FORESTRY.

Hokitika Guardian, 31 January 1922, Page 4

FORESTRY.

addresses by experts.

A. paper on forestry in New Zealand by Mr L. M. Ellis, Director of Forestry, was read at a meeting held undei the auspices of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Forestry League on Friday night. Mr James Deans (president of the branch) was in the chair, and there was a good attendance, Amongst those present were: —Dr C. Chilton (Rector of Canterbury oCUego), Mr H. A. Goudie (conservator of forests at Rotorua), Mr j Will Lawson (the league’s organiser), Mr J. Young (curator of the Christchurch Public Gardens), Mr D. Tannook (curator of the Dunedin Public Gardens), and Mr 4. G Henderson (president of the Canterbury Progress League. The Chairman said that few people in New Zealand knew how much was to be learnt about forestry, and the Forestry League had arranged for experts to speak at that meeting. He thanked the Progress League for its efforts towards having the School of Forestry, established in Canterbury. Mr Henderson said that the progress League at first had added forestry to its policy, but now an active branch of the Forestry League had been formed in Canterbury, and it had taken over that part of the Progress Leagued work. He urged all residents of Canterbury to help the Forestry League to have large areas of native forests reserved or p -operly worked, and to have other parts planted with forest trees. Mr Goudie who 'read Mr Ellis’s paper, apologised for that gentleman s absence. The paper gave an historical sketch of “forestritis” in New Zealand and stated that tbc Dominica should take the matter hi hand a once. The destruction of forests often became a veritable disaster to a community, and even was the primary cause of decadence and ruin. New Zealand perhaps was the greatest wood-consuming country in the world, judged on a per capita basis. The total annual timber bill in 1880 was 13J,(100,000 feet; lit rose to, over 320,000,000 feet in 1921. There wa s every indication that by 1946 the annual need of commercial forest products would be 1,000,000,000 feet, to say nothing of wood used in other forms. Those facts must be boldly faced now. New Zealand’s transition from an elementary pastoral community to a complex agricultural and industrial Dominion would increase tbc demand for wood in all its forms, in spite of the stimulated substitution of cement and steel for major constructional work. The only kind of forestry that should ho practised on a scale proportionate to New Zealand s needs was forestry that started while the people had their forests to begin with. Any other kind of forestry might he placed at once in the domain of the impracticable. Tf the advice of some enthusiasts wa s taken, the people would have to spend £1,000,000 per annum for forty years on exotic tree-planting in order to create an artificial forest estate. That not within the realms of practical politics. Fpr financial reasons if for nothing else, a search for other means of re-establishing the national forest estate was necessary. Some people might say that it was impossible to secure satisfactory regeneration of native forests. All he could say was that it took more than three swallows to piake a summer. The Forest Service was determining the value and limitations of the indigenous forest. They hoped that /the investigations would show' that given natural and norma] conditions, Nature would reestablish her forests of commercial value. Forestry as a business would he a failure, unless Nature could be used to re-stock the exploitable forests. The solution of New Zealand’s forestry problem could he found only in close co-operation of man and Nature. “I appeal to you as citizens, as timber users, to consider the problem of forestry in New Zealand,” the paper concluded. “Arm-chair forestry 'lias been practised in New r Zealand for the past sixty years. Don’t you think it is about time that forestry was practised in the woods? Believe in national forestry, boost it, and see that well-tried principles ojf the \a rt of silviculture, the sustained production of forest crops and the control of forest influences are reserved for the forests of the Crown. The wealth and fertility of the soil depends on the (water conditions These depend directly on the soil-cover, the forests.

The moral is: Get busy.” ‘u fyjr Goudie, with the help of many lantern Sidles, gave an account of forestry operations in New Zealand and other countries.

Mr Tan nock gave the result of his re'cent observations in Europe, England and Scotland, showing methods in those countries. Referring to Erapce, he said that communal' forests Were established there. They were srnal forests, owned by and controlled for the benefit of small towns anc} villages in their vicinity. Mlapy 'exotic trees, in addition to those now ]\sed could b e grown in New Zealand, if trials were given to tliem. In ])unedin a tree from Uganda and a tree from British Central Africa were thriving well. Many trees! known to produce valuable timber in their native countries no doubt would be valuable in New Zealand also,

iVjr Lawson said that the membership of the league was about 500. A good deal more were required. The campaign of the past eight months had Been an expensive one, a<pds Imfi'e money was needed. He hoped that the people of Canterbury would give further help. Votes of thanks were passed to the speakers.