THE TIMBER INDUSTRY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 March 1941, Page 7

THE TIMBER INDUSTRY

PROBLEM OF SLOW=GROWIN(i NATIVE TREES rapidly diminishing forests. MR A. 11. DANIELL'S ADDRESS. Sawmilling, the third most important New Zealand industry, was (he subject of a short talk by Mr A. H. Daniell at the weekly meeting of the Masterton Rotary Club. Hew the area of bush had dwindled since 1247 to less than a third of its original dimension was shown by the following figures quoted by Mr Daniell:—ln 1847 there were 27,600,909 acres of bush: in 11)23. 12,600.000 acres, and in 1939. 8.354.000 acres. Replacement o( native trees was a serious problem because- their growth was

slow that no return could be expected for 150 years. Imported exotic trees, on the other hand, sometimes grew 21 times faster than in their native country and were mill-able in 30 to 40 years. Replacement, consequently, was largely in exotic. Replanting Ly (he Government and by private companies amounted to 372.423 acres. Only 7 of New Zealand's 112 native tress were used commercially. raid Mr Daniell. They were the white pine, the mountain cedar or Southland Beech, (he kauri, the matai, the mairc, the rimu and the Mlara; 322.765.785 superficial feet of timber was cut by the country’s -174 mill.-: in 1338. The men employed in milling that timber numbered 3.36-1 and they were paid £l.935.1:01 in wages <:n a productive value of £3.028,656. Despite the demand created by the State Housing project, timber production figures, Mr Daniell said, had not reached the 1925-26 peak level for the industry of 353.224,196 superficial feet. Of the timber milled in 1938, the last year for which figures were available, 57 per cent had been rimu, 13 per cent white pine, and third place had been filled by imported pinus, with 11 per cent. The Forestry Department had notified that no more kauri would be available after this year and that ef-' forts were being made to find a sub-, stitute.

In the Wairarapa. readily accessable timber was cut out 15 years ago, Mr Daniell said, but with the coming of the tractor and improvements in pneumatic tyres timber was still attainable today. Country was considered millable 25 years ago if it yielded 25,000 sup. ft. to the acre; now the figure was down to 6000 to 7000 sup. ft. It was an interesting fact, Mr Daniell said, that about 30 years ago. within three miles of Masterion, 2,010,000 ft. of timber was cut from 20 acres. The only milling comparable today, was a yield of 95,000 to 100.000 ft. an acre in the Rissington district. Hawke's Bay.