THE TIMBER INDUSTRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10601, 22 February 1896, Page 2

THE TIMBER INDUSTRY.

INTERVIEW AVITH MR J. FEE7BERG.

Mr James Freyberg, the timber expert for tho New Zealand Government, is at present staying in Dunedin, and was interviewed on Thursday by a representative of this paper with reference to the timber trade of the colony. Mr Frey berg, who was very willing to afford information on tbe subject, eaid : I am jusfc completing a tour of both islands, and wherever I have gone 1 have found considerable anxiety • with respect to the growing scarcity of totara, and tho possibility of the short supply bf coming still shorter. In this islaud tho tree is practically extinct, but there is a: ready way of replanting ifc—namely, by means of convict; labour, which will not interfere with skilled labour in auy way, and at the same time give employment; to a class of prisoners who are unable to do hard work.' The largest totara forest at present in existeuce is in tbe North Island, and io the bauds of the Governm:..n_ (the AVaimarino block). The general feeling seems to be that this crop of totara should be spread all over the colony for tha benefit of eawmillers in every direction, aad not confined to the one particular district iv • which ib is found. For example, in many parts there is a great difficulty in obtaining totara at 19s to 20s per 100 ft, and sawmillers decline pledging themselves to supply any large quantity. But before this crop is cut ib ia absolutely necessary that the'small seedling trees should ba removed and replanted, or they will be destroyed in felling the mature timber. It is •quite possible to replant'this island at very little expense by taking'off cuttings in May from both the male and female trees aud distributing them in suitable districts, so that a future crop of totara may be obtained for fche use of the rising generation. Ifc is also obvious fchafc steps must be taken to protect the valuable Waimarino block against fire, as we have so recently had an alarming experience on tbe valuable Puhipnhi block. Several authorities have been communicated With, and it is their opinion that convict labour could be utilised for planting most successfully. As regards the kaaikatea (white pine), for some time shipments of white pine to London have been bought very readily, especially tbe whiter variety ; but ifc has been extremely difficult to ascertaiu where the wood went to and for what purpose ib was used/ By tbis mail I hare received a letter stating'that kahikatea "is likely to top a good market if sent in lin boards Win to 24iu wide, aud will compete with American white wood." Thus it appears bo have found for itself an outlet in a direction not altogether looked for. In view of this market ib is necessary to call attention to the fsefc that kahikatea can bo made to last very much louger than has hitherto been suspected, if the trees are felled iv winter and the wood is immersed in Bait or brackish water for from six weeks to two months, as the water washes out the sap thab the insects feed upon. My informant also maintains in the letter to which I have already referred chat birch—a product of the South Island alone—is likely to come into demand for X>aving, bub he specially says: " Sawmillers must be impressed with the necessity of sending only gcod timber faultlessly manufactured. The Rangitikei cargo was very bad in this respect. I took a provincial buyer lately to see it, and found ifc with un«quared ends and the blocks varying from 8f iv to 9iin in width. There is also another thing that retards the sale of shipments sent-to big brokers here. They wiil nob give dock orders; for small samplss of, !<Ay, six small-pieties—nobbing less than 200f tor 300fb, Of course for hew woods this is not a good policy or calculated to encourage the sale." I might explain thafc what is referred to by the writer is timber paid for, bnt it is a custom in the trade to furnish simples gratis in advauoe to all brokers who are known to ba go id buyers the moment they apply for them. I might aleo mention that ib has struck me with cjiisiderable astonishment thab bhere. are millions of acres of birch in the upper pact • of this island that are quite unutilised. More than thafc, the birch bark, which is bo valuable for tanning, is being recklessly'burnt for fuel ; and iv driving through 50 miles of the birch country I only found threo tanning pifcs, and tho prospect was extremely encouraging, because one merchant in Wellington purchased the whole of the product of one pit, bub theowner objected to extend his business. Avery important matter I wish to call attention to is the discovery that a AVeot Coast settler has made of a very simple plan of concentrating the taunin in the birch bark on the sunn principle that Liebig concentrates his beef essence. Thus a ton of bark can be concentrated into a small cake that a man can lift easily. This, of- course, will facilitate transport to more enterprising tanners in other lands. I wish particularly to disclaim all credit in this matter, because my only connection with it is inbroduc'mg the discovery to the public. The inventor is a poor mau ou the AVesb Coasb, and I hope he will receive the benefit of his work in past years. There is some prospect of his discovery being protecbed by a patent; bufc any way it is of immense importance to this colony. Reverting to totara,<Mr Freyberg continued by saying that it was the most valuable timber the colony possessed. ■' Already ib commanded three times the price of red pine and twice that of kauri. Ib was valuable for bridge work, for piles, for telegraph polos, for cabinet work, and there was even some idea of using it instead of cedar for lead pencils. He had found bhat the only supply of ifc to auy extent yet remaining existed in the North Island, and what he meant by conserving it was that it should be treated as any other natioaal possession—gay mineral, for instance—and not alienated for private benefit. ,

