NEW ZEALAND TIMBERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18772, 28 July 1924, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND TIMBERS.

NEED OF CONSERVATION.

POLICY OF ASSURED SUPPLY.

VIEWS OF FORESTRY DIRECTOR.

Reading a paper before the New Zealand Farmers' Union annual conference last week, Mr. L. Macintosh Ellis, Director of Forestry, expressed the belief that a real foundation had been laid for a permanent forest policy for New Zealand. A programme of national forestry, with the slogan "New Zealand timber for New Zealanders," had been evolved in the lasf four years.

He placed on record the follotvinfg facts:—

In . the year 1919 the forest authority was responsible for 1,650,000 acre 3 of forests and woodland. It has now clVarge of the protection and management i>i a forest domain of nearly 7.,400,000 /acres. There are still, however, over 2,iqf 00,000 acres of Crown-owned forest land which could be clearly dedicated to the stream flow protection and the producf ion of timber crops.

The work of commercial and jfrotecticm forest demarcation is well in If and. At least 50 per cent. o£ the Commercial forests have been examined 'by forest reconnaissance, and the definif.e work of boundary delineation is progressing as pei*plan. The classification of /forest lands occupying good settlement has been tackled first, and all, timber sales are made on these areas so jjhat' they may be released for human occupation as soon as possible. Timber Stock-ta&ing. The national timber stopk-t&king was completed last year after four years, of close scrutiny and inspection of practically every acre of indigenous bush in the Dominion, The grand total capita] of all standing softwood and hardwood timber in the Dominion at the close of the year was 62,000,000,000 ft. (39,000,000,000 ft. softwoods, rimu, totara, white pine, mat,ai, cedar, miro, kauri, and silver pine, and 23,000,000,000 ft. hardwoods, beeches, tawa, and rata). This includes everything -.standing, whether now exploitable or otherwise. It is apparent, however, that the country's-annual consumption of forest produce is greater than its annual increment growth by many million feet; this deficit can only be satisfactorily met by a speed-up in utilisation efficiency and by a wider use of hardwoods, otherwise the visible supplies will bo exhausted in from 35 to 45 years. \ The sustained efforts of the Forest service, in co-operation with the Forestry League, Bird Protection Society, the press, and many other organisations, to inculcate a spirit of individual forest consciousness and appreciation in the people of this* Dominion can be measured by the results attained in forest Sro prevention, in the planting of trees by individuals, local bodies, companies, and others, and in many other ways. From a fire damage loss of 50,000 acres of woodland in 1920, the loss was reduced to 200 acres in the 1923-24 season. A strong public sympathy, a spirit of co-operation and active support accomplished that. The quantity of forest trees being planted during'this year by the State, local body, private and proprietary interests will bo over 16,000 C 000 as compared with 4,000,000 trees in 1920-21. By the end of this present planting season the State plantations will cover 60,500 acres. This year the service is planting 8500 acres, which is over five times the average of the year befora the establishment of the Forest Service. In five years as large an acreage of plantations has been established as would have taken 14 years under the old regime. The Service Self-Snppdrting. From annual receipts of £7500 in 1919, the servics receipts have increased to nearly £95,000 in 1923-24, and every penny of this went back into the forma-, tion of new plantations, the opening up of indigenous forests by track-roads and telephone lines, the protection of the areas from fire, and tns building up generally of the means of continuous production of wood crops. Forestry is now entirely self-supporting in Ne\? Zealand, and la paying its own way, and in disposing of the ripe timber crops from the forest special consideration is given to assisting the smaller millers and co-oper-ative working parties in securing raw material on such terms as will permit them to compete in the open market. The country is now receiving its fair share of the value of the timber and is securing the funds thereby to restore the forests. . Forestry, Mr, Ellis stated, has now come in New Zealand to the parting of the ways. The time has come to recast the forestry programme in the light of the knowledge and experience gained during the first four years. We know now what our forest resources are and the rate of growth, the extent of the waste' lands suitable for tree growth, the probable consumption of timber in the future, the local and provincial needs for protection and commercial forests, costs of the raising and planting have been boiled down to an efficient basis, what trees to plant and where. "I ask you>" he appealed, "is the country ready to take the necessary forward step to clinch the matter and to settle for all time this forestry business?"