TIMBER Its Working and the Provincial Output.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 284, 1 December 1898, Page 22 (Supplement)

TIMBER Its Working and the Provincial Output.

fe*^^?S^^^^|HE New Zealand IP^C-^- forest, and parW^^^^^M ticularly that of Wt tfrw^QxWM the^orthernpart ||\ \\^^^?/ j| ficent in luxuri-li»Ns^-Jf 1 ance and beauty. lEfci_as»S-SSi_jg^3l hut performs "a ■ much more important passive function in affording employment for thousands of people. The output of timber from the whole colony is little short of a million in value annually, thus placing this industry fourth in importance of production. To the Auckland Province it is by far and away the most important industry, its ramifications extending in all directions, and making it impossible for any obtainable statistics to give a correct idea of the number of persons directly and indirectly earning a living through its agency. THE BEAUTY OF THE BUSH. And yet so extensive is the forest land of the Province that it is not the signs of this activity that the casual visitor to the bush usually- drops, across, but the solitude and the loneliness nowhere so oppressive as in the heart of dense forest. One of Auckland's chief scenic attractions is the beauty of her bush. For the 'most part our forests comprise a large variety of trees, though occasionally there occurs in swampy situations areas closely covered with ; kahikatea, the 'white pine' of the trade, or, again, areas are met with over which the kauri predominates. Though comparatively poorly j the rich patch- 1 es of- red' throughout the bush when j the Northern Rata breaks into anap- < parently solid mass of brilliant i bloom, the dainty blossoms of the hoe- ; heria, interspersed in sprays with the ; serrated light-green leaves of the c

shrub-like tree, the staring white flowers of the climbing clematis, falling as if arranged by deft fingers in a shower bouquet, and the brilliant yellows and reds of the two kow- ; hais, contribute patches of beautiful

colour during their respective flower in* seasons. It is, however, in the wealth and variety of undergrowth that the chief beauty of New Zealand bush lies. With heads upraised and fronds extending on all sides the Sly green nikau palm aim the tree Em with its dark stems and mam branches, but foliage, if one may use such a term, of the tenderest green stand as if protecting the carpet of moss and ferns at their tan.. These ferns comprise many varieties from rare and filmy species mdaen away in out-of-the-way corn*™ to more hardy varieties growing luxuriantly S, all directions. Interlacing the trees and shrubs are creepers, conspicuous among which is ihe approStely named bush lawyer ever Sady! armed with its sharp, though S3? thorns, to contest the. way with S and sundry; while thi supplejack ?irms festoons in all directions in a banner St would delight ihe heart !-■ the most fastidious monkey from I *i , African jungle. Occasionally the Kilmers are so thick that it is 1mBK*^Me to make headway through llil/|jbush without some implement HIK Vhich to cut a path. Tropical ■K_kl 'luxuriance the New Zealand P"™*??.. eurowned by one charm which j 1 i Sler countries that present IIId,l;v Salth of natural vegetation 7 \ ■• ■

lack: there are no snakes, or, in fact, wild beast or even injurious insects of any description. When the solitude of the bush is invaded by a joyous picnicking party (as io often'is), there is absolutely no need for the exercise of any care as to the spot for the scene of lunch. NeAer a prettier picture was painted than that presented by a party of young men and girls uncermoniously seated in a wealth of ferns laughingly discussing lunch, while occasionally the note of the bell bird is to be heard, even above the noise of the chatter which goes gaily on to the accompaniment of *he tinkling waters of a lhtle creek tumbling over miniature -vvaterfalls and seething round obstructing- boulders in its rocky bed. 1 his is somewhat out of the scope, perhaps, of an article on the timber industry, but it is the phase of our bush with which the average person is best acquainted. And yet the operations by which the trees are cut down, moved from hill sides and gullies to the mills, and. cut. into the descriptions of timber with which all are commonly acquainted are among the most interesting of industrial processes. THE DISTRIBUTION OF TIMBER TREES. Kauri is, of course, the backbone of the timber production of the province, and, in fact, forms all but a very small

