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Hokitika Guardian, 8 November 1928, Page 4

Van who met the delegates to the British Empire Forestry Conference when they were travelling in New Zealand must have felt profoundly satisfied with their conclusions regarding New Zealand’s forestry, said Dr L. Cockayne, F.lt.S., in an interview in Wellington. “The delegates.” said Dr Cockayne, “saw the vast man-made forests of the volcanic plateau where ground worthless for agriculture is now covered with what they considered the finest growth of exotie trees they had even seen. This planting is greater Ilian wlmt lias been done in Australia and .South Africa taken together, and the delegates noted not only the rapid growth of the trees, hut their comparative immunity from disease of all kinds—immunity they had hardly expected they would see. Then - one criticism, and it is no new criticism for foresters in New Zealand, was that certain of the stands of trees badly required thinning, and though they well knew that such thinning was very expensive in a country where you could not sell the thinnings, several declared that it would not pay not to thin. This advice should certainly go a long way with Mr Hawken. the Commissioner of State Forests, and doubtless he will arrange that, accurate observations be. carried out that will enable knowledge to ’lie gained ns to whether thinning will he profitable or the contrary. Tt must- be gratifying to all New Zealanders,” added Dr Coeyakne, “to know how greatly New Zealand forestry is approved bv those whose prerogative jt is to speak with absolute authority on the subject, and there should be little difficulty in persuading, if persuasions is required, the Minister to see that forestry is pursued with still greater vigour in New Zealand than it has been in tbe past. In this regard the methods inaugurated during the regime of Mr Hawken, of reducing fcne cost of planting to what appears an absurdly low figure, should make liis term of office a.s a Minister historical in the history of forestry in the British Empire. This new knowledge should enable New Zealand not only to supply her own needs for timber in the future, hut should make her a country from which softwood timber should be exported to Australia, and probably further afield. Although flic tour of the delegates throughout New Zealand lias cost- a considerable amount, the prominence with which New Zealand forestry, will' be brought before the Empire, and also before the people of the Dominion who, T am happy to say. are now developing a strong forestry conscience, ensures that the money has been expended to the very fullest advantage.”