TIMBER WASTED

Taranaki Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 16894, 16 November 1920, Page 2

TIMBER WASTED

NEED FOR FORESTRY WORK.

DIRECTOR’S SCHEME APPROVED.

BV TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT. WELLINGTON, Nov. 15. The recently-appointed Director of Forests (Captain Macintosh Ellis) has prepared and had' approved by the Commissioner, a scheme for the organisation of a skeleton staff more in proportion to the forestry task than the existing one. At present the department has only about a dozen officials’ directly concerned in active forestry .work,./' 1 *' ■

The scheme, comprises the division of the Dominion into seven forest regions. The head 'office will remain in Wellington, but control will bo considerably decentralised m the hands of, a conservator of forestry in each region. The regions will be divided into dis-% tz-icts, each of which will be in charge . of a -ranger. . v The first aim of the department is ta make the best nso of timber resources. It Ms estimated that at' present only about 25 per cent of the timber ciit or .destroyed is used, and that, by proper means, this proportion could be increased to 65 per cent. This great loss is occasioned largely by public ignorance of the properties of the Native timbers, because very little serious research has yet been made. The effect of this ignorance is that many timbers, which are now wasted or deliberately destroyed would, if their .properties were known, go into employment and release a large quantity ot building timbers for their best use, Proper measures to test the economic qualities, as well as the rate of growth'ot all Native timbers, are to ba. made by the department. In view of the prompter results lively to bo secured, this research work is regarded as of high importance. _ It is as vital as the replanting policy, because the unnecessary wastage now going on is greater than the gain due td planting. Cultural measures, so far Native-trees arc concerned 1 cannot proceed for some years, because ft is not yet known what methods can best be followed,*'