Quantity of timber

It is interesting to consider

the quantity of timber furnished annually by our forests

with regard to its grades of quality. The following tables show us the

quantities of timber felled during the last three years:

STATE FORESTS

Building material in cubic

metres.           Fuel in cubic metres.     Charcoal In kilograms.

1901      56,43163              190,28656           1,244,806

1902      94,67638              206,82252           1,246,336

1903      87,30140              209,87323           1,438,351

PARISH FORESTS             

1901      98,48949              346,58185           3,397,829

1902      160,35680            639,05795           3,911,189

1903      131,9497o           564,98473           4,362,816

PRIVATE PROPERTY       

1901      116,22510            509,36015           1,350,474

1902      100,92079            686,23228           1,357,271

1903      142,69404            590,46144           757,005

To these figures should be

added the quantity oi timber which is cut in a contraband fashion, and this is

considerable.

These figures, reduced to a

standard area for all classes of forests, prove :

(1)          That a hectare of the State forests yields on an average:

08084 cm. of building timber.

08672 cm. of fuel

48353 kilograms of charcoal.

(2)          That a hectare of the parish forests yields on an average:

08083 cm. of building timber.

08330 cm. of fuel.

2848 kilograms of charcoal.

(3)          That a hectare of the forests of private owners yields on

an average:

8821 cm. of building timber.

077 cm. of fuel.

2801 kilograms of charcoal.

Revenue of the products and

byproducts of the forests during the same three years :

STATE FORESTS

Year.     Building timber. Francs. Fuel.

Franca. Byprod ucta. Franca.      Total.

Franca.

1901      88,49714              135,15707           16,948   230,60221

1902      140,32315            154,11486           22,850   317,28801

1903      184,20773            181,73209           25,411   391,35081

                               PARISH FORESTS             

Year.     Building timber. Franca.               Fuel.

Franca. Byproducts.

Francs. Total.

Franca.

1901      I42,3018I2           303,03616           12051    457,38828

1902      185,67802            357,11287           16767    559,55789

1903      198,26597            365,22599           12439    575,93096

No allowance is made for

illegal felling.

From these data we can see

that a hectare of State forest brings in 0*34 francs per annum, and a hectare

of parish forest 0*34 francs. This small yield may be attributed to the low

tariff for State and parish timber, and to the heavy cost of transport. The

revenues are equal because of the uniformity of these tariffs.

2. VARIETIES OF TREES

Bulgaria possesses a great

variety of leafbearing trees and conifers; those of the former class are most

abundant. Those specially cultivated are the oak (Quercus pedunculate, Q.

sessiliflora, Q. cents); the beech (Fagus sylvatica); the common ash (Fraxinus

excelsior); the elm (Ulmus campestris, U. effusa, U. montend); the plane tree

(Acer platenoides, A* pseudoplatanus, A. campestre); the yokeelm (Carpinus

bettu lus); the lime (Tibia grandifolia, T. parvifolio, T. argentea); the

willow (Salix caprea, S. pentandra); the poplar (Populus tretnula, P. alba, P.

nigra). The commonest conifers are the pine (Pinus sylvestris, P. austriaca, P.

pence, P. mughus) and the fir (Picea excelsa, P. pidinata).

The forests of the

Principality are rich in shrubs and herbs of all kinds. Among the more

noteworthy are the following : Alnus viridis, Berberis vulgaris, Cerasus

chamaecerasus, Cornis (C. mas, C. sanguinea, C. pentogyna), Daphne mesereum,

Hedena Helix, Ligustrum vulgare, Lonicera (L. xylosieutn, L. caprifolia, L.

nigra), Prunus spinosa, Ramnus (R. catharactica, R. frangula), Rus cotinus,

Rosa (R. alpina, R. conina), Salix (5. fragilis, S. purpurea, S. viminalis),

Satnbucus (S. racemosa), Vaccinum (V. myrtillus, V. vitisidaeca), Vibutnum (V.

opulis, V. lantena), Viscum album, etc.