C—4.

The net cost of production of one typical mill turning out 10,000 ft. per day is detailed hereunder :— s. Labour, per Day. 3 bushmen .. .. 34 Fall and crosscut fifteen or sixteen fair-sized trees per day. 1 winchman . . 11 Drives and cuts fuel for hauler that pulls logs from stump to tram. 2 sniggers .. ..22. Cut tracks and superintend the passage of logs from stump to tram. 2on locomotive .. 21 Driver and brakeman. Both load and unload. 4 laying tram . . 42 Tram costs about £1 10s. per chain, labour only. 1 sawyer .. . . 16 £4 10s. to £5 per week. Has to " keep " saws. 1 tailer-out . . .'.12 Assists sawyer at breast-bench. 2 breakers-down . . 23 Cut log into flitches on travelling bench. 1 crosscut .. .. 10 The *' fiddley." Cuts logs into shorter lengths at mill. 1 slab-carrier .. 10 Removes waste from breast bench, pushes it along tram, and burns it. 1 mill-engine driver .. 12 Engine 10 to 20 brake horse-power, usually wood-fired. 1 blacksmith .. 11 Repair-work and shoes. 1 docker .. 9 Not in all mills. Cuts ends of sawn timber. 1 trollyman . . 10 Drives horse hauling sawn timber, mill to siding. 3 yardmen .. . . 30 Load and tally timber, &c, at siding. 273 Insurance — W.C.A.A., 3% .. 8 Total . .281 Cost of labour on 10,000 ft. = 2s. lOd. per hundred, nearly. Plant Charges. Upkeep of mill, winches, and loco- s. motive ; material for trams, &c. . . 50 Very difficult to estimate. Includes depreciation. Three horses .. . . .. 20 Interest, rent, insurance, &e. . . 15 Capital value, £3,000. Contingencies .. .. .. 5 Total .. .. ..90 Plant charges on 10,000 ft. = lid. per hundred, nearly. s. d. s. d. Cost on timber-trucks at siding, per hundred (labour 2s. 10d., plant-charge lid.) .. 3 9 Freight, twenty miles . . .. .. ■ ■ • • ■ ■ • • ..13 Royalty .. .. .. • • • • • • • ■ • • ..06 Agency . . .. • • ■ ■ • • • • • • • ■ ..01 Shortages, &c. .. .. •• •• •• •• •• •' '"- F.0.8. Grey Wharf, per hundred .. .. ■ ■ • • • • 5 9 60 per cent, of this timber must be classed as " rough," for which 6s. 9d. per hundred is obtained = .. .. .. •• •• •• •• ..40 40 per cent, clean timber at Bs. = .. ■ • • • • • • • ..32 Price obtained by miller .. . . • • • • • ■ • • ' 2 Profit to miller, including his services as superintendent and director, per hundred .. .. 15 The above cost may vary slightly for various mills, owing to differences in quality and accessibility of bush, and in skill in management. If a mill be worked by contractor, the contractor may get 4s. to 4s. 6d. per hundred on trucks at siding. Timbers other than red, white, or black pine, that could be profitably exploited :— Silver-pine, Dacrydium wesilandicum,, is now used almost solely for sleepers, except for a limited local consumption. It is cut very wastefully, hundreds of trees being cut for sleeper sizes only,_ the remainder being left in the forest to be burnt by the inevitable fire. This timber is soft, close-grained, oily of medium strength, rather brittle, of great durability, and impervious to grubs. It is superior to totara, and is well suited for house-blocks, fences, sills, and. outside work generally. It rarely attains a large size, but is usually from 12 in. diameter upwards. Special freights for fence-posts, &c, would enable much of this timber that is now wasted to be used on the east coast. Kaikawaka, Libocedrus Bidwillii: A straight-grained, durable timber, porous in composition, and very light in weight; very well suited for boat-building, furniture, Venetian blinds, &c. Moderately plentiful through the district, occurring in patches. At present hardly used. Certain; specimens prove very durable when converted into fence-posts'others'decay near the ground. This is*probably dependent on the season in which it is cut. Nothofagus fusca, Solandri, &o. : Of great size, strength, and good durability; Jiabie to warp in drying ■ decays in contact with iron. Used only for mine-timbers in this district. The bark of all this genus, as well as of tanekaha (Phyllocladus alpinus)' contains a high percentage of tannin. Nothofagus Menziesii is to be used for the wood-pulp industry. For this purpose it would seem that makomako, Aristotelia racemosa, would have been suitable.

10—C. 4.

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