OUR NATIVE FLORA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 27 September 1924, Page 15

OUR NATIVE FLORA.

NEED FOR CONSERVATION

(By “Hori.”)

1 here is no country of the same size on which abounds such a great variety ot plant.life as is to be ’round m virgin bash in New Zealand.- When trie oofcanists attached to Captain Cook’s expedition on liis first visit to iiiese islands in 1769 gazed on trie grandeur ot .the New Zealand bush it must have been a great inspiration to Banks and Soiander, who'had in their tiihe a field for exploration undisturbed by man, the result^ of untold ages of unrestricted growth. In later years the ls.ands were 'more thoroughly explored, and it is to such'men as Sir J. D. Hooker, the two Cunninghams, Bidwili, Dieffenbach, Colenso, Yon Haast, Sinclair, Kirk, Lyall, H. J. Matthews, the Hon. G. M. Thomson (father of Dr. Thomson, of Hawera), l)r. Cockayne, and the late T. F. Cliseseman, and others, that New Zealand owes a debt of gratitude for thoroughly exploring the Dominion and naming the diffeient trees, plants and ferns. "\Vith the advent of civilisation there began the work of desecration of the beautiful bush. Gradually the land was cleared for the purpose of settlement, and very little thought was given to the need of conserving any great-portion for scenery purposes, so that. to-day we find that the country has been denuded of the. greater portion of its native beauty. There are still o few hundred acres of bush in South Taranaki, and it is a pity that some of it could not be taken over by the Government and kept as a native reserve. If this ruthless sacrilege, which it might be termed, goes on and on it wili riot be long before the average New Zealander will know scarcely anytning about the. flora for which this land has earned a world-wide reputation. Sentiment has been entirely disregarded in the work of devastation. The land was first cleared as quickly as possible for sheep and cattle grazing, and as the dairying industry developed every acre of land was brought into cultivation. The demands of timber for butter boxes and cheese crates and building purposes has meant- that vast tracts of virgin hush have been bought up. -After all the valuable timber lias been cut out more bush burning takes place. Some land that has been felled in the past, .especially that bordering on the face of precipitous hills, might have better been left alone, as after the humus in the light coating of soil was exhausted there remained only the papa lace on which trie grass could secure a shiall holding. When heavy rains come a great deal of the land is subject to slips. A speaker at a recent meeting of the Stratford County Council mentioned that the standing bush played an important part in connection with the rainfall. ’ . Old residents also- tell, us that the climate has entirely changed to what it was in the early eighties, owing to the ousli being cleared, and the cold winds that so frequently sweep the country were almost non-existent in those days. Fortunately there are several reserves of practically virgin bush that still remain; notably our own. Mt. Egmont leseive, the upper reaches of the Wanganui River and Tongariro National Park; but it has been found that the liberation of goats and wild cattle in the first-named are doing an immense .amount of harm by ring-barking the trees and eating the delicate ferns and shrubs.. This ‘is a matter .'/hat requires Government assistance, as the funis at the disposal of th© Eginomt Forest Hoard arc- not sufficient to allow of a great deal of mono;?, being spent in this manner.