WOOD-PULP TIMBER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20867, 8 May 1931, Page 7

WOOD-PULP TIMBER.

POSITION OF DOMINION. VISITOR URGES ACTION. EXTENSIVE PLANTING CAMPAIGN. To take commercial advantage of the famine in forest products, partjteularly paper, which is expected to occur in from 10 to 15 years' time, New Zealand should concentrate on afforestation, now and henceforth, with all the resources it can muster. ' This policy was advocated strongly by Mr. R. St. Barbe Baker, a forestry expert of world repute, who arrived at Wellington this week from San Francisco. Mr. Baker gavo figures of the dwindling reserves of soft-wood forest in America and contended that New Zealand, which could grow these trees more rapidly than America, was in an excellent position to take advantage of the famine later on, provided afforestation were done on a commercial scale. In view of the inevitable forthcoming famine in soft-woods, he said, and of their shortage in America, where certain metropolitan newspapers used the wood production of as much as 24 acres for a single edition, they would be looking to New Zealand for their newsprint in from 10 to 15 years' time. At present, the situation in America was that they had cut seven-eighths of their plantations and of the remaining eighth half was in reserves, so that they were working now on the last sixteenth. When that camo to an end > they would look for supplies from outside. They were already Canada' 3 biggest customers. These two countries, Mr. Baker continued, with one-twelfth of the world's population, used half the world's forest production. They were beginning to put their forests in order, but there would certainly ba an interim period when New Zealand could coma to the rescue. This country, however, would have to have sufficient forest to make it a commercial proposition. > " Here is a possible solution to the unemployment problem- in New Zealand to-day," said Mr. Baker. "If cxease your wood Capital it will come into its own inevitably. The feeling I get from your people hero is that times are hard. But whatever you do, don't cut down on forestry, because the whole world is looking to you as leading the way in forestry to-day. "In proportion to the size of the country you are doing wenderful things, and it would be disastrous to you not to have sufficient commercial supplies later on. You can 'grow trees several times as fast as they are grown in their own original surroundings. The Monterey pine, which you call pinus insignis, grows here fivo times as fast as in California, where it came from."

NEED FOR GREAT CAUTION. COSTS OF PRODUCTION. CANADA'S VAST RESOURCES. The question of pulp and paper production on a commercial scale from New Zealand native and exotic timbers has been under exhaustive investigation by the State Forest' Service for several years past. Tho results have not been presented in final form yet, but the department has repeatedly warned the public that the whole problem of establishing such an industry bristles with difficulties and should .be approached with the greatest caution. In 1927-28 the department's forest products engineer, Mr. A. R. Entrican, spent more than a year at the United States Government Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin, conducting experiments in the manufacture of newsprint ,and other varieties of paper from a large consignment of New 2lealand timbers, ! comprising 11 native , varieties and four introduced softwoods, namely, insignis pine, Corsican pine, Austrian pine and European larcli Full commercial tests were'v carried out with these four, and with tawa and rimu. A high-grade newsprint was made from a mixture of insignis pine and tawa pulps md an average or "satisfactory" grade from insignis pine alone. ' Both these stood up to tests in newspaper presses. The estimated cost of producing newsprint commercially from New Zealand timbers is not referred to in published summaries of the reports on the experiments, but insignis pine, which comprises the largest part of the Dominion plantations, would be at a heavy disadvantage in competition with spruce, the principal pulping timber of North America. Insignis pine has a comparatively high resin content, whereas spruce, which apparently is not suited to commercial afforestation in this country, has a very low one. The presence of resin in newsprint causes the paper to tear in the press and gives trouble in many other ways. _ To extract it from the pulp adds considerably to the cost of manufacture. . It is open to serious doubt whether New Zealand paper could ever compete in the open market against Canadian afid American so long as sufficient jupplies of spruce are available. Elimination of Waste,

As regards the depletion of North American forest resources, Mr. Raker, in the interview quoted above, refers only to the situation in the United States, and makes no remark upon Canada. "Canada, 1931," a. condensed version of the official year-book, states that the total volume of standing timber in the country- has been estimated at 224.304 million cubic feet, capable of being converted into 424.637 million board feet of lumber and 1.121,993,000 cords of ptilpwood, 'ties, poles, and similar forc-st products. _ The total annual drain on tho forests, including loss by fire, etc., is now estimated at 4778 million cubic feet, but it does not follow that the capital will be exhausted in tho 47 years which a simple calculation might imply. Tho present great waste from fire and all oilier preventable causes will undoubtedly be curtailed, in future. It is now profitable to plant trees in Canada, and steps are being taken toward placing the forests on a susta ned yield basis. An annual increment of 10 cubic feet per arce, says the handbook, is quite pos;sible_ under forest management and would provide in perpetuity foir the. needs of a population of over 20 millions at the prosent annual rate of use.

Hugo Capita] Required. So far as a New Zealand pulp and paper industry is concerned. Mr. Eritrican was one of the first to utter a warning against too sanguine hopes. In his preliminary report he pointed out that a huge capital expenditure would be involved. The' minimum size for a complete newsprint mill, manufacturing both pulp and paper, was probably 200,0001b. a day, if not more, and this would involve' a capital investment of about £1.000.000. t . . A complete economic survey of the commercial possibilities of establishing otne industry in the Dominion was t fc ' e K"" about "the end of 1923. No repor upon the dala obtained has been P« bll » ecl j tot ,b. annual reports to Parliament, u • 8 . it necessary to fu^ er exploit- " against premature attempts ation.