FORESTS AND FORESTRY

Hokitika Guardian, 5 October 1923, Page 2

FORESTS AND FORESTRY

FURTHER NOTES ON THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.

NO XU “In faith, it is exceedingly well aim'd. Ami 'tis no little reason bids uj> sliced." King Henry IV. AFFORESTATION AND FOREST EXTENSION. Pursuing the study oi the forest Service riT.ort it is noth cable Irom a glance at the “Summary of Operations on State Plantations,” that- although Westland is sjiakcn of in the report as. “the most iinj.ortant timber region in the South Island' there has liieu no planting done there. Another feature of the Summary is that t shows that the average yearly planting which has been done during the last 27 vears has been m-aiTv AS |icr cent as much as during the year under review: amt this, mark you ( cl,icily during a jieriod wiieu there was no Forest Service, it i* tail' to expect that with the resources now placed at the disposal of the Service, a much better result will lie achieved. I here is, indeed. good reason for more speed.

In the matter of "Forest extension the Service ttj.jn'ars to take the while of the credit for having imbued an extension ot private 1 imher-grow mg. ft is probable, however, that the greatist influence in bringing this extension about, is, as described m the report itself where it states: “Tor now that timber-growing jiay-. farmers e.'m settlers are taking a much wider interest in it." During the niter-var shortage of timber-supplies, millions el lire ot timber were cut Irom private plantations; and as these areas veic in most oases near to the that Lets .>.!•. were independent of (lie unreliable sea-transport which then prevailed, the stumjiagi* values were high. llio-c wciv tin- condition* whiih cluellv develop'd! the increased interest in :re plant iug. There i- ii" desire to detract t r >- l the iiotmil work done hv the Serrice, l-m ji * to i ajij avent that the Serves* i, inclined to 7,cl tiie part of slmwm:in. and with a lolly sweep ol 'he arm to exclaim: "A.l my votU, In the distribution ol literature hearing on tree-planting, and m giving advice, the Service may have done good work. The reports tells us t' t “the ellorts of the Service are appreciated. judging hy the many complinientarv letters and hv the greatly increased demand on tin- organisation for live-seeds, information, assistance and ndvit e.” This is all very line: lull it's niueh tno early lor the Service to preen its leathers-- there s a |,rng Might ahead - the journey s scarce begun. "So little done So much to ‘'"rim report state, that “the number ot trees raised and disposed ot hy the Forest Service, commercial nurserymen ami others, to t ree-plaliters and Jilanted ill New Zealand for the year was at least live million, |:'antetl on 12..--<-acres." Of this area, the Service painted *> Bl>' > acres which is less than one quarter of Hue "hole. This, we think, justifies our strictures -esin-cling the Service's activities, or rather. "'* should sav. inactivities in real work.

It js not clear what is meant nv llie last csnteiu'c ol the section beam'd *• J*'oresl extension", which reads: "At tl.is in to the |ii o|i ort iona I c responsihilities for provision of future needs is cettalulv assured." What i* it that iassured f If it; is only the “l>mjtor i innate resjcmsihilit ies" that are as .tired, we might Jioint out that a rc--lamsihilitx. per sc. is morel v an a list raetioii. The sentence, assuredly. >' anything hut "cxcecdinglv welt aim'd.”