IN 14 YEARS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 113, 16 May 1933, Page 5

IN 14 YEARS.

FORESTRY CHANGES. PLANTING AND PRODUCTION. MINISTER liOOKS BACK. "Conditions in all walke of life are to-day changing rapidly, and in. "one more so than in forestry; and the forest ewner has every right to demand that lis foresters leave no etone unturned in their endeavours to anticipate further rapid changes and to be ready to profit by them," eaid the Commissioner of State Toreste, the Hon. E. A. Bansom, in an address to the Institute of Forestry last week.

Mr. Eansom said the. State Forest Service was established by Sir Francis Bell in 1919. It was V'a time of great timber demand and depleted available man power and plants, the* timber Industry was working at nigh pressure, and Australian prices were high. The prime objective laid down for the incoming forest Service was to ensure a constant supply of domestic timber. This was logical and in line with, the then policy of every other country, badly scared by war scarcity. Safety of future domestic timber supplies was every country's watchword, and the first and most obvious step was to restrict exports as well ae to get to work with, afforestation.

Value of Eahikatea. "The position to-day ie almost the exact opposite," said Mr. Eansom. 'Afforestation, public and private, has proceeded at a pace not then dreamt of. World markets and demands have slumped unbelievably. Improved transPort facilities have opened up areas then deemed inaccessible. Species of timber not then saleable, or barely so, have responded to better manufacturing processes and have increased our available timber supplies. As a consequence sawwill plants and capital are now lying idle, and our efforts are turned, towards fa^»gjigy^«gejsea&-maAets.

"0;i only one timber docs it now appear desirable to have any export restriction, i.e., our 'special purpose , timber, kahikatea, which is almost indispensable to our butter export trade. "Sir Francis Bell's 1919 appeal to the sawmilling industry was, therefore, to conserve their product for the domestic needs. In 1933, I endorse this appeal as regards kahikatea, but as regards all other species, I would urge on sawmillers to make every effort to capture any visible and profitable overseas market."

The Minister went on to urge foresters to co-operate with sawmillere in better methods, manufacturing, and marketing, and to work in channels economically important to sawmiller and forest owner. He stated - that Sir Francis Bell's points—limitation of export ot timber, price fixation, and limitation ot the right to cut private timber—"were all practised in 1919 under special war legislation, but the need for them has passed away, and the authorising statutes have einco been repealed at various dates. I do not think that even the most perfervicl advocate of bfcate control in forestry could claim that there is any need for such restrictions under present world conditions (with the possible single exception of kahikatea already referred to). . . '

Use of Pinus Insignis. The enormous increase in afforestation work was emphasised by Mr.Kansom In 1919 there were some 30,000 acres of State-owned exotic plantations in New Zealand, and perhaps one-third of that area of scattered plantations belonging to local bodies. War scarcity of timber had brought about a preliminary and reluctant use of ineignis pine for a few purpose* m Canterbury and Otago; and to a lesser extent in Auckland. The timber industry in other parte of New Zealand scarcely realised that any use could be made of exotic pine timbers. In 1929, the insignis cut was 4,000,000 super feet out of a total production of 2*B 000 000 feet. In 1932, the cut was 13,500,000 out of 153,000 000, i e in 1919 less than 1 per cent of the timber cut in New Zealand was exotic pine, while in 1932 about 9 per cent was of that species. The difference was even more Marked when it was remembered that 1019-ttob' a-time-pi fceen.

demand for timber, whereas 1932 was distinctly a period of languishing demand. So much for changes in the utilisation of the afforestation product; but in the industry of afforestation itself the increase was even more marked. "The Slate-afforested area Lad risen from 35,000 to 350,000 acres (by the end of this winter it should be at least 380 000 acres). It was estimated that there were fully 25,000 acres of municipally-owned commercial plantations. In addition to this an entirely unforeseen factor had since 1919 entered into the national afforestation economy, and private enterprise had planted somewhere about 200,000 acres with exotic trees. "To put it briefly, then," said Mr. Ransom, "the position in lit 19 was that there were perhaps 60,000 acres of exotic forests in New Zealand and about 1 per cent of the timber cut was of exotic species; in 1933 there are 000 000 acres of exotic pines (mainly of the younger age classes), and tUc timber supplied from these stands is 9 per cent of the annual cut. • "It is obvious, gentlemen, that the forester's viewpoint _ should have changed considerably since 1919, and that lie is confronted with a series of problems then undreamt of."