107

C.—4

In 1895 the value of the timber exports from Western Australia was only £88,146 being jarrah timber exclusively. In 19u4 the value had increasedjto*£6s4,949, of which jarrah represented £596,272 and karri £58,677. In 1906 the sawn timber exported from|Western Australia was 152,161,083|5up. ft., while logs to the amount of 1,737,707 sup. ft, were also exported. The quantity of local timber sawn or hewn during the same period was 136,294,697 sup. ft., but in 1907 it had decreased to 110,395,000 sup. ft. Tasmania. The Tasmanian forest consists chiefly of eucalyptus, widely distributed over the island ; and of conifers, such as the Huon, the King William, and the celery-top pines, flourishing in the western and southern parts. The principal hardwoods of the eucalypt family are the blue-gum, stringy-bark, peppermint, and silver-top ironbark ; whilst among woods of fine grain are the blackwood, beech or myrtle, sassafras, native cherry, and sheoak. Black and silver wattles also inhabit various parts of Tasmania. The following quantity of local timber was hewn or sawn in Tasmania : In 1905, 40,273,429 sup. ft.; in 1906, 39,498,697 sup. ft.; in 1907, 35,228,000 sup. ft.

(E.) OTHER SOURCES OF SUPPLY. Professor Somerville, in an article entitled " Forestry in some of its Economic Aspects," read before the Royal Statistical Society on the 16th February, 1909, stated that " The possibilities of Russia as regards increased shipments of timber are involved in much uncertainty, and still more so is this the case with Siberia. A recent consular report on the lumber industry in the Russian Far East, 1908, by Vice-Consul Hodgson, states that there is hope of development in eastern Siberia, where in the Amur and maritime provinces alone the forests are said to embrace 509,000,000 acres, though in density they cannot be compared with those of North America. Spasmodic attempts at export have already been made ; China, Australia, and South Africa being the markets that have been tried." Mr. G. W. S. Patterson, of Auckland, states, " I am of opinion that our future supplies must come from Manchuria and Siberia, for the reason that labour is cheaper there than in Canada or any other country that I know of, and the quantity obtainable (from what I could gather on my recent trip through Siberia) is practically inexhaustible for centuries to come. A Melbourne syndicate has already introduced this timber into Australia, and is making good headway." It is stated that Pacific white-pine to the extent of nearly 6,000,000 ft. was imported from Manchuria and the Russian Far East last year into Australia. Africa has sometimes been mentioned as likely to be able to supply timber to importing countries in the near future ; but Professor Somerville, in his evidence before the British Royal Commission, stated that " Africa may hold large quantities of exceedingly hard and heavy wood of the ebony class, rosewood, and so on ; but these timbers are not suitable for structural purposes —they are so extraordinarily heavy that, if one were to use them for roofing purposes or anything of that kind, the structure would fall under its own weight." In India the State Forests Department now has charge of 149,000,000 acres (232,701 square miles) of forests. This represents nearly one-fourth of the total area of British India. The Indian Government forests are throughout treated on the principle of a sustained and increasing yield, which five years ago amounted to 232,916,345 cub. ft., of which teak timber exported from India accounted for 73,913 tons, and myrobolans to 61,480 tons. There does not seem much prospect of any large supply of timber from British India except in these two varieties of wood. (" Forest Policy in the British Empire," by W. Schlich, Ph.D., &c.)