OUR FOREST ASSETS
REPORT BY SIR DAVID HUTCHINS THE CASE FOR CONSERVATION TIMBER, SETTLEMENT AND REVENUE Two broad conclusions are presented in the report by Sir David Hutchins on "Now Zealand Forestry" which has just been. issued by the Government. One is that the native forests of this country are sjill capable of becoming ono of its richest national assets—an asset which for all timo will yiold a big annual return of wealth, lighten the burdens of taxation, lower the cost of living, and support close settlement on extensive areas that otherwise will he barren and will carry a sparse population or none at all, The other main conclusion is that unless immediate measures are taken to conserve tho remaining native forests and work them as forests are worked, with enormous annual profit, in Europe and inimnny other parts of the world, the opportunity of preserving them as n wealth-producing national estate will speedily disappear. These conclusions, stated in the report with all possible emphasis, are based unon the" first comprehensive survey of the indigenous forests of the Dominion ever made by an expert forester. Indiscriminate forest destruction has gone so' far, Sir David' Hutchins declares, that only a short further persistence in the present policy will render the restoration of the forests almost impossible at any reasonable cost- "That will mean," lie adds, "the final loss of the finest forests in the Southern Hemisphere, and with them the loss of an expoft trade worth, in the future, more than either wool or dairy produce. It will mean the loss of the best industry that New Zealand'has eveT possessed or is ever likely to possess, and the two or three other industries in depriving them of their raw material at economical rates. It" will mean n continued rise in the present high cost of living. ; . -." On the other hand, the. distinguished author of "New Zealand Forestry" has much that is encouraging, to say about the possibility of restoring, the native forests to rich productivity. These forests, he points out, have been presistently undervalued. His own opinion is that on the whole they may Tjc. classed as above tho average of forests elsewhere. The kauri, he _ adds, is "unique in the world" as a timberproducing tree. The largest' kauri of which the dimensions are on record contained twice as much timher as the largest of the. Californian big trees. Again, tho average millable forest of New Zealand carries about double the timber "stand" of the Appalachians Forest, which is being redeemed for the American nation at a cost of millions, and was described 'by the late ex-President Boosovelt as "the heaviest and most beautiful hardwood forest of the Continent." One of tho most interesting and valuable sections of the report is based upon nn exhaustive investigation of • the rate of growth of New .Zealand as compared with European trees. The broad conclusion reached is that the principal New Zealand trees grow about twice as fast a3 the five chief forest trees of Europeoak, beech. Scotch pine, spruce, and silver fir. Kauri, the report observes, is superior to oak in, every respect but strength, and as a tree it grows somo 50 to 75 per cent, faster than oak. In showing vhat New Zealand has lost by the wasteful destruction of forests, Sir David Hutchins uses a particularlj striking illustration.. He remarks that-tho'Puhi-puhi kauri forest, vhich was destroyed by • fire years ago, occupied a 6pace of 17.000 acres, an area less than that of
Wellington Harbour from the sea to Somes Island. This single forest, he observes, if it had been preserved, and fully stocked with young kauri, would now have been worth- an amount that would cover the cost of rebuilding Greater Wellington from the 'bare around, "with better-gTaded streets, and the boulevards ita peerless site merits." Forests That Will Endure. While he emphasies the loss that has been suffered in the improvident destruction of. forests, Sir Dav.d Hutchins is, of course; even' more / concerned to show how they can be profitably worked in future. In dealing with doubts that have teen raised as to whether the native forests can be perpetuated successfully and 'with profit, he relies not upon his own knowledge and experience only, but upon a considerable body of evidence collected over a long period of years by New Zealand observers. It must sufficje
hero to state briefly that he expresses a most decided opinion not. only that the native forests can be preserved, but that under cultivation, as it is understood in Europe and elsewhere, they can 'be made immensely more productive than they ever wore in their virgin state. The cultivated kauri forest, it is estimated, will produce eight times as much timber on a given area in a given time as tho wild forest. Sir David Hutchins •points out in this connection that the forests of Prussia, in o climate less favourable to tree-growth thau that of New Zealand, have Increased their timber-yield nine times, and their money-yield more than ten times during sixty or seventy years —a man's liftime. Though dct.-r.lcd and interesting comparisons are drawn in- tho report between. tho native forests and plantations of imported trees, it can only be mentioned here that Sir David Hutchins rates the plantations as in every way vastly inferior to the indigenous forest, whether they are regar led simply as an investment or as a souice of future tim-ber-supply. Where plantations are mado in the open, he thinks it will'*iisually be best to plant imported trees, but he is doubtful whether such plantations will become established as self-regenerating forests. On the other hand, he is of opinion that a number of imported exotics would spread naturally if planted in tho native forests to , thicken the stand of timber to the acre.
