Untitled

Dunstan Times, Issue 414, 25 March 1870, Page 2

Thk necessity that some steps should be taken for the preservation of the native forest, and for making plantations of trees in those bleak treeless wastes which, unfortunately for us, occupy such a large area of the province, appears to be engaging very general attention, and we may reasonable hope that, during the coming Session of the Provincial Council, some practicable measure will be adodted to meet this difficulty. The cutt-ng down ot saplings, or, in fact, any young trees under six inches in diameter, in existing forests shou d be prevented by nil means, or how are we to have large timber for future use when that which is suitable for general maiding purposes has passed through the machinery of the sawmill or been rent into fragments by the wood-splitter. We are informed that the waste now going on in what few forests we possess is something enormous, and, in numerous instances, some five or six trees arc felled to procure one, while straight-growing saplings are cut down wherever they can be obtained, To the miner and agriculturist this is a matter of much importance.. Both industries requires water ru large quantities, the former especially so; aud even the few patches of timber which do exist in the neighboring ranges do a great deal

towards attracting the' moisture-laden clouds and causing them to discharge themselves in the shape of rain. In all ot these forests or bushes, however small they may he, •/ considerable number ot young trees are growing up, and, in birch forests especially, there is every chance of their extending themselves, as the seeds dropped annually from matured trees appear to germinate readily wherever they find suficient soil to cover them. The large tracts of forest at the head of Wanaka, Hawea, and Wakatip Lakes contain sufficient timber, at our present rate of consumption, if properly conserved, to last for centuries; but, if permitted to be wasted, they must speedily become exhausted, and wo shall have to wait for at least half a lifetime before we could repair the damage we have so wantonly committed. That holders of depasturing and agricultural leases should be compelled to plant a given number of forest trees annually there can be no question. The expediency of such a measure must bo apparent to all. It, would not only tend to their own comfort and convenience, but would benefit the country at the same time, and we are sure that any holding upon which a number of trees had been planted would be very much improved in value, and the man planting them would he making a provision for his children, the benefit of which they would surely reap. We have duties to perform other than to provide merely for the exigencies of the present. The future demands something at our hands, and to repay that obligation the planting of a few trees is a matter of small moment, entailing but little trouble or expense, and should be looked upon rather as a labor of love that an enforced task. A remissi m of a portion of the rent or a part of the purchase-money of the freehold where an unusually huge number of trees had been planted would be an inducement for persons to form plantations, and 'we do think, that, iu the e-ise of fifty or one hundred acres, being planted in a block, some substantial reward should be given. If we c m give money rewards for the best flax-dressing machine or the first woollen machine, or afford indirect support to other local industries, surely- we should hold out inducements to those who supply a want which is not only universally felt, but which will alter the whole character of the climate giving us perpetual streams of running water where none now exist, making a barren and dried-up soil fruitful, and converting the wilderness into a flourishing garden.