u_ luc c.xpuiii J.XOIII wie coiony. Kahikatea, or white pine, as it is very commonly called, is sawn largely in the Thames district, and totara, puriri, and a small amount of black maire, rimn, matai, etc., is cut. In all there are about three score different trees which may be classed as timber producing in the province. Most of them are small, widely scattered, and their wood is principally in demand for special purposes, a majority of them, in fact, being used at the bench of the joiner or cabinetmaker on account of their graining or markings. Kauri, as every one knows, is not found outside the Auckland province, but that it does not grow, except perhaps an isolated tree here and there, south of a line'drawn across from Port Waikato to Tauranga, is perhaps not so well known. The areas over which it is now to be most largely found are the Coromandel Peninsula and that tract between Whangarei and Kaipara, and stretching as far north as a line across from Mongonui to Hokianga River. In the centre of this district occurs some of the finest kauri forests now standing. Kauri was formerly worked largely in the vicinity of Manukau Harbour, but the forests there are practically worked out. Operations are, however, conducted on a large scale in the Waitakerei Ranges, not a score of miles from Auckland city. The kauri is usually found growing in clumps or groves mixed with various trees. It seldom occupies large areas to the exclusion of other trees, but it is, never-

theless, the predominating tree ovei large tracts. To stand in a kaur forest surrounded on all sides by tin smooth, grey trunks of trees, the di ameter of which varies from 3 feet t< 12 or 15 feet, and whose symmetry ii

not destroyed by branch much under 80 feet, is an experience not lacking in impressiveness. If growing close together, the tendency of the trunk is to taper off; but where growing in positions isolated from their species the barrel is almost as great in circumference at the point of branching as at the base, while the first branches sometimes exceed 2 feet in diameter. Undergrowth in a kauri

forest is usually less dense than in the mixed bush, and is largely composed of the so-called New Zealand honeysuckle, a dwarf tree fern, and a graceful climbing fern with slender branching stems which ascends the trees to a great height, binding them together with a strong network. The largest specimens of the kauri, on record have been about 150 feet high and from 20 to 24 feet in diameter. Such trees, it is estimated, must in age antedate the Christian era by close on 1,000 years. The trees occur for the most part in rough and broken country, and the operations that the tree has to pass through before utilisation as boards in building are, as we have said before, varied and interesting. FELLING AND HANDLING KAURI. With the larger trees it is first of all necessary to erect a platform before commencing cutting some feet from the butt. A scarf is first formed on the side on which it is desired that the tree should fall. The rest of the work is usually accomplished by a saw. There is a certain clement of danger, by no means inconsiderable, in the life of the bushman; but with practice the experienced man can judge the effect of his cutting to a nicety, and stands unmoved when the outcome of a thousand years of nature's work

r ,{ goes crashing' down as a result c of a few hours of man's industry [. carrying- all before it like 0 huge animate creature striking s out all round in its death throes Once on the ground the trunk is cut into logs of suitable lengths, and the work of removing it to the mill or to some navigable river or inlet for shipment commences. Kauri is for the most part floated to the mill, though, as in the case of the operations now being carried out in the Waitakerei Ranges, tramways are sometimes used, or low set trollies drawn either by traction engine, or bullock team of from 16 to 24 oxen. Nowhere in Australasia can the jack be seen in as effective operation as it accomplishes in the hands of the men moving these logs. Sometimes what is known as a rolling way is formed down the side of a ridge, it simply consists of a clearance of a, track some '.'A) feet wide, but occasionally, a considerable cutting is necessary, so as to preserve an incline in the direction that it is intended to tvork the logs. Down this road the logs are moved by use of the jack with surprising rapidity. Another, although not very common, way of conveying logs to a creek is what is known as a 'shoot.' Three trees are laid side by side—that in the middle being considerably smaller than those on either side of it. This sort of structure is sometimes made as much as half a mile in length, and cannot, of course, be built in curves. Into this shoot the logs are jacked, and it is only in steep country that a shoot is made. Once started they go bounding down at a surprising rate, the small depression serving effectively to keep them from leaving or deflecting from the desired course. So great a speed do they occasionally attain that towards the creek their passage is sometimes marked by a small trail of smoke. If the Jogs have been conveyed by a trolly or tram to the mill, barring breakdowns or impassable roads, their arrival at their destination within a certain period can be relied on. Such is not tlie case generally when a creek is utilised to provide the medium of transit. Creeks are snagged and cleared of obstructions, bad corners cut off somewhat, and big dams formed at a cost occasionally amounting to as much, as £1,000, all with a view to expediting the conveyance of the logs. But there is one thing that money cannot accomplish, and that is to bring on rain,

