FOREST CONSERVATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5655, 28 August 1896, Page 6 (Supplement)

FOREST CONSERVATION.

A gentleman who is, perhaps, the leading authority in Australasia, on forestry, is now in New Zealand, and, in an interview on Monday with a representative of this journal, gave some information which should be of both interest and value to our readers. Our visitor is Mr George S. Perrin, Conservator of State forests of the colony of Victoria, who came to New Zealand to attend the recent timber conference as delegate from Victoria and Tasmania, having been specially asktd to represent the latter colony by the Premier, Sir Edward Braddon. While in Wellington he had a conversation with Mr Seddon,who, recognising his peculiar fitness for the task, requested him to make a tour of this colony, in order to report to the Government on the subject of forest conservation. The requisite permission was obtained from the Victorian Government, and Mr Perrin entered upon his task. His qualifications for the work are of the very highest. In the first place, he served for six years, under Mr J. E. Brown, the first conservator of forests in South Australia. He was then conservator of forests in Tasmania for two years and a half, and for seven years he has held his present office in Victoria. He is, in addition, a man of wide and varied experience. For several years he was engaged in pastoral pursuits in Victoria and South Australia, and in the, latter colony he had charge of stations shearing, one 25,000 and the other 50,000 sheep. Then he is an old pressman ; he was for a considerable time on the staff of the South Australian Advertiser; he edited the first newspaper published in Cooktown, North Queensland, and he was the Port Darwin correspondent of the Melbourne Argus. Like many other Australians, he has also had a gold-digging experience. In pursuance of his present mission, Mr Perrin has travelled from Picton via the Pelorus and Eai Valleys to Nelson, thence through the Buller Gorge to Westport, Eeefton, Greymouth, Jackson's, Hokitika and Eoss. He came to Christchurch overland through the Otira Gorge, with the beauties of which he is duly impressed. During his trip, he carefully examined the bush, "inspected the sawmills, and had interviews with most of the leading sawmillers. He goes next to Dunedin, whence he will go to Invercargill, and afterwards to Lake Wakatipu, and will return to Canterbury in order to inspect one or two plantations in this part of the colony. He will then make a similarly systematic tour through the North Island.

Mr Perrin cannot, of course, be expected to anticipate thereport which lie will present to the Government, but he spoke in general terms of the results of his observations. In the first place, he said, he could see that there had been a great deal of waste in connection with our dealing with our forests. If matters are allowed to go on as they are, our forests will become extinct within the lifetime of people now alive, say within forty or fifty years. Mr Perrin holds that forestry must be thoroughly, practically and scientifically carried out if disaster is to be averted. In Victoria, he points out, many thousands of pounds are annually paid for American and Baltic timbers, simply because there are no soft woods, suitable for flooring and similar purposes, in the colony. There is, he remarked, little demand in Victoria for New Zealand timber, except for certain kinds for special purposes. The export butter trade will, however, probably require for boxes all the white pine we can produce. To show the lines upon which forest conservation should be pursued Mr Perrin gave some interesting details of the work done by his department in Victoria. In that colony about a million acres have been reserved either as State forests, which are not easily alienable, and are intended for reproducing timber, or as timber reserves, which may be devoted to other purposes after the timber on them has been cut out, which is done under proper restrictions. Connected with the department, of which Mr Perrin is chief, are an inspector and an assistant inspector of forests, and twenty-two foresters. There are four State forest nurseries, the principal and distributing nursery being at Mount Macedon, where there is a reserve of 39 acres. From this nursery from 100,000 to 150,000 young trees are sent out annually. From 50 to 70 per cent of these are planted by the department j the balance is given to farmers, those in the dry districts having the preference. The trees are supplied free of cost, and are put on the train at Macedon, so that all that the recipient has to pay is the railway freight. The system has been found to work excellently. The best native and imported trees are grown ; and it has been found that cork oaks and black walnuts are especially valuable. There are at present at Mount Macedon about half a million oaks in various stages, besides several hundreds of thousands of seedlings and two-year-old trees of other descriptions. Mr Perrin strongly deprecates the wasteful destruction of theforests of this colony, and urges that effective measures should be taken at once to maintain our supply of valuable timbers.

giThe Gleninarlc Estate, of 72,000 acres, which is under offer to the Government, is being valued by the Government Valuator, with a view of being acquired under the Land for Settlements Act.