STATE FORESTRY

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 123, 28 April 1925, Page 12

STATE FORESTRY

WORK OF CONSERVATION.

ADDRESS BY THE COMMISSIONER

On the occasion of the fourth annual conference of the State Forest Service executive officers at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, last week, the opening address was delivered by Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, the Commissioner of State Forests, who addressed those present as follows:

Again I wish to congratulate you and your associates on another record year in the accomplishment of forest conservation and forestry service to the community. My remarks on this occasion bear a similarity to my opening addresses on previous conference meetings, for every successive year since the inception of the department has been a record one. May' it ever be tints, for the conservation and reasoned use of our great national forest heritage is very closely’ related to the successful progress and indeed the very existence of our Dominion. A brief review of the results obtained during the year register the attainment of high levels in accomplishment, which in some respects are new standards of achievements even for the Empire. AN EMPIRE RECORD. (1) The new acreage of State forest plantations created during the year, an Empire record, was 10,962 acres, as compared with 1381 acres planted in the year 1921. The grand total area of State plantations is now 62,786 acres. (2) In forest fire prevention a new level of efficiency has been recorded, which is due largely to loyal public co-operation and to the creation of fire districts. The loss over 1235 acres of State forest property during the year was approximately onlv £lO.

(3). Total income and revenue from all sources for the year is over £160,000, as against £BSOO in the year 1920. The total forest protection administration and management charges were approximately £40,000, while £77,000 was applied to the creation of new timber plantations and other forestry works of a permanent capital character, and a substantial surplus will be applied to the payment of allocations to local bodies for road improvements in the forest districts, and 'to the formation of additional State forest plantations. Jt will thus be seen that forestry in this country is again uhle to pay its way, and produce a handsome dividend.

EXTENSION OF SERVICE. (4) The forest extension and educational efforts of the service during the year have given most gratifying concrete results, for the quantity of young trees disposed of to lanner-set-tlers, local bodies and proprietary companies reached 2,930,564 for the vear, as compared with 1,839.512 in 1923-24, and 277,000 in the year 1920. The steadily expanding sales of high quality forest trees can he accounted for by the consistent policy of the service in passing on all economies in production costs to the purchasers and to wider public appreciation of the definite profitable nature of the timber farming business. Forest culture and a deeper love of trees was given a fillip during the year, by the launching of the schools forestry movement by the Education Department, in co-operation with the service. Thousands of booklets have been distributed to the primary rural schools, and the practical encouragement of school plantations and nurseries is already showing splendid results. The large number of proprietary forest plantation companies which have been launched, and in some cases have begun planting operations, is an indication of the wider public response to the slogan of “plant trees and grow money.” THE DEER PROBLEM. (5) It is gratifying also to record that in some districts at least the deer problem is being solved by an open shooting season and bounty payments, a total of 7433 ileer being accounted for by these means, while during the year at least 9000 wild pigs have been destroyed. A fine sense of public and individual responsibility is becoming more evident throughout the Dominion with regard to the conservation of our wild bird and animal life, and in many districts our useful avifauna is again increasing, to the happiness and delight of all. (0) The unique progress that has been made in improved nursery propagation practice in several of tiie service nurseries is to be specially commended, for those improvements are directly resulting in cheaper and better trees, and the permanent installation of true mass production methods. The objective of growing young trees of the pinus genera, as one grows a crop of turnips or corn, by machinery, is nearing attainment, and a substantial reduction in the high labour costs (from 75 per cent, to 80 per cent.) of the propagation will soon be realised, with consequent benefits to the community. RESEARCH WORK. (7) The outstanding feature of the forest products research work for the past year was the Dominion Building Conference which directed the attention of the public as never before to the necessity of eliminating waste in the utilisation of timber and especially to the use of preservative treatment and of proper seasoning to secure this end. Considerable progress has been achieved in the testing of red black and hard beech and of kauri, Icamahi and other .timbers. Tests of shrinkages and of specific gravities!, and of poles and cross arms have been completed. A modern box testing machine and a destructive distillation plant have been purchased for immediate use. (8) The results obtained from investigations and research during the past year are more definite than ever before in the history of the service. The available and tangible results of the investigations comprise such data as: Volume tables for all parts of New Zealand, yield tables for redwood in the Waikato, for pinus radiata in the Waikato and Canterbury, for pinus laricio at Rotorua, together with growth data on the New Zealand tnxards, both in tho North and South Islands. Mill conversion studies were completed and the resulting tables have given the service an excellent control over its timber estimates. The experimental bleeding of kauri for gum was commenced early in the year, and experiments on the destructive distillation of kauri waste were completed. Weed eradication experiments in nurseries were carried out both in the North and South Islands.

(9) The establishment at Auckland University College and at Canterbury University College of Schools of Forestry for the teaching of forest technicians and subordinate forest officers was finalised during the year. Pro-

gross in New Zealand forestry will ho greatly facilitated thereby. (10) The programme of permanent demarcation and classification of the State Forest was begun during the year by the service in co-operation with tho Department of Lands and Survey, and it is to be noted that the field work in Southland, Canterbury and Westland has been completed. In this connection the splendid assistance and sympathetic co-operation of the Deparment of Lands and Survey is making this very difficult task a much easier one than it might have been. UNITED EFFORT.

There are many other forestry and allied activities of tho service in which real progress has been made and upon which I should like to comment. Suffice it to say, however, in these and in the others mentioned, 1 feel that the recults accomplished have been attained by united effort; everybody is pulling together, and I congratulate you on your good works. For the future there are greater works and problems to be overcome, before tho iiolicy of New Zealand Forests for New Zealand can be said to be firmly rooted in our national economy. [ refer to the application of a silvicultural and sustained yield policy to our 12 million acres of indigenous forests, to the complete utilisation of all our virgin forests, including woods and mill waste, and so-called weed trees, to the development of appropriate and distinct afforestation projects for each province, and the creation of growing forests stock adequate for the community needs.

In tho solution of these problems I shall look to you for assistance and advice, and I feel confident that these important problems will be successfully solved, for New Zealand forestry was never in better and more efficient hands than it is to-day