so towards the close of dry-summers country mills are frequently lying idle while millions of feet of timber in logs intended for their supply are stranded in creeks. Then a fresh.comes, the dam fills, and water rises in the creek. When it is estimated that there is sufficient water, the dam is-let go, and the logs, both above and below it, are what is called driven down to the tideway or mill, as the case may be. Occasionally, when the freshet is particularly strong, the logs break through the booms where they are stored, and are carried sea-ward. This is often the case on the Upper Wairoa, but owing to the number of tugs used in the trade few logs evade capture to become derelicts at sea—a danger to navigation. In creeks or riverwhere there is a pretty constant stream of water, men are employed poling the logs down the streams. Once they have reached navigable. water, they are either taken on board scows and conveyed in that manner, or are formed into rafts and towed by steamers to the mills. On the Northern Wairoa, where are situated the mills from which the bulk of the ex- j port timber for Australia and the j United Kingdom is turned out, several • small steamers are constantly em- j ployed towing rafts of timber to the i mills. 1

i AT THE MILLS. » The operations through which the 1 logs pass once having been safely f stored in the booms at the various • mills vary but slightly according te < the particular mill. The big upright • saw is almost invariably used for 1 breaking down, and it is quite an ex- • perience to see one of these large ■ saws rapidly ripping through a log six or seven feet in diameter. Some of the mills are not capable of cutting logs of very large dimensions, and the somewhat wasteful method of splitting by inserting a charge, of dynamite is occasionally resorted to. The balk timber is for the most part reduced by circular saw. In the early days of the. export trade kauri was shipped to Australia in considerable quantities in balk and rough hewn logs. There was a considerable agitation over the matter at the time, workmen complaining that it was taking the bread out of their mouths. Principally because it. was found that the timber could be cut to all sizes cheaper in this colony the export, of balk timber gradually got, less and less till now practically no kauri which it is intended to cut into smaller sizes out of the colony is shipped. Boards are. cut from four to half a dozen at a time from balk timber by what are known as gang saws. These consist of small saws working vertically in a frame and set just the. distance apart that the boards are required in thickness— quarter, half, three-quarter or inch, as the ca.se may be. The larger mills arc all provided with moulding machinery, and some of those of the metropolitan centre have joinery departments. Sireh is the process through which kauri passes. THE HANDLING OF KAHIKATEA. With kahikatea, the only other timber worked to.any extent by the mills of the. province, the process is much the same, though with slight modifica.tions. The timber can for one thing be conveniently worked in longer logs than kauri. In parts where kahikatea is milled in large quantities, such as Turua . and Kopu, on the Thames, it is cut out of extensive forests on swampy land containing little else but kahikatea.. A virgin bush of kahikatea. affords a unique sight as far as New Zealand forest scenery is concerned. Having penetrated a, few yards into the forest the eye conveys the impression that one is walled in on all sides by greyish

brown cylindrical trunks As : . these trunks rise in almost invariable perfect symmetry without branching to a height of from sixty to one hundred feet foliage, except in one's immediate vicinity, is often not to be seen. Kahikatea has not the buoyancy of kauri, many of the logs when first cut being of the same specific gravity as water. Occasionally a log will be found that actually sinks in water, and where such are being conveyed to the mill by flotage they require to bo buoyed by barrels. Kahikatea can be worked by the double circular saw (one saw over the other), so commonly used in the Southern mills, but the vertical breakdown saw does much better work. OUTPUT LABOUR AND EXTENT OF INDUSTRY. The total output for 1895 was £430,913, or approximately half of the total for the" colony, which was £895,507. This total was made up as follows:— 79,464,526 feet of sawn timber, valued at £301,328; post and rails, valued at £4399; 20,881,910 feet resawn, planed, flooring, skirting, etc., value £91,118; 4,945,096 feet of moulding value, £22,294; and 21,592 doors and sashes, value, £11,874. The approximate value of land, buildings, and plant was a trifle short of £150,000. The number of mill hands employed, according to the '96 census, was given as 1044, and the annual wage sheet for 1895, taken from the same source of statistical information, was £82,175. i.t must be remembered in considering the figures referring to employment that they do not represent anj'tbing like the number of persons dependent on the timber industry for a livelihood. Those employed in the bushes, and on vessels entirely engaged in the trade, probably number at least three times those actually employed in the mills, and we would not be far out in placing the number of persons entirely or partially earning a living through the timber business at 5,000. When the persons dependent on them are taken into consideration the number cannot be short of 15,000. These figures are

