FOREST ASSETS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 77, 1 April 1931, Page 9

FOREST ASSETS

VALUE £38,400,000

TEN YEARS' RECORD

Speaking at a gathering of officer^ of the Forestry Department to-day toi bid farewell to Mr. E. Phillips-Turner on his retirement from the position o£ Director of Forestry, the Hon. E. A. Eansom, Minister in Charge of thq Department, said that the. progress made by forestry in the Dominion, during the past decade, and its valueto New Zealand, were shown, by the following figures:—ln 1920 the total area of State plantations was approximately 37,000 acres; to-day it was 307,----000 acres. The area planted in th<» year 1920 was less than 2000 acres; last year it approximated 54,000 acres. The total area available for planting at present was 120,000 acres. The area, dedicated to forestry purposes in 1920' did not exceed 2 million acres; to-day, it was 7J million acres.- The forest income in 1920 was £8514, in 1930 it exceeded £105,000, and a conservative estimate of the assets at present controlled by the Service placed the figure at £38,400,000. This progress over ■the short period of- ten years was a. record of which any country might reasonably be proud. The Minister said that while we had every reason to be proud of our, forestry, there was need for a thorough, investigation into the question of tht> future utilisation of our trees for timber. The time had arrived when •* greater amount of money should ba expended on that phase of work. WORLD'S SOFTWOOD SUPPLIES. Mr. E. Phillips-Turner said that only; those who were ignorant of the disastrous consequences that had followed widespread devastation, in many lands failed to acknowledge the importance of maintaining an adequate area of forest in any country.' The direct money returns from forestry did not give a fair picture of the benefits that were derived from, the industry. Competent authorities had drawn attention; to the fact that at the present rate of depletion a shortage of the world's softwood supplies was not far distant^ and that it was essential that steps should be' taken to avert such * calamity. "Up to- the present time the NewZealand Forestry Department has established 307,500 acres of valuable exotic! timber trees," said. Mr. Phillips-Turner "This, with the yield from the native forests and from the areas that are being planted by private companies and; local authorities, should supply the ordinary requirement of New Zealand's; expected population at 1965. "We have, however, a large area of land on which: farming cannot be profitably undertaken, and as a large part of such, land can be made to yield profitable crop* of timber, it should be used for suck purpose. At different Empire Conferences it has been stressed that tha softwood timber supplies of the Empiro. should be produced within the Empire. With our exceptionally favourable cli« mate we can help very .materially in) doing this; and by so doing can advantageously use our poorest lands and!' secure the further desireratum of, settling on such lands a large permanent population of forest and timberworkers." Mr. Phillips-Turner pointed out that some years ago, in a time of financial stress, Great Britain made a grant o* £3,500,000 to a forestry fund to cover, a ten years' forestry programme; and, last year £9,000,000 had been grauted to extend the programme for another, ten years. He trusted that in New, Zealand funds would be found to enaW<s the Forestry Department to carry out efficiently the important national work, which had been entrusted to it.