The following reports were read : THE DISTRICT ENGINEER'S REPORT.

Otago Witness, Issue 1230, 17 July 1875, Page 8

The f ollowing reports were read : THE DISTRICT ENGINEER'S REPORT.

_ „. Dunedin, 30tb April, 1875. To The Bon. Sir John Ricbardaou, Chancellor of the ■University. Sib— ln reply to your letter of the 4th Inst., I have much pleasure in placing at your disposal the following notes on the "Birch" timbers of the JBurwood Forests, samples of which have been forwarded to me. The sample* sent are very good and distinct, and beimr accompanied by specimens ol the foliage, I had no difficulty in determining the respective kinds The names, " Black," » White/ and "Red," affixed to the timbers, are not correct or sufficiently explicit for general application, as they vary in every district in the Colony. I shall, however, adopt them here in case you may wish to refer these notes to the parties who have sent the specimens, or to any one who may have charge of the bush. The botanical name and 'a short description of the timber and foliage are also aJdel for general reference. Black Birch (Far/us Sotondri).— Timber of a dirty white colour, with dark blotches near the heart, very tou^h, and splits with great difficulty when quite dry. Bark whitish grey, comparatively smooth and thin with few longitudinal markings in the young tree, but gets darker and rougher when old. Leaf about half an inch long, pear shaped, and quite entire on the edge. The durability of this timber has never been properly determined ; the impression is that it will soon decay in an exposed situation, but beyond ionic limited experiences in the Northern Provinces, I do not know that there is sufficient grounds for this conc'usion. The first telegraph posts erected in the interior of this Province were supposed to have been of F. Sotandri ; they became perfectly rotten at the surface <.f the ground in eighteen months, but this is no criterion of the durabil ty of the timber, for the posts were made of saplings, with little or no heart ; indeed the largeness of sapwood hi proportion to heart, is a peculiarity of this tree. lam eatibtied that thß durability of F. Sotandti has never been fairly tested, and in my judgment it has all the appearance of a durable timber. Under the name of " black heart birch," Dr Hector has found a. fence 20 years old of this timber hi j;ood preservation, which is the only record I know of it* durability, and in the face of a general opinion to the contrary, it would not be safe to pronounce it durable on a single proof of this kind, and the mere appearance of the timber. This birch has hitherto been littln u<ed in Otago, but. as it is very strong, and at the same time, easily worked, I have no doubt it will soon be largely utilised in the framing and joisting of dwelling-houses ; it is also suitable for waggons and drayg, and planking jetties, bridges, and railway platforms tVhite Birch(Fa(/us Menzietsii) Timber of a uniformly whitish colour, with occasional reddish streaks and small knots, very smooth iti the grain. Bark silver grey, with a largo number of horizontal markings particularly in the younger trees. Leaves round, -3 of an inch In diameter, with irregularly cut edges, and no ribs orvelng. Like F- Solandri, there has been very little information collected with reference to the duraollity of this timber. It has been extensively used for building purposes in the Lake district, but I do not know how it stands as piles, and in other exposed situations, I have a piece of fencing post said to have been nine years in the ground, and now in good preservation. From the appearance of the bark the softness of the timber, and the smoothness of the grain, I am inclined to think it is F. Meimetii, but the colour approaches to that of F. fusca. If it is proved to be the former, the durability of the timber mutt be considerable, still J must say that F. itemietii has not generally such, a durable appearance as F. Solandri The properties of F. Mtnziaii are such aa adapts it not only to the framing of buildings, but also for weather* boards, flooring, and general finishings. Being of & sofWflpxible nature, It is also suitable for makin« packing casss, the demand for which will soon be so great as to influence the timber trade. Ked Birch (Fagus Ftuca).