well within the mark, for in such an . industry as that dealing with timber • the cost of handling' from beginning ; to last is little under 50 per cent, of , the finished value of the product. This • would meat- an annual sum amounting . to fully £200,000 paid over as wages to . various persons in connection with the , timber industry. There is one very easy way in which ; a good idea can be obtained of the ■ extent of the timber trade—a walk , along Customs-street West past the Kauri Timber Company's mills atid those of Leyland, O'Brien and Co., Parker and Lamb, and Bagnail and Co., or a pull past the same mills on the seaward side. Along Customs-street, the heart of the kauri industry in the Province, must be stored ' 10.000,000 superficial feet of sawn timber. The mills are kept fully employed, and (hat of Messrs Leyland, O'Brien and Co. very often works through the 24 hours, an installation of the electric light, making all-night work practicable. The Waitemata Sawmills, close to the Freezing Works Reclamation, also put through a large amount of timber.

1 It can easily be seen from the fig- < ures that we have already quoted that 1 the Auckland mills are far and away , the finest in the colony; but it is not ] too much to say that they are the finest in the Southern Hemisphere, and that some of them in equipment and output- will compare very favourably with the large mills of the Baltic and North America. The output of the country mills varies from 100,000 to ■

?haf°of S + ? erf ICial fGeb a week > and to 400 rL /° Wn mills lrom 150>M0 to 400,000 feet a week.

WHAT IS DONE IN THE WAY OF

EXPORT.

m The export of timber from the province ranks, as regards the earliness of its initiation, with flax. Ships visited Hokianga, Whangaroa, and the Bay of Islands in the early years of the present century for spars. It is practically only during the last decade, however, that the export has been both considerable and steady. The animal average for the ten years ending December last was 36,000,000 superficial feet, valued at £143,500. The average for the "•four years from ISSS to 1891, inclusive, was 42,000.000 feet, valued at £180,000, but in 1592, a year of exceptional commercial depression throughout Australasia, there was a drop to 22,860,551 feet, valued at £87,581. Since then the timber trade has gradually rallied, and both 1597 and the present year, have been very active. The timber export of the colony and. that of, Auckland, may lor all practical purposes be considered as synonymous. There was a slight rise in price during 1597, and the :.5,000,000 (approximate) exported from Auckland Province was valued at £.139,700, while the whole timber.export from the colony, amounting the previous year to just 35,000,000 feet, was only valued at £133.754. Towards the .end of this year, however, the market shows sign's of being to some extent glutted. The Melbourne market is so stocked that shipments have been made from there to London. The English.market would afford an excellent outlet for the somewhat overstocked .state of the local trade were it not that it only-pays to ship abso-

lutely iirst-class kauri to the United Ivingdon; and it is second grade that the mills have to dispose of in large quantities. There has been a &mal! quantity of the so-called beech exported from, the West Coast of the South Island, and some rimu from both there and Southland, but the total export outside Auckland Provine*, last year was within a million feet.

To return to the Auckland export of last year. Of the shipments made about 27,000,000 feet, valued at £105,----000, v\as from the Kaipara, and

5,000,000 feet from Auckland, which, with £2,000 worth of joinery, made a, total value of £34,700." The' Auckland mill.;, therefore, including those on the Thames, exported slightly Jess than a. third of those on the Ivaipara; but whereas with the latter the whole product of several large mills is exported, Auckland largely supplies the South as well as local demand. The chief export market is New South Wales, but the South Sea Islands and the other Australian colonies take a considerable amount, while shipments are occasionally made to Cape Colony and .Natal.. Kauri,

since the adoption by New South Wales of a tree-trade policy, litis unfortunately been very largely superseded in the Sydney market by Oregon pine. This timber can now be sold at ?/b" per 100 superficial feet in Sydney, a price at which it is impossible to sell kauri. A growing trade with the United Kingdom has also been a notable feature of the export market for some time. In ,fJfi close on 4,000,000 feet, valued at £19,147, was shipped, and last year timber valued at about £25,000. In 1896 Kaipara supplied £11.302 and in 1597 £11,734 of the

total. It may be mentioned that of the export from Auckland Province nearly all the timber is kauri, only about' a third of that, sent to Melbourne (about £40,000 worth) being kahikatea.

