NATURE-AND MAN.

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19460, 27 December 1934, Page 12

NATURE-AND MAN.

THE MESSAGE OF TREES. STURDY FRIENDS. (By Leo Fanning.) What wonderful friends 'forests are for the human race! They mike and conserve soil from which mankind raises the necessaries of life —and yet humanity is constantly at war with its best friends. An eminent forester of France had a meditation aipong oaks, which had grown in strength during two centuries. Here is his “Message of the oaks”: —“If the old oaks of the Foret de Blois, wrapped in silence and meditation, could speak to us, this is what they would say: ‘Respect the past. Respect traditions. If you change in some parts the methods followed by your predecessors, do not destroy anything good, conserve with care the heritage which the fathers have left you. Strive to trans-

mit this heritage to your successors, ' not merely intact, but mor.e beautilul and more rich. Let each one help his fellows. If we have trunks that are -both straight and tall it is because we have grown as comrades in a group, because wc have each profited by the reaching out of all towards the sunlight. Practise the spirit of moderation, order, and balance. This spirit animated the foresters who have given 11s their care through two centuries—it is the old French spirit Practise 'the spirit of discernment and simplicity, of intellectual humility. You are but a link in the chain connecting the past with the future. Look far into the past, far into the future, and you will better support the trials of the present. Work for that, future and do not worry about the outcome. Let God be your guide!’ ” New Zealand has living kauris, five

times as old as those They were bright- features of the Northland before the conquering .William of Normandy set foot on England. “ Tree Cemeteries.” The phrase "tree cemeteries” is bejg used by persons who yeairn to cut out the largest kauris of the Waipoua State Forest, despite the fact that the giants may have another five centuries of beautiful life, if they are left in geace. There is plenty of suitable space in the Northland for the making of new kauri forests without a stupid desecration of Waipoua, which is a charming scenic resort of Immeasurable value. Stewart Island—Rakiura of the Maori (“Land of the Glowing Sky”) —romantically known as the “Isle of Dreams," has hordes of enemies, enormous numbers of deer that are ravaging the forests. A sad story is told by a well-known journalist, Mr E. E. Muir, who recently visited the Island., “The whole of the west coast of Stewart Island,” he writes, “is a region of fascination and charm, not tho least’ of’ which is its abundanL bird life. It is also a sportsman’s paradise, for here thousands of red and Virginian deer abound, and many good heads are seen amongst them. At the same time many will be distressed to -see the enormous damage

which these imported pests are do- , ing to the native ilora. Out there they will see miles of the forest floor stripped as bare as a board with scarcely a fern, a clump of grass, or any moss to be seen, while many of the trees have been broken down and are dead or dying. With the red and Virginian deer in such numbers on Stewart Island as they are at present, and wJJh such a natural rale of increase that they will double their

numbers within a very short period, * it is not difficult to picture what will be the fate of this glorious vegetation within a few years from now unless drastic measures are taken immediately to deal with the menace. Stewart Island is, indeed, seriously threatwith becoming a waste, which will be a serious loss to New Zealand.”

A Talo of Two Countries.

“Ruthless Vandalism—Destruction of Flowering Shrubs.” These were the headings on a report in a New Zealand paper recently. Similar reports have appeared in plenty of other journals of this Dominion. What a time it is taking to establish a strong public .opinion for the fostering of beauty in this country 1 Much better progress has been made In older countries, Neighbour Australia Is ahead of New Zealand In the conservation of

natural beauty. A New Zealander, living now In the northern part of ,N New South Wales, wrote recently to a friend in Wellington thus: “Flowers in the gardens of our northern tableland and In the adjacent bush lands are just now gorgeous. The law restricting the taking of wild flowers, together with the efforts of hundreds of hon. rangers, are gradually bringing back the bush flowers to the profusion of yore.” Lovable Grey Warbler. Reports from various districts show that tlie charming grey warbler, as. friendly as the fan tail, is increasing. Many warblers Ibid a happy living in and about gardens of cities and towns. Frequently during the year several visit me in my garden at Kclburn, Wellington, and I hear their sad-sweet trills oil my rambles through other billy suburbs. A pleasant tribute to the delightful warbler—a tireless enemy of insect pests—is given by Mr James Cowan in the N.Z. Railways .Magazine: “That sober-coatcii little bird, how sweetly plaintive ils song that is never finished—a chant that never a foreign bird introduced to tills country can emulate or imitate,” lie writes. “There is a bitter-sweet in its song, a kind of blending of happiness and sorrowful longing. The Maori has a song about the warbler that expresses something of the soul in its musio

“ ‘Tangi e to rlroriro, to tohu o te raumati,’ it begins. I once heard a Maori woman in the Urewera Country sing It to Hie tune of the song itself, and that bird-lilt has always remained in my memory. ‘ The rirorlro Is singing, a sign that summer has come.’ The song goes on to praise {he chant of tho hush-hidden singer:

“‘Como forth, 0 liltle bird! My ears ensnaro Thy melody. The chant that brings the gushing

tears Of joy and love; Tho chant that thrills The song (hat cheers 'l’lic very soul of me.’

"To flic Maori there is a spirit in (hat bird-song that involuntarily causes the ‘fount of tears’ (punnlolmata) lo (low. Rut there is a joyful nolo—summer has come, let us rejoice ami he glad for summer lias come.”