— Timber red, generally of a uniform tint throughout ; it splits freely, the grain is rather coorse, and the timber v comparatively Soft. The sapwood is usually of a yellowish tint, but not very distinct from the remainder of the tree. Some namplftof this timber can scarcely be distinguished from red totara. The bark on large trees is $ Q f an inch thick, of a dark red colour and very rough, with deep vertical furrows. The leaf is about an inch lonsr, of an oval shape, and deeply serrated edges and strong rlb§ or viena. This is the largest of the birch tribe, the trees occasionally reaching a diameter of seven feet There is comparatively little sapwood, to the whole trunk is available. The durability of Fagui jutea « well autheuticated chroughout the Colony. It has been largely used in engineering works and for farm purposes in the Nothern Provinces with the moat satisfactory results, and although Its use here has been comparatively limited, there is ample proof of the timber being as durable a* eomq other kind* whone durability has never been questioned. I ha ve got aevoral samples of fencing poets that .hare j lu>pn in the ground about eight yearo, the heart wood P/ »J;jch slwjy* no j&p-mptyips of Ujecav, I beljevg that,

the reason that birch has hitherto been >so little used for ordinary work in Utago is s-unply that literally nothing was jchdwn of its properties, and as there is suih a confusion in the names persons who had opportunities of using it were afraid of doing so in case they should get the wrong kind. Besides, while other varieties of timber, such as totara, matai. and rimu, were more easily obtained, there was do inducement to go further inland for the birch. So far as strength is concerned, Fayu.s fusca stands higher' than any other native timber generally used in engineering works. It is 25 per cent .stronger than kaurij and matai, and 50 per cent, str uiger than totara, and being as a rule straight-Brained, there is much less risk in using it for bridges than any of the others. The public works specification* stipulate for F. fusca in beams in preference to any other native timber where procurable, and it is also taken for sleepers almost as readily as totara or matai. It has been objected to for steepens, owing to the difficulty of withdrawing spikes when the timber hardens, but I do not think this will be foui-d a serious objection, as thu Fatjus j'nsra is no harder than blue gum. red gum, or iron bark— the principal timbers used for sleepers in Australia, it may safely bo asserted that birch is the best timber for general railway purposes in New Zealand, and I ha\ c no doubt it would long ago have been extensively used in this Province but for the fact that Australian timber of equal or superior quality "is cheaper mid easier obtained. Fitgusfutcn is very suitable fer building 'purposes, particularly in beams, joists, and_ rafters, where strength is required, the only objection to its use in ordinary house framing being that it is too «ood. It is ulso particularly adapted for planking of whan eg, bridges, warehouse floors, and railway platforms, and the making of railway wagons and ordinary drays. I think it would do for weather-boardin? and flooring, but it is not suitable for internal finishing of houses. There is a fourth kind of birch in New .Zealand— Fayus Cliffoniiodea. It closely resembles F. Solandri, and is considered by some a mere variety of that species. It is, however, almost entirely confined to the Northern Provinces, bo there is no necessity for referring further to it. In considering this .subject, I have adheied to the conventional term of "birch," although the trees are, as the botanical name implies, t-ue "'beeches." According to Hooker, all the trees of this genus in the Southern Hemisphere are wiled birch "because of their small foliage." Further information ou the New Zealand birches will be found in Dr Hooker's "New Zealand Flora," page 241> ; Mi- Kirk's Report on the durability of New Zealand Timbers: Parliamentary Paper H, 2-J, 1874, page 8; mid Parliamentary Paper G, So. 16, pages sto 7. In the latter Dr Hector gives full steed lithographs of birch leave*, which will enable any person to identify the different species. There is v. contusion of names in the Memorandum (page 5), but this is corrected in the following one on page 7. Trusting thut these notes, which have been thrown together rather hurriedly, will be of service to the University Council in determining how to utilise their forests— l have, &c, W. N. Blair. Mr ji'arthcr's report. Invercargill, 23th Sept., 1874. Sib— ln compliance with Your Honour's telegram of the 10th hist. I have the honour to state that 1 inspected Burwood Forest last week, aud have to report as follows, viz. :— That it consists of black, red, and white birch, the red prevailing in the proportiou of about eighty per cent., or even more. The bush area ii densely covered with fine timber arrived at full maturity, a sprinkling of the largest trees being in a state of decay, as in every other forest i have inspected. The trees are from one to three feet and upwards in diameter, twenty to sixty feet lon« and nearly