Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - XX. Economic Progress During the Bernadotte Period - C. Forestry - D. The Mining Industry
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338 A History of Sweden
Protection of the Forests. In earlier times the for-
ests in Sweden, as in other lands, were thoughtlessly
wasted. Mature trees and saplings were indiscrimi-
nately cut down without any thought of planting young
trees in their stead. In this respect people seemed to
have no thought for the future. The bare mountain
slopes and naked heaths, once beautiful forests, bear
testimony to this waste. Nearly one-fourth of the sur-
face of the country has been converted from forest
land to desolate wastes.
But in Sweden it is not too late to mend much of
this. Laws have been made for the protection and care
of the forests. The cutting down of saplings and young
trees is forbidden. Anyone cutting down a tree is re-
quired to provide for a new tree to take its place. At-
tention is also given to the care and healthy growth of
the forests.
D. THE MINING INDUSTRY
Copper and Iron Ore. For centuries the Falun Cop-
per Mine was pre-eminently "Sweden’s treasury." Dur-
ing the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries it was
undoubtedly the richest copper mine in Europe. Now,
however, it is nearly exhausted, and iron mining has
become the most important in Sweden. The output of
iron ore is now over eleven million tons annually. This
is, however, not over three per cent of the world’s an-
nual output. But in quality the Swedish ore is among
the best in the world. Its yield of iron is from 60 to
70 per cent while most other ore now mined yields only
from 30 to 40 per cent. It has been estimated that of
all the ore in the world yielding over 60 per cent four-
fifths are in Sweden.
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