VISITOR FROM SWEDEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20110, 31 March 1928, Page 8

VISITOR FROM SWEDEN

CHAMBERLAIN TO KING PROBLEMS OF AFFORESTATION. On a holiday trip round the world, Air Emil Dickson, who has held the post of chamberlain to the King of {Sweden since 1912, arrived at Auckland by the Marama this week. He intends spending about three weeks in the Dominion, and will leave Auckland to visit Rotorua. Although Sweden had remained neutral during the war, the country still felt the effects of post-war depression, Air Dickson said. The war had disorganised Europe, and there had been a period of unrest in Sweden. However, the fact that the country had not been at war since 1815 had enabled Sweden to make a fairly rapid recovery, and at present the country was in a sound position. Timber constituted its chief export, and dairy produce was also exported to the British. Isles. The export trade in iron had recently receiver! a set-back owing to a serious strike in the industry.

Air Dickson said he realised that New Zealand was taking many tourists from Sweden. Alen who had been devotees of the salmon fishing in the Scandinavian peninsula were now joining in the quest for New Zealand’s big-game fish. He himself was not an angler, but he had heard much of the wonderful sport New Zealand afforded the overseas tourist.

The problem of afforestation was also touched upon by Air Dickson. Sweden had immense tracts of timber, he said, but it was realised that unless attempts were made to replace trees cut down a great industry would in time die out. ’Therefore, every tree cut down had to be replaced* and for this reason a number of trees were preserved as seed trees. These were specially selected and could not. be destroyed. Air Dickson considered it imperative that every timber-growing country should adopt the principles of afforestation, as a scarcity of timber would bring about serious results.