An Important Souroe of Revenue. As showing the possibilities of future forestry in New Zealand, Sir David Hutchins declares that half-a-million acres of kauri forest—an area that might yet be restored—would ultimately return a net amount of more thar ,£lO per acre per annum, or over JJ5,f100,000 per annum in the aggregate, to the State. With the~forest at the stage of production, this half-millions acres would also afford settled 'homes' and permanent employment for nenrly seven thousand families. As •they-stand, the kauri forests offer'some scope for permanent settlement, and a considerable amount of employment in forest restoration and development work; and Sir' David Hutchins states that in the process _of restoration tho return from "well-timbered acres" would more than cover the outlay on areas from which tho kauri forest has well-nigh disappeared. Ultimately the kauri forests, on account of their rapid growth and the valuable timber they yield, will bo the richest in the Dominion. Since for tho time being, howevor, these forests have been reduced to a
mere remnant, more important posslbilities so fa - : as the, immediate future w concerned • attach to other classes of forest, notably totara. Totara forests of great valuo and extent, Sir David Hutehins remarks, remain to be demarcated, and ho is. of opinion that theso forests aro only less valuable than kauri. He adds that his estimate.of an ultimate net return of _ over XlO.pcr acre, per year-from kauri forest will be applicable with.but little, reduction to a large part of the forests in tho northern 'half of tha North Island. Forest Settlement. Tho present total area of forest in New Zealand not on Nativo land or otherwise privately owned is ten and a half million acres, and of tliis only a small part, the repoit states, is as yet under nominally protective forestry. Accordingl la .European standards New Zealand ought to hnxe sixteen million acres of permanent forest, but Sir David Hutehins suggests that on account of the mountainous character of much of its land this country needs a lnrger proportion of forest in order to secure the fullest extension of settlement and a maximum volume of production. If demarcation on approved lines is undertaken in. this country, only poor land (much of it mountain country of little value for ordinary settlement) will bo retained or set aside as forest. Sir David Hutehins estimates, however, that cultivated forest on this poor land, the bulk of it included in tho "unoccupied third" of the Dominion, would ultimate-
ly support, on the soil and in sawmills, about aa many people (workers and their families) as now constituto the. total population of tho Dominion. Such forest estates, he declares, would be amongst the most valuable in the world —they would easily surpass tho most valuable forests in Franco and Germany—and they can be put in order, usually for a fraction of tho value 0/ tho timber on them, or at the worst for the cost of grassing. Reckless Improvidence, As showing with what reckless improvidence tho nativo forest has been givon over to destruction, Sir David Ilutchins points out'that during tho last fourteen years over 829,000 acres of bush land nave been alienated without any attempt at forest demarcation, He also cites numerous examples from the "Crown Lands Guide" of land which might bo very valuable as forest offered under lease or for outright eale for trifling sums. In ono case twenty thousand acres of "very wild country, mostly bush," in the Westland district, were offered nt an annual rental of ,£lO for the whole twontv thousand acres. Another example is that of 11,852 acres of precipitous mountain forest in Marlborough offered in eight lots for outright purchase at nn average price- of Gs. 3d. per acre, As to what is happening in Auckland province, the report cites from tho "Crown Lands Guide" examples of land carrying some kauri and other trees—land possibly capable of being developed in time into fully stocked kauri forest—offered for sale at prices in the vicinity of .£1 iper acre. Sir David Hutchins estimates the current alienation of demarcatnble forest (on Crown and Native lands) at about 30,000 acres yearly. A smaller national loss, he observes, would involved in destroying the State plantations of imported, trees than in continuing, this ruinous policy of forest alienation without demarcation. The Remedy, The remedial measures recommended by Sir David Hutchins are. epitomised in a concluding passage of his report:— "The alienation of further good forests on poor or steep mountain land should be arrested without delay, and forest demarcation put in jhimd to. finally separ-
