THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1910. FOREST CONSERVATION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10040, 10 May 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. TUESDAY, MAY 10, 1910. FOREST CONSERVATION.

The increasing interest taken in most civilised countries in questions of forest conservation is a notable proof of the growth 01 wisdom in the utilisation of the woild's resources. For centuries mankind was prone to regard forests mainly as arenas for wholesale and often wanton destruc- ' tion. Germany led the way in scientific forestry, and her splendid woodlands now, a possession of enormous value, have been to a large extent under State control for a hundred years, Austria-Hungary has long realised the importance of her forests to agriculture, particularly in the Alpine provinces, and has developed an efficient forestry system; France has not only carried out large works ot afforestation on waste lands, but has exemplified the close interdependence of forests' and water supply in the official title of her Forest Department. The vast forests of Russia

are slowly coming under scientific control. In the centre and south of Kussia stringent measures of regulation have been introduced, though the huge timber areas in the north are still almost without State care.

In Southern Siberia the process of forest extermination is now largely supervised, and in Central Asia the very; special value of the mountain forests as "preservers and distributors of rain" receives constant official attention. Norway and Sweden have both begun to appreciate the fact that their valuable forests are not meant solely for destruction. The United States, already consuming three tunes as much timber as the country annually produces, is turning with enthusiasm (o problems of practi:al forestry. It is curious, and not a little regrettable, that, while so much activity is visible in other lands, the forests of the British Empire have hitherto received comparatively scant scientific treatment at the hands "f the State. The one shining exception is India, where an admirable Forest Department is doing excellent work. Canada is still chiefly engrossed in production, and gives little serious attention to ths restocking of cleared areas, although her productivity must inevitable diminish in time. Australia has nol only failed to realise the immense importance of forest conservation, but in some quarters at the An> tipodes the question is even regarded as a matter of little account. In th< United Kingdom the influence o: forests on rainfall and water supplj is fortunately a negligible issue, bu the economic advantages of scheme: of afforestation are only now arous ing the belated interest of th< authorities.