all •' heart," or with very little sapwood. I saw the quality of tho timber, having fallen fa with a party splitting posts and rails on the grouud. I counted seventy apparently available trees upon j about an acre, which would yield a large quantity of sawn timber for various purposes ; but tooh the low average of only fifteen, estimating tho former number to be equal to fifteen sound trees averaging two and a half feet each in diameter and only thirty-five feet long, thus making a large allowance for those m a state of dec*y. and also for "patchy" ground, although I saw none of the latter. This bush reproduces itsnll beautifully. There is in it now a dense mass of fine young saplings from ten to fifteen feet high and very benlthy looking, and, if properly dealt with, the full grown timber should be utilised without delay and the young thinned by at least one-third, and the same process repeated from time to time, till the fore.st would be left with its complement of permanent standard trees. Knowing that the Five Bivers property was fenced by the »ame description of timber, under tho super intendeiice nf Mr James K. Cameron, several years ago, I called upon him at Long Ridge Station, and ascertained that tho fences have been standing for about seven years. Being also aware th.it thero was a largo amount of fencing on the wav to and at Athole I rode up there, where I happened to fall in with a professional splitter and fencer. He gives the birch and particularly the red, an excellent character for durability. These feiices, which have bjen standmjc from seven to ten years, are still, as a whole, in Rood condition. . b Area of Burwood Forest, as per map in the Survey Office :-Three thousand eight hundred acres. Three thousand eight hundred acres, estimated at fifteen trees uer acre, gives fifty-seven thousand ; and eauh being thirty-five teet long by two mid a-half diameter, would yield 3,420,000 sleepers, 7 feet long, by 7x5 inches— the size used for the narrow-gauge railways ; the value of which, at only Is per sleeper would amount to £171,000. The sum appears lane so is the forest, which is also a irood one ; aud I feel confident I have rather under than over estimated its contents and value— l have, &c, Dt-xcAjf M'Aimiim, Inspector of Forests, Southland. On the 24th November, 1874, Mr M 'Arthur, writing from liivereargill, Hent in a second report, which ia as follows : — Sin— l rogret not having- been able to write you sooner regarding Burwood. The distance between it and the " Elbow," the nearest point of the Wukatipu KailwaS', is about twenty miles, over a love! gravelly terrace nearly the whole distance ; and, unless engineers would go out of their way, which they sometimes do, in search of difficulties, I feel certaiu that £100 per mile would be more than sufficient for the formation of a line of railway for at leaafc twenty out of the twenty-four miles between the Elbow and Burwood The only exceptions are where a rocky spur runs into the Oreti about half-way, where probably £1000 might be required, and a general elevation of the country at Burwood, where £1000 or £2000 more might be needed. The ballastiug can be had nearly all the way by simply throwing the gravel on the roadway out of the Uitches on each side. There can be no doubt that a railway will, sooner or later, be constructed from the Klbow into the Jlararou country by Burwood, as it would open up for agricultural settlement one of the finest districts m the Province. When this is done Burwood will become very valuable indeed in supplying timber for sleepers, houses, fences, firewood, &c, westward to the Mararna and eastward to the Elbow, thence north to the Wakattpu There would be a large timber traffic in the latter direction at once, eveu for firewood alone ; and by the j former the |Mar»roa district would be opened up for settlement, requiring a supply of timber for houses, ifcc, and sleepers for extension of the railway system throughout that line country, as well aa the Te Anau lake district. The Government should be called on to consider the railway question in the direction indicated, where they could readily find purchasers of land at 40s an acre and upwards along the line of railway, by laying it out first, and reserving so much on each side to be sold by public auction. Fortunately the land there cannot be taken up in such large blocks as in Southland. Burwood Fore3t cannot be utilised profitably until reached by railway. I am sure His Honour the Superinteudeut, who is a member of the University Council, knows the value of the country I refer to and the importance of opening it up by railway lam, &c, ' D. M'Arthvr, Inspector of Faresta, Southland. The Registrar, University of Otago.