THE FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY. The query naturally follows on these statements' of the extensive operations now being carried on in our forests and the great conversion of timber, how long will it last. The question is a great deal ea.ier lo put than to answer satisfactorily. There are no recent or reliable statistics on the subject. As far Lack as 1885 Mr S. Percy Smith, Surveyor -General, estimated the area of kauri likely to pay for working at, 138,170 acres. That this al the time was a very considerable underestimate, no one will deny. But suppose Ilia! we ull-.nv that there are .150,000 acres of good kauri land still left, which, considering that there are thirteen good working years between Mr Smith's estimate taken full advantage of, is a liberal allowance for an -iiiidev-estiimiu*. If tho output does not increase there will still be an annual driyn of at least 100,000,000 superficial feci. Jog measurement. Allowing 10,000 superficial feet of timber per acre—-again a liberal concession—then it would take just fifteen years to exhaust the; supply. Most of the big mill-owners reckon that they have a ten or twelve years' supply, and as far as can be seen when that is exhausted they will be at the end of their tether. Bushes, 100. often work out much lower than the estimate Conned of the quantity of timber they contain, while by bush .ires, either carelessly or deliberately started, large areas of valuable forest land are annually destroyed. The effect of the recently imposed graduated tax, according to the accessibility of the timber lor working, will undoubtedly have the effect of hastening the cutting of tlie kauri forest now remaining, providing that the tax is maintained. The kauri land being held with a view to reaping a greatly enhanced prospective vahu. is considerable, but under a tax varying from i'ourpirnoc to ntnepei.ee it w'.|| hardly be found profitable to keep such land indefinitely locked up. Areas of valuable forest land are annually destroyed.

However, for some years to come, kauri timber will remain one of the mainstays oi" Auckland's prosperity, and after it has gone there will still remain smaller varieties ot timber-p-oducing trees sufficient to supply local demand for some years longer. Up lo the present time nothing has practically been done to replant

either with native or imported timber trees the land denuded by the inroads of the timber industry of its natural vegetation. The climate and soil are eminently suited for ihe production of the timber of many early maturing trees, and the question of seeing that

something is done cannot be too strongly urged. The matter has of kite years been attracting considerable attention, and it is to be hoped that in a few years the State forest reserves, which, for the whole colony, only amount to 1,15J : 000 acres, will be considerably augmented by large areas planted with timber trees.

THE LIFE LED BY THE MEN,

In conclusion, just a glance at the lives Jed by those who, in the bush and mills, ibid employment, and earn a living, in the majority of eases, for themselves, but with a considerable percentage for wives and families. As with the gum industry in the North, so with the timber; sons of families farming in the neighbourhood of a mill find employment at the mill, and the proceeds of the labour are often sunk in a homestecl none too richly endowed by nature except in the magnificent climate common to the whole district. The pay of sawmill hands, striking an average, is about £2 a week, that of bush hands a trifle less. Hands in the kauri bushes are often im gaged on the system of their board being provided, in which case they receive about 20/ a week. The accommodation is not luxurious, but is sufficient, considering the climate, while the food is usually plentiful and wholesome. A married man often puts nip a rough cottage near his work, and such homes, beautified by small gardens, are often the picture

of neatness. The work both in tl: bush and mill is dangerous, but whe pit her an experienced busiunan c sawmill hand meets with an aecidcf - and accidents when they do oeev art' often bad, if not absolutely fall —the cause can usually be traced t

carelessness. The work is J jdotrt* edly hard, but the hie is as i nr ues tionably healthy. No one will horn up bushmen as exemplary pattens ot sobriety, but, on the other hand, ah a class they are not so £i«n to p < > ing up' their money in hotels as gum diggers.

Auckland and AiicK.aiic.crs have Vkl a «*ood deal to thank the gum and timber' industries for, bur, when it. ! comes to distinguishing between the t*vo timber has been the more important to the welfare of the province, and will remain so till both are reckoned among commercial features of the past.