NEW ZEALAND TIMBER TREES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3489, 18 May 1920, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND TIMBER TREES.

“The allocation of shipping space between the Impefial Government, the buyers, and the growers who -wish to ship to London, it is stated, will be an important and diflicult matter, and will pl-ob'ably have‘ to be (Tone on 0. percentage basis. on wool in store_’»’

In a recent issue of the New Zealand Journal of Science, Mr E. Maxwell makes some interesting compar~ isons between New Zealand native trees and exotics as regards rate of growth, Basing his calculations» on the estimated yield of millable timber after 35 years’ growtli, he SW9S the ciibic content of the kauri at 100 board feet, redwood 1400 feet, gum 1140 feet. pinus insignis 2200 feet. This shows an enormous difference in favour of exotic as against the native ‘trees. In the natural forests there ;are, besides those trees that have reached millable age and size, large numbers of half and three‘—quarter grown trees which would not take long to mature, as well as la.rge numbers ranging from seedlings to tall saplings. With a proper system :of conservation these could be"developed more rapidly under natural conditions and a large part of the forest perman« ently maintained. Mr Maxwell. also supplies some interesting figures with regard to rate of growth in New Zealand. A kauri free 2 feet in diameter is estimated to average 116 years, 3 feet 174 years‘, 4 feet 232 "years. In the case of redwood the rate of growth is about. one foot in 13 years up to a certain period; gums, one foot in 14 years; P. insignis, one foot in 9 years; kauri, one foot in 58 years. The conclusions arrived at are that native forests situated in rough‘ and unbroken country, could with advantage be conserved, milling only mature trees; that when’ native trees have been cut out they may with advantage be replaced by useful quick—gr-owing exotics; and that for commercial purposes redwoods, gums, and pines are the most profitable trees to grow.