local timber prices are very low. Large boards of red and white wood are often sold for no more than twopence per cubic foot in the principal towns. The peasants obtain large areas of forests adjoining their communes, for which they pay the nominal sum of a few roubles a year to the Government, and cut as much timber as they want without restriction. As in all young countries there is, of course, considerable waste of timber resources, but the supply is so enormous and the demand so negligible that this hardly needs consideration. The forests of Western Siberia could supply European markets for many decades to come, but they have hitherto scarcely been touched. They are only waiting for improved communication to Western Europe via the White Sea.
The Fur Trade
The fur trade was the earliest industry in Siberia. It was the richness of the country in furs that first attracted the attention of the Russians to the land east of the Urals, and the northern forest zones, between latitude 55 and 66, have been the hunting-ground for the best furs since the sixteenth century. To the markets of Tiumen, Tobolsk and Irbit are brought, each autumn, the products of the fur hunters. Sable ground is still found up to latitude 62, chiefly on the southern Sosva River and in the districts of Surgut, Beryoza and Ugan. The fur zone, although not so rich as formerly in the best qualities, is still very productive and shows no sign of exhaustion. The growing demand has caused prices to rise, and the cornering of fur stocks by Jewish dealers in Siberia is also an important factor
