TIMBER SUPPLIES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4706, 2 June 1924, Page 2

TIMBER SUPPLIES.

WORLD-WIDE SCARCITY. jINFLUENCE ON BUILDING. hew tilings aie likely to exercise a greater niliuenve on building piaclice in Bic comparatively near luture than iiie piogressivc exhaustion ol timber •supplies (writes "Jack Plane, ’ in the Uuniiiiioii ). Hi New Zealand, even when allowance is made lor a considerable increase in population, we arc rawuiably placed in this matter in comparison with American and European countries. As time goes on, however, the increasing scarcity of timber will undoubtedly giye a great impetus, here a,s in other countries, to the use of alternative mateuals in place of timber. Conditions in which must of utir dwellings in town and country are of wood evidently cannot last much longer. Even under a policy of conservation the local position is bound to.be aficcted by such conditions of world supply aud demand for timber as were described by Mr R. L. Robinson (British Forestry Commissioner) when he lectured on the subject in London re-' cenliy. Mr Robinson said the total extent of the North American forests was 1500 million acres, off which 770 millions were in Canada and Newfoundland, 500 millions in the United States, 70 to 150 millions iu Alaska, aud 74 millions in Mexico. It would appear from these figures, said thd lecluier, that the area of forest ifi North America, was about double that of Europe, but from the point of view) of tiniuer supply great deductions had to be made from the total. The area pf effective forest (in North America) was ’.estimated at 750 million acres, In addition to the wood removed for use enormous quantities were destroyed annually by lire and by the ravages of insects aud fungi. Estimates had been made of the quantity of timber removed from the forests by all agencies, and the latest figures indicated that the total volume was in the neighbourhood of 32 thousand million cubic feet annually. On this basis, if tlie'e were no growth at all, aud all the forest was accessible, it would all be used up in approximately thirtylive years. Very little had been done to replace the destruction. Natural regeneration, to be successful, required regulating, in order that the most use r ul species might be secured. As a rille some assistance in the form of, planting was necessary. In view of the comparatively small area that was being planted in North America, it seemed clear , that there must be considerable stringency in the supply of forest products in North America within the next twenty or thirty years. The Continent would absorb all the forest products it could grow, and the Eastern Slates of the Union might even become competitors with the United Kingdom and Western Europe for the soft woods of Northern Europe This might become a serious matter for the United Kingdom, since the present exportable margin in Northern Europe was not capable of very great expansion. In regard to haidwoods, no doubt increasing demands would be made on tropical forests.

Mr G. R. Courthope. M.P., who took part in a subsequent discussion, said that in a few years it would be impossible to get any timber at all from North America. In Europe the consumption rate of softwood timber exceeded the rate of production by something like 3500 million cubic feet a year, and al that rate there would be notiiing left in about seventy years. Most of them would live to see the time when commercial softwoods would not only become very expensive, but would be almost unobtainable, because directly exporting countries realised the danger of . the present rate of exhaustion they would place restrictions on export.