OUR SOFT WOODS SUPPLY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19094, 12 August 1925, Page 17

OUR SOFT WOODS SUPPLY.

THE FORESTRY PROGRAMME. ASSURANCE FOR THE FUTURE. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] "WELLINGTON, Tuesday. Recent observations by the Commissioner of State Forests, Sir Heaton Rhodes, with regard to tho position the Dominion occupies relatively to Australia in tho matter of forest conservation and development were supplemented by the director of forestry, Mr. L. Macintosh Ellis. According to the figures cited by tho Commonwealth Prime Minister, Mr. Ellis pointed out, Australia has in all approximately 74 square miles of plantations. New Zealand has 100 square miles of plantations, and this area is being added to at the rato of 17,500 acres, or over 27 square miles, a year. «Then again Mr. Bruce mentioned that there were in Queensland 800,000,000 superficial feet of soft woods still standing. Apparently that represented virtually the whole available supply of indigenous soft; woods in Australia. New Zealand still had in its indigenous forests something like 25,000,000,000 superficial feet of commercial soft woods. Tho director of forestry is of opinion that if full effect is given to the programme of development laid down by his department the indigenous and planted forests of the Dominion will bo in a condition by 1960, 35 years hence, to yield ample continuing supplies of timber.