The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1877.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 74, 3 April 1877, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 3, 1877.

Thk forests avlucli clothe the hills of the Peninsula, and whose perennial verdure so greatly enhances the romantic beauty of tlie scenery, are far more valuable than appears at the iirst blush. It is true that they contain a large quantity of timber and firewood, which if brought into the market, could easily be compiled into hard cash : it is true also that the supply appears to be inexhaustible, but is will be found that plentiful a.s that .supply now is, the woodman's axe and ihe labour oi'the saw mills Avill soon denude our valleys and hills of their chief ornaments. It is not, however, with the parting of this ornament.-; Lion, beautiful as it is, that we have now fco do, but a villi a question of far greater nay of even vital importance. Whence comes the supply ol'Avatcr Avhieli feeds ihe numerous rills that running down the hill-sides, keep the valleys ever green and fresh, and rejoice the hearts of man and the interior animals. We haA'e no lofty mountains whose summits are covered with perpetual snoAv. the melting oi'A\hhh would ensure a supply of w:iter to ihe valleys bonc.ith ; our hills have no vast /insures containing glaciers AA r henco ihe life-giving stream is continually welling forth. We have none oi'these, and yei our brooks, rising in the hills and running down their sides, ever bring to us plenty of the purest Avater. Even in the height of summer tliis water in rich abundance flows along its narrow channels, clem , as crystal and cool as an icicle. Again avo repeat the question— whence conies this precious gift?— The observations of science enable us to reply, that in the absence oi'glaciers and perpetual snow, it is to the trees we owe it. 'i'he forests Avliicii cover the hills attract the moisture of the atmosphere in the form of dew and rain, ihis is filtered through the earth, :iud trickles forth in numerous rills, Avhich unitinyinto a small stvea-n, run into the pl.'in below. Xiglit and day, summer and Avinter, this work goes on—it is natures plan—or rather the plnii o'i nature's God for supplying the A-alleys ol'tlie I'cniivmlii witli that essential of life, good Avutei , .

It must not be supposed that in making , these remarks, wo wi>h to put a stop to those industries which :>;Vord profitable employ .-.Lent to many, jurl Viliich yield a rauuncvative retu.'it to those who have embarked capital in them. Oil the contrary, wo wish them to he vigorously prosecuted ; wo liave no objection to the ring- oi'tlie woodman's axe, as lie brings down the forest giants, nor to the wliut of the sawmill which converts them into a useful and marketable article, alt we say is. let these labours be conducted with judicious care, r.nd then not only will benefit result therefrom, but iil consequences will be averted. It is a well known fact, that in districts were the forests have been felled, .:'id where the hill-sides have been denuded of trees, that the rain-fall lias been much less than, formerly, and that climatic changes to a greater or lesser extent have taken place. We do not say that these changes have been of an unhealthy character, but we do affirm that the water supply of those districts has been very sensibly diminished. This has been found to be particularly the case no farther off than Wellington. There, extensive clearings have taken place, and tho air has been allowed to sweep more freely over the town and surrounding country. TJie climatic change effected thereby has been beneficial rather than otherwise, but the volume of writer ilowing in the creeks has been greatly lessened, indeed so much so, that the necessity of an ampler supply has become a very serious question in the Empire City. What we wish to impress upon the public is this, that in utilizing our forests, care should be taken that the work of destruction is not carried too far, and that by the adoption of a judicious system of plant-

ing forest trees, the waste, consequent on the conversion of oui , forests into articles of marketable value, may in some measure be repaired. Sir Julius Vogel •when he drew public attention to the necessity of forming plantations of forest trees in New Zealand, looked far ahead of many of his contemporaries, and conferred a beneiit upon what was then his adopted land.