PRESERVING THE BUSH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20887, 1 June 1931, Page 12

PRESERVING THE BUSH.

NEED FOR EXPERIMENTS. FORESTRY EXPERT'S ADVICE. AN OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK. The carrying out of experiments to discover the best means of perpetuating New Zealand's natural forests was urged by Mr. It. St. Barbe Baker, a noted authority on afforestation, and for some years assistant Conservator of Forests in Kenya and Nigeria, who arrived from Waitomo and Rotorua on Saturday aftor making an extensive torn' of the forest plantations and bush reserves of the North and South Islands. Mr. St., Barbe Baker was largely responsible for the substitution of Kenya pencil cedar to replace the almost exhausted supplies from America. He attended the World Forestry Conference in Rome in 1226, he has written extensively on African forest lore, and is the founder of tho forest scout movement known throughout the world as " Ibe Men of the Trees." " The New Zealand bush contains many valuable species of timber which will increase in commercial significance as time goes on," said Mr. St. Barbe Baker, "but I would strongly urge that extensive silviculturai experiments be carried out with a view to discovering the best cultural operations which will preserve it for all time. Once you destroy the indigenous trees or clear-fell the bush it will not, in my opinion, ■ replace itself in its original form, so felling should be controlled with a view to increasing the yield and improving the standard of the timbers which are of economic value. Rapid Growth of Trees. " I have been immensely impressed with the extraordinarily rapid growth of forests in New Zealand," added the visitor. " Pinus insignis, known to me as the Monterey pine, which I have studied in its own environment on the Monterey Peninsula, California, grows four or five limes as fast in this country as it does in California. This should givo cause for thought. After all, in times like the present, one needs to look to the future.

" It has been said that a pessimist is one who sees difficulty in every opportunity, and an optimist one who sees opportunity in every difficulty. In the rapid growth of exotics in this country lies a wonderful asset."

New Zealand was undoubtedly leading the way in the matter of tree planting, said Mr. St. Barbe Baker. At Rotorua he had spent two days inspecting one company's plantations and it was a sight he would not have missed. Last year New Zealand had planted 100,000 acres of land, which was moro than America had planted in the same period, and one company alone had planted more trees than any other company ho knew in any part of the world. So far as planting and field work was concerned he was delighted with everything he had seen. Uses of English Ash.

The speaker said he would recommend New Zealand farmers to plant English ash for wind-breaks and felling purposes, as it seemed to grow well in this country and was always useful for farm requirements, such as building and fencing. He was particularly struck with the way this tree was growing on Mr. James Dean's property at Homebush, near Christchurch. After a visit to the North, where he will inspect the kauri forests at Waipoua and Trounson Park, Mr. St. Barbe Baker will leave on June 5 lor Sydney, en route to Burma, India and Palestine, where he wishes to see the work which is being carried on in connection with tho reforesting of the Judeau hills.