Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1928 A PROFITABLE DEPARTMENT.

Patea Mail, Volume XLIX, 19 November 1928, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1928 A PROFITABLE DEPARTMENT.

THE splendid work Ilia I is being carried out by the Stale Forest Service ol the Dominion is something of which the Reform Oovernmeut can feel justly proud. To-day, thanks to the forward policy of the Agricultural Department, the State possesses 136,597 acres of forest plantations which are already a valuable asset to the country, and which will be a still greater asset in the years to come. That the work has been carried out on business lines most successfully (is shown by the fact that whereas in 1921 it cost approximately £lO to establish an acre of State forest plantation, the cost has gradually been reduced till to-day it stands at less than £2 -per acre, the figures for the last eight being as under:— 1921: £lO per acre. 1922: £8 per acre. 1923: £5 per acre. 1924:’ £3 per acre. 1925: £2 per acre. 1926: £2 per acre. 1927 ; 30s per acre. 1928; 30s per acre. Excellent progress has also been made with the area planted, as the following figures will show:— 1921; 1381 acres,, 1922; 3408 acres. J 923: 2862 acres. 1924: 7207 acres. 1925; 11,120 acres, 1926: 15,964 acres. 1927: 19,924 acres. 1928: 35,106 acres.

In other words, during the past eight years Ihe (Jovernment, through its Forest ry Department, has turned some 9V,UOU acres of tliird class and deteriorated lauds —which were a-liability to the State, producing nothing but noxious weeds and vermin—into an exceedingly valuable asset, lit addition, the Forestry Department has carried out; valuable research work in connection with the forest products of the country, this work embracing (a) the determination of the mechanical and physical properties of various kinds of timber; (b) the study of fibres of woods suitable for paper manufacture; (c) the preservative treatment'of limber for telegraph poles, etc.; (<1) industrial investigation on timber production in Xcw Zealand, and other work, including the revision of grading rules for building timbers into one uniform classification.

Good work has also been done by the Department in eomicction wit It the solution of Hie unemployment problem, last year approximately 800 being given workin tree planting, etc., and Ibis year plans have been completed for the employment of at least 1200 workers on productive forestry, which must ultimately prove of great national value. The Department bits also performed good service in arranging for the dost ruction of wild pigs, which have proved a serious menace to farmers in the bach country. This year payment was made for 12,900 pigs and provision lias

ueen made for the continued conirol. of the pig menace dining the present year. Further good work has been done by the Department in encouraging the children of the Dominion to take a keen and lively interest in tree planting, gifts of trees having been made to various schools, and in many instances patches of waste or weed infested grounds near the schools have uccn turned into valuable and beautiful plantations. Excellent ■work has been carried out, too, in connection with sand dunes, 426 acres being planted this year, as compar- . d with 372 acres the year before, making the total area of sand planted to date 1471 acres. Some idea of the value and importance of the Forestry Department to the country can be gauged by the fact that there arc nowno less than 7,708,489 acres of land under the Department's control, a large proportion of which, without the Department’s efforts, would have remained a liability on the State, but which to-day is an asset increasing in value from year to year; in fact, the value of these seven million acres of State forests in the' future can hardly be overestimated. That ihc Department docs not intend to be idle during the coming year is shown by its objectives, as set out in its annual report. In the Auckland district, it is aimed to raise 4| million trees, establish a nursery at 'Maramarua, establish 4278 acres of new plantation, and .1000 acres by direct sowing, besides other work such as layingout fire breaks, roads, etc. In the Rotorua district it is aimed to establish 30,000 acres of new plantations, to raise 25 (million trees, and construct 52 miles of roads, besides other work. Altogether, the work of this Department under Mr. llawken may be said to be among the most beneficial and remunerative of that undertaken by the Government, and its results should be exceedingly profitable in tire years to come. It is to be regretted that the sendees of Mr. Hawkcn are lost to the Dominion as a result of the recent general election.