal plant, where they are converted into char coal. The saw logs are on the aver age from six and one half to seven