ate tho land best suited for forestry from that best suited for farming. To do the demarcation and to work the forest estates as soon as they are formed, thero should he a technical, non-political Forest Department, on the lines of the American Forest Service." EX-SOLDIERS OP LOWER HUTT : « : PROPOSED PUBLIC WELCOME HOME. , A .moetine of Lower Hntt ■ residents was held at- tho Council Chamber last hieht to consider the arrangement'of the proposed "social welcome" to' all returned soldiers of the borough. There was a eood attendance. The Mavor (Mr. E. P. Rishworth), who presided, reported that the Borough Council had voted n sum of £50 towards the expenses, and he thought that with suonlemcnfarv efforts this should be sufficient to cover the cost. He suseested that the meeting deal' only with the "social," and defer consideration of the memorial proposal, as there was a diversity of opinion as to what form it should take; He could promiso that Mrs. Rishworth and a committee would provide an excellent programme of music. He suggested an entertainment of musical items, interspersed with dancing and a few short speeches, and this met with the approval of tho meeting. It was decided to endeavour to engage the Drill Hall for the gathering. .* Mr. Campbell offered the use of decorations which he is going to put up in the hall next week for a bazaar, and these were accented. It was decided to ask the bazaar committee to leave, tho decorations as arranged in the hall.
It was decided that an invitation and two complimentary tickets be sent to each returned soldier, and that a charge for admission be made to the general public. The a-rrnneoments were placed in the hands of working committees as follow: -rMusical committee, Mesdnmcs ; Rishworth (convener), Tamblyn, Eddie. Nicholson Johnson, M'Bain, Messrs. Rishworth. and M'Bain. Dancing, Mesdamcs Kvle. Alexander. Feist, Misses Patterson. Poole, and Messrs. Alexander (convener). Feist. Eddie, Brassel, Kenningtrai. and Hodtin* Fiin"re committee, members of the Borough Council, Town Clerk anil Messrs. Bafdwin, Tamblyn, and Hodgins. The of the invitation committee was left in the hands of tho Mayor ns executive, officer of the council. ALLEGED PROFITEERING . -+— CHARGE AGAINST RAILWAY DEPARTMENT. A charge of profiteering against the Railway Department in respect : to the sale of coa.l to the Petone Borougli was made bv the Town C'.erk of Petone, sneaking as a member, of a deputation to the Prime Minister yesterday. /' It anneared that once two cargoes of coal from Newcastle came to Wellington, and that a proportion of thts ?oal was released for industries, and the remainder held for the Railway Department. The Petone Borough was given a share of the eoal released for industries, and later tho Railway Department fveed some more coal, of which the -boronsrh rat 104 tons. Hut of coal from these careoes that which went to, the borough through the merchants was chareed at the rate of 41s. 3d. per ton, while the Railway Department charged f>(l's. a ton for the 104 tons sold to the bowman.. The Department had done I nothine to earn this charge, it was said. | The coal was exactly, the same inqiial-1 itv. and it had never bson handled by the DeDartment in any, way. In the circumstances the council had refused to nnv tho extra 18s. 9<l, per ton. Ihe bornuirh had had coal before from the Department for which' they had paid M, peryton. but that coal came tc tins coast in Vm overseas ship, and the froiftlit had been 355. per ton. The' request made to the Minister was that he shotiln see that the borough was not charged an unfair price for this coal. . Mr. Massev paid that he had had other complaints against tho prices charged >y the Railway Department for coal, iiie Department did not want to se 1 coal a all. The Department had paid for coal very high-prices on occasion, but he made lin his mind that at all costs the railways must be kept running. He believed that when the accounts came to he made un it would, bo found that tho Department had lost money, by sales ot coal. /
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 141, 10 March 1920, Page 8
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2,416OUR FOREST ASSETS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 141, 10 March 1920, Page 8
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