FORESTRY SCHOOL

Hokitika Guardian, 27 July 1920, Page 3

FORESTRY SCHOOL

OBJECTIONS TO CHRISTCHURCH

WELLINGTON, July 23 Sir David Hut,chins has communicated to the Press his objections to the suggested establishment of a School of Forestry at Christchurch. -He is a strong advocate for Wellington, mainly because it is already a departmental centre, it has been urged, lie says, that the late Mr T. W. Adams left a bequest for forestry teaching at Canterbury College, but this £2OOO or £3OOO is qnly enough in-interest value to pay for a scholarship at a forest school, and sp has little bearing on the gen«i’nj question. '-‘lt, is urged,” continues Sir David, ‘‘that teaching facilities aro better at Canterbury College than at Victoria College. That superiority exists at present, but it is unlikely to last, and, in any ease, teaching facilities at Victoria College are enough to meet tW requirements of the New Zealand Forest School which, on account of the backward state of forestry in New Zealand, can for many years be only a secondary forestry school F(>r instruction in tin: management of cultivated forests the higher grade Students must go, to It u rope. To, obtain practical knowledge of the management of cultivated forests, South Africa, with exactly the same class of forests as New Zealand, tried a. firstgrade forest school for some years, and though it was much easier to send students from there to Europe for practical work, it was finally found best to have tile higher forest training in Europe. StudentH at a freest school want demonstration areas within easy reach, but at the same time they want to he in a place central to the chief forest districts of New Zealand. Christchurch has no large forest area near at hand, and the nearest important forest area, the West (.‘oast, is a day's journey from Ghrjstchurch. With a forest school at Wellington it is not much farther from Wellington to the kauri forest areas tliirn ‘from Christchurch to the West Coast. The kauri forests are more important tyr students to visit than the West Coast, because they represent forests of special value, requiring special treatment, while the West Coast is the ordinary mixed forest of New Zealand, to he seen everywhere. It is usual in other countries for the senior or other forest officers at the head of the administration to give lectures at the forest school. Such a practice adds to the , t economy and efficiency of the forest school. Since the officer at the head of the New Zealand Forestry Department will, of course, make his headquarters at Wellington, another reason thus appears for establishing the school there.”