TIMBERMAN FROM U.S.A.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 43, 21 February 1927, Page 15

TIMBERMAN FROM U.S.A.

m PLEASED WITH N.Z. VISIT, i IMPRESSED BY GIANT KAT/RI. : j WAIPOUA SHOULD BE XATTOXAL , PARK. The first thing that strikes a visitor,' i when he lands in New Zealand is the! I uniform courtesy shown by everrone toj "the stranger within thy irate' The)' impression you get in coming into con- ' tact with the Customs officials is that of a welcoming host. The absence of [ red tape and needless waste of time and! ' patience countenanced in some other' j countries is most refreshing." i j This is the statement of Mr. Oeonre ! M. Cornwall, editor of "The Timberman." j ; Portland, Oregon—an international lumber journal—who has been spending some , weeks in New Zealand visiting the; j timber merchant.-. H» took a run up j hind inspected Trounson Park and th--; Waipoua kauri forest and got a glimpse ; ! of the kauri timber of New Zealand. ! j Commenting on his Impressions of the i [natural scenic beauties of Waipoua I j forest. Mr. Cornwall observed: "A visitor! j to New Zealand who has an opportunity j of visiting the Waipoua forest, with ir-= | magnificent stand of the noble kauri. ; now too rapidly vanishing, cannot but ; hope, in the interests of posterity, that j the Waipoua kauri forest mipht be ap- ; propriately created into a national park I by the New Zealand Government, thus i perpetuating it* natural beauties un- i . marred for future generations to enjoy. ' The difference between a national park and a national forest lies in the fact that in the latter case the reservation , is made in the interest of growing successive timber crops which will be harvested, and, in the ease of a national park, it means that all the natural beauties shall remain undisturbed." I "Plant Trees." ' ~Slr. Cornwall came primarily to New Zealand to study afforestation, and. "Strange as it may appear.*' he said, "our native Pacific Coast woods, including I Douglas tlr (Orogon pine i, California!): i fdwood. Port Orford cedar, western red ; [ cedar, and other species, grow more 1 rapidly in New Zealand than in their native habitat in British Cornmbia. ; i Washington. Oregon and California. I j ' am advised by your very efficient Direc- | ' tor of Forestry! Mr. L. Macintosh Ellis, j that more than twenty-five years ago the Government of New Zealand inaugurated an afforestation cam pa i 211. _\ programme has been laid out which provides for the planting of 300.000 acres by 1935. Already 100.0<X) acres have been planted. It is calculated that the annual sustained cut from these afforested areas will approximate 450,- , 000.000 superficial feet of timber. In I 1926 New Zealand sawmills manufacj tured 344,000,000 superficial feet of ' timber. The export of New Zealand timber to Australia in 1925 —consisting principally of your celebrated white pine, which is especially valuable for! the production of butter and cheese ' boxes, aggregated 44,000.000 feet. The imports of Canadian and American softwood timbers in 1926 aggregated about 40,000.000 feet. The "importation of ■ foreign softwoods apparently balances ' New Zealand's exports. The volume ! of the foreign imports is eleven per cent i of New Zealand's annual timber produc- ' tion at present. It may be interesting ; to casually note that the United Statc- , imports annually in softwoods from Canada a volume approximately equal ; to her own softwoods exportation. Tlu j United States imposes no duties on soft- ! wood rough lumber entering the country but imposes a duty on finished lumbcj The Canadian lumber tariff is similar 1 j that- of the United States. i "The need for afforestation in the I United States is very urgent. The country is cutting its virgin supply of timber four times faster than it is j growing, according to the reports or j the United States Forest Service, and I steps are being taken to encourage the j growing of timber by private firms, in , addition to the State and Federal Gov - '. ernments' afforestation efforts. j "I am advised that New Zealand has j 5,900,000 acres of idle land which could 1 be most profitably devoted to the growI ing of timber crops. The people of New I Zealand could make no better invest- | ment than in replanting these lands with species of timber which will produce j the most serviceable type of wood. Care i should be exercised to see that no mis- ; take is made in the proper selection of the type of trees planted, for it is one ' thing to grow simply wood, and another to grow serviceable timber. j Timber Really Cheap. I "From the data I have been able to ! gather. New Zealand has approximately j sixty-four thousand million feet of standing timber, of which probably twenty-five thousand million feet is commercial forests suitable for timber production. New Zealand is a timberusing country, with an annual per ' capita consumption of 240 superficial ■ feet. Australians per capita consump- ! tion is placed at 135 superficial feet. ! Timber offers the cheapest form of I building material available, and when I one stops to think of the heavy cost j entailed in the production of timber in New Ze'aland, Canada. U.S.A., and, in fact, in every timbered country of the world, the average buyer of timber seldom realises the high use value of the product he is purchasing at such a moderate price Education along this line is needed everywhere, and the timber producers an<i timber merchants of New Zealand should, in the interests of timber purchasers, supply this information j I freely through the public Press. The { ] public is often unconsciously misled re- I garding these subjects. I "One reason why the timber industry I I of New Zealand is complaining of the ' difficulty of disposing of its lower j i grades of timber is due to the restric- j I tion placed on the lower grades of tirn-' ; ber by the various municipalities in cer- | j tain districts, which permit the nse of' only heart and higher grade for exterior construction. Mr. H. Valder. manager of I Ellis and Burnnand, Ltd., Hamilton, i pointed out very forcefully at the recent i annual meeting of the New Zealand ! j Institute of Architects, representing a ! saw-millers' delegation, the impediments ! asainst utilising the major products of | the log. Mr. Valder said the subject was ' a serious one. The industry could be relieved of .3. portion of the surplus lower grade timber cau*ed by the limitations placed on its nse. The suggestion was made that the building inspectors modify the specifications which stipulate that only heart or clear timber could be used, when 0.8. could be used equally as well. As Mr. Valder correctly stated, by forcing the consumption of only high-grade timber, the cost of production was increased. In Canada and U.S.A. the entire product of the log is.employed in various ways for building purposes. The proper seasoning and grading of the timber is, however, j carefully undertaken.

Useful Handmaiden. The training of young men for the New Zealand forestry and logging on gineering professions is being, I not successfully undertaken by the Auckland and Canterbury University l. alleges, and is receiving \ery hearty sirport from the Hon. Geo. Low Ids. an l Professor Gorbin. of Auckland College and Professor Acland and Professo Foweraker. of Canterbury. The scientiii. training of men for the timber industr of any country is the foundation of per manent success. During a recent vis:: to the Oregon Agricultural College, lorvaliis. Oregon. Mr. rowlds was ple:i?c • '. to note that forestry training and agricultural courses went hand in ban'.. Lumbering is the handmaiden of azri culture: hence both industries must work together for the upbuilding of any country which has been blessed as \.>w Zealand has with !>■ tii timVr and a-::-cultural possibilities. "In takin? leavp of Now Z*»-i!a'id ,n< j its hospitable poop!e. whom I !i<>;t' to sec asa ; n. the impression wlreh ha< been left on my mind is p-,.-- ritrinulv and iieanrifullv i»-»p'is .] ' Jv.ovo-.. who wrote: 1J...1 irirt about will, ;',.. Ami win-Is of rh<> m:isf.'r!-ss (loop. Wlii>si> tumult uprousps and snrjrps i.nii.-k tiillows in s|,nrkl<> anil leap. Hf rilloil fmru tho lifp i.f rhoir motion H"r nostrils with h-»:Uh of rlic <oa. And iravs- li»r afar in t!n '-an A i*:r.idi>l fro.-.