CURRENT TOPICS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6129, 16 March 1898, Page 1

CURRENT TOPICS.

4> Mie importance of mainthe ttuaing the timber sup- j destruction plfes of a country is so of often emphasised, and so our i'okests. widely admitted, that it woild seem at first sight to l>e Wranecessary ;o say anything more on the question, but the facts with regard, to New Zealand shew clearly enough that neither the people. or the Government has yet recognised its nanifest duty. Official statistics give an aiea of 20,000,000 acres as under forest in tie colony, and such" a supply might seem sufficient for all our needs, but when it is remembered that dead bush, scrub, anc coarse fern make up no small part of our so-called bush, it must be evident that our tmber supply is by no means inexhaustible. Now, at the present time there are three hundred mills constantly at work in lew Zealand, giving employment directly to over four thousand persons, and indirectly to as many more as "bushmeu" or "contractors." We do not wish here to dwell on the importance of the industry, so much as to point out that our timber supply is gradually diminishing and that no adequate steps are being taken to replace the forests destroyed. Certainly the sawmills are not the only agents of this devastation, and we do not wish to imply that sawmilling is not a useful industry, because of course it is one of the most useful that any country can possess ; but at the present rate of consumption New Zealand will be face to face with a timber famine within fifty years. This summer the colony has unfortunately been visited by disastrous bush fires) thus bringing the famine so many years nearer. Of course New Zealand is not singular in this respect, for almost every timber-producing country in the world has to' face the same difficulty. Seeing that the United States alone consumes annually something like thirty thousand million feet of sawn timber, and Great Britain herself spends =£20,000,000 per annum on the same article, it is not remarkable that experts should anticipate a shortage in the world's supply within half a century. It will be noticed that we are regarding the question entirely from a commercial point of yiew, and, of course, it would be easy to say something of the necessity for the conservation of our forest lands as public reserves. Certainly the Government has reserved a million and a quarter acres, some of these for climatic purposes. It must be remembered too that the average rainfall invariably declines after bush lands have been cleared, thus appreciably affecting the fertility of the country.

Some time ago Mr G. S. Mb perrin's Perrin, Conservator of the a'iews. State Forests in Victoria, spent three months iv New Zealand, and the results of his observations are embodied in a report which he presented recently to the Government. It is his firm opinion that the New Zealand forests demand close and immediate attention. "Nothing short of drastic legislation," he says, " and the prompt establishment of a Department under proper conditions, can save the timber reserves from extinction within the next thirty or forty years/ Such a statement, we may be sure, would not be made without serious consideration. Mr Perrin mentions, in passing, the advisability of leaving the mountains and the heads i of streams and rivers well covered with wood, for it is well known that forests prevent the drying of the soil,' and at the same time attract rain. Moreover, if the banks of rivers are planted there is less chance of floods in wet seasons. There is another consideration ; namely, that on poor lands timber will pay botter than crops. The objection of course is, that the crop gives a return within a yeai-, whereas the planter of trees has to wait twenty or thirty years for his harvest. The conclusion to be drawn from all this is that the State, rather than the individual, should take the matter in hand. In Germany a quarter of the land is under forest, but it is well-conserved forest, planted and maintained under State supervision. In France the State forests return a revenue of 10s 6d per acre, while the expenditure is only 4s 7d per acre. We already have a State Forester, who undertakes experiments in tree-planting and propagation ; but the question is not one of half-acre nurseries, but of square miles of marketable timber. Mr Perrin is altogether opposed to any attempt to deal with the native forests. He considers that the planting of native trees is hazardous, and that the colony should turn its attention rather to the planting of more cmicklygrowing trees, for the native birch," totara, riinu and kauri are slow growers, and at the same time the conditions of cultivation have never been systematically studied with regard to them. Mi Perrin remarks, too, that New Zealand forests have small regenerating power, though this, again, may be a false conclusion, drawn from the slowness of their growth.

Some years ago, in rewhat sponse to an agitation then should be raised on this very quesdone. tion, the Government decided to set apart August 4 in each year as an Arbor Day, a day on which tree-planting should be carried out systematically. The institution owes its origin to the United States, where millions of trees are planted annually, but ia New ! Zealand it soems that outside the children of a few schools, the masters of which take an interest in the matter, Tery little result has, so far, followed. In Auckland, howerer, some eleven or twelve years a«o, the Government undertook a* experiment lawatKUHgnmmg - A piece of 4, yland>

with poor soil, covered with scrub was selected, and about 1200 acres were ultimate!}' sown; another block of 600 acres was put into cultivation later and planted with silver and black wattles." Altogether, there are now about 4500 acres under wattles in the Auckland District, and we learn this morning that the result at the State plantation has been distinctly encouraging. In Canterburj*, tco, we have plantations of English deciduous trees which are now being cut for timber, aud possibly somo of the local coaohbuilders could furnish interesting information as to the quality of New Zealand-grown ash. It is to be hoped that Mr Perrin's report will rouse interest in the whole subject, and that the Government will not let the matter rest till a fully-equipped Forest Department is set up. The present generation can expect no great return for any outlay.i n this direction; but we certainly owe a duty to the children who come after us. It is admitted on all sides thab the native forests are gradually being thinned out, and we have it on the authority of an expert that fifty years hence the country will be without timber if nothing is done. There are thousands of acres of land, 1 hill-slopes and swamps, which'at present return nothing to their onvner3, but which a century hence might be a large source of revenue. Wo have a climate eminently suited for the cultivation of many of the timbers most highly valued in Europe and America. There is ample evidence to show, first that these trees will grow here, and second, that their cultivation would tremendously increase the value of poor lands. And, lastly, the preservation and planting of forests have much influence on the climate of a country and on the fertility of its soil. With these facts before it, we believe that the Government of New Zealand would be failing in its duty to the people if it neglected tc adopt some ; practical scheme for the restoration of the i forests of the colony.