In Mr Froyberg's opinion the kauri will have disappeared from New Zealand in about 20 years, and ib can never be replaced, as ib will nofc come bo maturity in less than 1000 to 1500 years. Therefore iv a vory few years a. kauri tree will become a great curiosity, and will be visited as some historical oaks now are in the old world. But totara grows to maturity in about a tenth of the time taken by kauri. Ten crops of totara may ba taken for one of kauri — thafc is, ' a crop may be taken in,' say, SO to 100 years. In many countries the law makes it compulsory to replace every tree cut down by three planted, but in this colony no such compulsion exists. He regretted that the planting which had been done wa3 confined to eucalypti, which, compared with totara, for general utility were worthless. It was, therefore, his intention iv his forthcoming report to endeavour to impress upon the Government and the people of New Zealand generally the urgent necessity of beginning at once to replaoe fche wasted forests of the colony and to conserve what yet remained.' He estimated the value of the timber on the black he had already men-

tioned at a million pounds. As giving some idea of the value of totara, he mentioned that he had knowu of a settler who felled a totara and used it for firewood, that tree being worth at the present mometit not less than one hundred pounds. At present all the totara used in the South Island comes from the north, and it is carted 75 miles to the coast previous to ship-' menfc. ■ ,

Although Mr Freyberg's mission to New Zeolaud originally was for the purpose of ascertaining the possibilities of exportation, his investigations will take a wider scope, and he will now report exhaustively fco the Government upon the subject. In this connection he will deal with the industrial conditions under which the timber-gettiug trade is conducted. He has found the truck system rampant in tbe north, and hie report may contain noma startling information under this head. Ho has also found that some 60,000 eouls depend upon tha timber industry in the colony, and that of the 15,000 men and boys employed many proaefiute their calling with tho most primitive appliances, and with the utmost disregard fco safety as regards health or immunity from accideut. For instance, two men may strain and injure themselves lifting a log, while a simple mechanical appliance could be procured for 30a, and its use ought to be made compulsory.

Mr Freyberg confidently anticipates that his report will open the eyes of the public to the folly of the Course hitherto pursued, and he in the most emphatic mauner ascribes the anticipated credit to Sir AVesfcby Perceval, who has evinced a warm and intelligent interest in the subject. He complains bitterly that the socalled representative displays of New Zealand timher are ridiculously inadequate, and goes so far as to suggest thafc some of these actually operated injuriously and ought to be burnt. Bufc ifc is only fair to say thafc at tho time of Speaking Mr Freyberg had not seen the collection in tbo Great King street museum, Dunodin.

Mr Freyberg will remain in Dunedin for a few days. Then he proceeds to Southland, thence to Stewart Island. He intends to make an exhaustive report on the state of the timber industry in the colony at the present time, and his report is to be laid before Parliament.